‘Reliability’ is a key
Experts share insight into building your brand by KAMA KORVELA
Consistent. Hard-working. Unique. Trustworthy. Successful. Tese are words that most skaters would like audiences to associate
with them. But is that the message they’re sending? Today’s skaters don’t just compete on the ice — they also compete
in the marketplace. Personal branding, or the practice of how you market yourself and your career as brands, can play a big role in a skater’s overall success.
“Te process and art of personal branding remains the same across all industries and professions,” said Dan Schawbel, partner and research director at Future Workplace. “Everyone in the world, including ath- letes, needs to figure out what makes them unique and be able to articu- late that through various mediums to their target audience.” Schawbel, the bestselling author of Promote Yourself and Me 2.0, ex-
plained, “It’s not enough anymore to just be the best at what you do. You have to create excitement around it and have a direct connection to your followers, because they are the ones that will build your brand through ‘word-of-mouse’ (online word-of-mouth marketing).” So how can figure skating athletes best build their personal brands? “Te best way is to win,” 1984 Olympic champion Scott Hamilton
said.
Schawbel agrees. “Te single most important thing a skater can do to build their per- sonal brand is to be the best they can be in the sport because everything else will follow,” he said. “Both people and companies want to associate with winning brands and will invest the most amounts of their time and money in the top 1 percent.” Outside of ice dance, lack of consistency has plagued Team USA,
said 1979 World pairs champion Tai Babilonia. “It’s not that skating doesn’t have any stars, it’s that there are no consistent champions,” said Babilonia, who with partner Randy Gardner won five consecutive U.S. pairs titles. “It’s like musical chairs each year. How is a nonskating fan supposed to lock into anyone and learn their name, personality or skating style? Tey can’t. You will become a star when your audience can rely on you.” Reliability helps to build a strong personal brand, Schawbel said. In fact, it’s a natural step in gaining a strong audience following.
Scott Hamilton Jason Brown “When it comes to sports, your track record
is extremely important, because if you win a gold medal at the Olympic Games as part of the U.S. skating team or if your team wins the Super Bowl, your brand is naturally built from that success,” he said. “If you don’t win any games or tournaments, people won’t follow you. Tey won’t take you seri- ously and you won’t have a strong brand to leverage as a result.” Babilonia’s advice to skaters? “Become a consistent, reliable champion and
then you might just become a star with longevi- ty,” she said. “You have to pay your dues and stop thinking about the quick fix. It doesn’t work that way.”
Don’t forget social media Social media platforms are a building block in
creating a compelling brand that allows audiences a more personal glimpse into the day-to-day lives of athletes. “Remember that ‘fan’ is short for ‘fanatic,’” marketing consultant and Te New York Times
34 MAY 2016
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