US clothing retailer, accessories and lifestyle brand American Eagle reacted quickly to the National Collegiate Athletic Association relaxing its student athlete sponsorship rules by launching a programme called #AEAthleticDept to work with ambassador student athlete influencers and rolled out its first campaign fronted by a member of its college endorser stable to leverage the start of the new football season.
University of Southern California quarterback Kedon Slovis was one of the first college athletes American Eagle signed up and he appeared in a social campaign promoting the brand’s latest range to its primary audience of male and female university and high school students.
Other student ambassador athletes featuring in later campaign creative include Auburn University running back Tank Bigsby and Louisiana State University gymnast Olivia Dunne (who is the most followed college athlete on TikTok with 4.4m followers).
The aim of the #AEAthleticDept program is primarily to foster the creation of content to feature on national marketing channels and each athlete American Eagle signs will be featured on its website and blog as well with a focus on what they wear and the activities they enjoy. The retailer will also coordinate local community giveback events with each athlete.
The focus is on the everyday lives of these student athletes is key: given that many college students are returning to campuses for the first time this fall since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The influencer partnerships are, according to the retailer’s CMO Craig Brommers, the first of many American Eagle is planning to announce after the NCAA granted student athletes the right to monetize their names, images and likenesses beginning in July.
“Certainly the ruling that brands could work with NCAA athletes was game-changing,” explained Brommers. “At AE, our core audience is age 15 to 25, and college is an important part of that demographic and we believe that there is a realness and authenticity to college athletes that other influencers don’t have.”
The deals between the athletes and the Pittsburgh headquartered retailer were developed with talent agency representatives Klutch Sports Group and William Morris Endeavor.
Comment:
For many decades the NCAA restricted college athletes’ ability to generate money from their talent, but the body that governs intercollegiate athletes changed its policy following a narrow ruling by the US Supreme Court in June that said modest payments would no longer be barred.
Sports remains a top passion for students, and, according to Brommers, as soon as the NCAA relaxed its guidelines American Eagle immediately began receiving direct messages on social media from student athletes who wanted to partner with the brand, which led to the creation of the program.
“Given our younger demo, social media is an important part of our engagement,” Brommers continued (adding that American Eagle’s customers have cited sports as one of their top passions, along music and activism).
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