On first watch, Cristiano Ronaldo moving a couple of Coca-Cola bottles from a press
conference table seemed like no big 🍊 deal. But within hours, the sugar-water’s market
share had dropped by billions of dollars and it suddenly was, quite clearly, 🍊 a big
deal.
“Agua, no Coca-Cola,” the Portugal player preached, lifting his own water bottle
in the air. But this was 🍊 not just a plea for fans to consider healthier dietary habits.
It was a not-so-subtle acknowledgement of Ronaldo’s marketing power, 🍊 and it left UEFA
scrambling to prevent players from harnessing this untapped power and affecting the
tournament’s ability to secure 🍊 sponsors (who pay a whoppingR$30m per
endorsement).
Ronaldo, obviously, can do what he wants and he knows it. He doesn’t care
🍊 about Coca-Cola and he definitely doesn’t care about the product placement of an item
that isn’t going to make him 🍊 money. This influenced other footballers, like Paul Pogba
who removed a Heineken bottle from his own media appearances later the 🍊 same week. And
if you’re thinking “I don’t care about football or Coca-Cola’s stock prices,” we hear
you… But if 🍊 you care about your own brand’s marketing, you might find this matters.
The
impact of influencer marketing
Highly-paid names, whether they’re the 🍊 world’s top
footballers or just the most influential influencer in your industry niche, are really
beginning to understand – and 🍊 wield – their worth. Ronaldo obviously doesn’t drink
Coca-Cola. Pogba is a practicing Muslim who does not support the consumption 🍊 of
alcohol. They know that brands need them far more than they need the brands (which is
not at all, 🍊 really) and it’s a lesson in alignment and not taking your sponsorships for
granted.
Not dis-similarly, Naomi Osaka who pulled out 🍊 of the French Open on the
grounds that mandatory press commitments were damaging to her mental health, has had
her 🍊 penalty fines paid for by meditation and mindfulness app, Calm. Calm’s quick and
ingenious decision to step in and support 🍊 Osaka is a prime example of the way brands
can align themselves with relevant and headline-worthy names by doing something
🍊 positive. And we think this could be the future of influencer marketing.
At OggaDoon,
we help connect brands with the right 🍊 faces for their audience. Simply placing a
product near a famous person isn’t enough, and it won’t get you anywhere. 🍊 The
connection between an influencer – however famous – and a product they can genuinely
vouch for is worth a 🍊 million Coca-Cola bottles on the UEFA press table.
Want to know
more about our work and how we can connect you 🍊 with audiences that will love what you
do? Get in touch.
