New research explores the prospects, challenges and opportunities for sportswomen as human brand

London, September 21, 2020, ZEXPRWIRE, There are growing concerns about the commercial viability of sportswomen as they are seldom featured as brand ambassadors. Recent research published in the European Sport Management Quarterly looked at the challenges sportswomen face in building and making their brands appealing to advertisers and marketers.

The research has found a number of structural disadvantages within society that prevent sportswomen for maximising their commercial potential as a brand. But there also other components to the issue. Sportswomen identified known issues such as limited media coverage, gendered perceptions of women’s sport, as well as emergent issues such as the challenges of balancing the need to develop their brand with the need to build their career. This is shown in a number of ways, for example, the Forbes list of the 100 top-earning athletes of 2018 did not include a single sportswoman.

The paper presents solutions by offering a practical path for sportswomen who want to build their brand but also tackles the issues presented to these sportswomen by governing bodies, the media and brands that Mogaji argues need to change the representation of sportswomen across advertisements through tactics that promote gender equity and decrease differences. Fundamentally, sportswomen’s athletic abilities should be given more visibility over their aesthetics.

There has been some progress however, as the growth of social media and new communication technologies has allowed athletes direct access, exposure, and connection to a global audience, enabling athletes to emerge as brands in their own right. As a result, some female athletes have begun to actively develop their brands but there still remains a lot of room for growth.

Lead author, Emmanuel Mogaji of the University of Greenwich, London said ‘Sportswomen need to recognise that they are brands and therefore, they should take ownership of that brand. There should be a conscious effort to curate a brand that appeals to diverse stakeholders. While Social media is essential, it should not be limited to that. Sportswomen should consider having an identity for their brands, perhaps in the form of a logo, having a website and curating images that tell the real story. Sportswomen also need to consider the opportunity to integrate and create awareness about their brands. This is not limited to professional sportswomen, semi-professional and upcoming sportswomen should also consider building their brands.’

Media Contact –

Name – Tom Bacon
E-mail – PRCommsStaff@greenwich.ac.uk
Company – University of Greenwich
Country – London