Cristiano Ronaldo’s decision to remove two Coca-Cola bottles from view at a press
conference, and dent the value of the 4️⃣ fizzy drink maker’s sponsorship of the European
Championship, has highlighted the risks brands face associating with sports stars made
powerful 4️⃣ by the social media era.
The Portugal captain, a renowned health fanatic who
eschews carbonated drinks and alcohol, underlined his point 4️⃣ by holding a bottle of
water while saying “agua”, Portuguese and Spanish for water. The water brand in
question happened 4️⃣ to be owned by Coca-Cola too, but the damage – by a major sports star
with 550 million social media 4️⃣ followers – was done.
“It’s obviously a big moment for
any brand when the world’s most followed footballer on social media 4️⃣ does something like
that,” says Tim Crow, a sports marketing consultant who advised Coca-Cola on football
sponsorship for two decades. 4️⃣ “Coke pays tens of millions to be a Uefa sponsor and as
part of that there are contractual obligations for 4️⃣ federations and teams, including
taking part in press conferences with logos and products. But there are always
risks.”
Major brands have 4️⃣ never been able to control the actions of their star
signings. Nike decided, stoically, to stand by Tiger Woods as 4️⃣ the golfing prodigy lost
sponsors including Gillette and Gatorade after a 2009 sex scandal. However, Ronaldo’s
public snub signifies a 4️⃣ different kind of threat to the once cosy commercial balance of
power between stars and brands, one born of the 4️⃣ social media era.
“Ronaldo is right at
the top of social media earners,” says PR expert Mark Borkowski. “It is about 4️⃣ the rise
of the personal brand, the personal channel, it gives so much bloody power. That’s what
has allowed Ronaldo 4️⃣ to make a point [about a healthy lifestyle].”
Now 36, the world’s
most famous footballer has built an empire that has 4️⃣ seen him make more thanR$1bn
(£720m) in football salaries, bonuses and commercial activities such as sponsorships.
What is crucial is 4️⃣ the global platform social media has given him – half a billion
followers on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook – which 4️⃣ has freed him from following the
commercial rules of clubs, tournaments and their sponsors. He is the highest earner on
4️⃣ Instagram, commandingR$1m per paid post, and with more thanR$40m in income from the
social media platform annually he makes more 4️⃣ than his salary at Juventus.
“People are
saying this is about athlete activism and there is some truth to that,” says 4️⃣ Crow.
“Athletes are taking a more activist view, we are seeing that, most recently in press
conferences. And we will 4️⃣ see it again.”
On Tuesday, the France midfielder Paul Pogba, a
practising Muslim, removed a bottle of Euro 2024 sponsor Heineken’s 4️⃣ non-alcoholic 0.0
brand from the press conference table when he sat down to speak to the media after his
team’s 4️⃣ 1-0 win over Germany. Three years ago, he was one of a group of Manchester
United stars who boycotted a 4️⃣ contractual event for sponsors to protest at the club’s
poor travel arrangements that had affected Champions League games.
Crow says the 4️⃣ most
important example of athlete activism came last month when Naomi Osaka, the No 2-ranked
female tennis player, pulled out 4️⃣ of the French Open after being finedR$15,000 and
threatened with expulsion by organisers for saying she would skip contractual media
4️⃣ obligations because of the effect on her mental health.
Osaka, who has more than 4
million social media followers, used Twitter 4️⃣ to explain her “huge waves of anxiety” and
the “outdated rules” governing players and media conferences, and announce she was
4️⃣ pulling out of Roland Garros.
“Activism is now on every sponsor’s radar,” says Crow,
who believes Ronaldo’s move could mark the 4️⃣ beginning of the end of product
placement-laden press conferences.
“My view is that for a long time now having
sponsors’ products 4️⃣ on the table in front of athletes in press conferences looks
outdated and inauthentic and it’s time to retire it,” 4️⃣ he says. “This incident
highlights that fact. Many of my sponsor clients have mentioned this in the past,
particularly those 4️⃣ targeting younger consumers. It’s not as if sponsors don’t have
enough branding throughout tournaments and events anyway.”
