{"id":987,"date":"2018-05-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-05-04T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/sport-business\/reports\/creating-a-commercial-blueprint-for-world-class-female-athletes\/"},"modified":"2021-08-10T10:00:16","modified_gmt":"2021-08-10T10:00:16","slug":"creating-commercial-blueprint-world-class-female-athlete","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/sport-business\/articles\/creating-commercial-blueprint-world-class-female-athlete\/","title":{"rendered":"Creating a Commercial Blueprint for World Class Female Athletes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\n May 04, 2018 <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>Articles<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Creating a Commercial Blueprint for World Class Female Athletes<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n \n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Profile vs revenue: Steph Houghton \u2013 a case study on success.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

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The second year of the Leaders XX Series kicked off in earnest on 28 March with a think tank, hosted in partnership with UEFA at Chelsea FC, focused on opportunities for women\u2019s sport in a disruptive media environment.<\/h4>\n

By Rob Reid<\/h6>\n

During the event, Leaders sat down with one of the presenters, Matthew Buck, Director of Player Management at the Professional Footballers Association (PFA), the union for all Premier League, Football League, and Women\u2019s Super League players.<\/p>\n

In his role, Buck oversees a team of eight FIFA licensed agents who provide an alternative to commercial representation for all players, helping them define their pathway through football while supporting them away from the pitch as well. Buck is also a licensed Football Association agent, and continues to represent both male and female players at the top levels of the sport, including England and Manchester City captain Steph Houghton.<\/p>\n

30-year-old Houghton is one of the best-known female players in the UK, and her storied career has taken in multiple team titles, individual awards, and an evolving commercial programme away from the pitch that has also resulted in her becoming one of the best rewarded players in the women\u2019s game.<\/p>\n

The development of Houghton\u2019s career, and the nurturing of her image and commercial portfolio, which Buck has managed since 2012, was the focus of his presentation at the think tank in March.<\/p>\n

Buck began representing Houghton in 2012, when she became his first female client following her success as part of Team GB\u2019s record-breaking performance at the London 2012 Olympic Games. As the team captured the imagination of the home nations, winning their group with eye-catching performances before being dumped out of the competition at the quarter-final stage by the Canadians, so too did Houghton rise to prominence, helping herself to three goals, two of them winners. From that point, Houghton, Buck, and the rest of their team began formulating a plan to help her become one of the most successful female athletes of her era, both on and off the field.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The strategy<\/strong><\/p>\n

Phase one of the strategy was to place significant importance on utilising social media to boost Houghton\u2019s profile, resulting in a current following of over 200,000 across Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.<\/p>\n

Despite the lack of data to suggest it, some brands seem to believe that the demographics of followers of top female athletes are different to those of their male counterparts, and Buck says this \u201ctends to be the leading conversation for commercial brands.\u201d Following the development of Houghton\u2019s social media presence, a website and media pack were produced for the England captain, which her team would use when approaching potential commercial partners. The final step in the process was to establish a commercial company and assign Houghton\u2019s image rights from both her club and the Football Association to it, giving her total autonomy of her personal brand, and from here, Buck could engage in discussions with interested parties.<\/p>\n

However, success on the pitch needed to come first, and from there appropriate partnership opportunities presented themselves. Buck says of Houghton\u2019s journey that \u201cfundamentally, it\u2019s driven by football first.\u201d Each milestone in her career, including her transfer to Manchester City, winning a World Cup bronze medal, and most recently winning the FA Cup in 2017, has seen the door to new commercial opportunities open. \u201cAll of these different milestones in her career have created a commercial development plan for her and opened up and accelerated that plan for her,\u201d says Buck.<\/p>\n

To find evidence of this, look no further than Houghton\u2019s current roster of commercial partners including Npower, who were the first commercial partner signed after London 2012, Nike, who partnered with the footballer after Manchester City won the Continental Cup in 2014, and Virgin Media (plus a host of other brands), who joined forces with Houghton after the aforementioned World Cup bronze medal.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The need for change<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are, however, still differences between typical brand partnerships with male and female athletes, the progression of which often follow a very different path. As brand marketers flesh out ideas for a particular campaign, individual male athletes might be targeted as potential endorsers for that campaign, and the concept is then developed around them. Buck says that \u201cwhen brands target a male player, they are the one and only target\u201d because brands often see particular male athletes as the \u201cperfect fit,\u201d and \u201cif the expectation level of the player exceeds the budget\u201d then \u201cthe brand will try and adapt and work towards it.\u201d<\/p>\n

This identification process is far less likely to happen for female athletes. In the conception of a campaign, marketers will tend to think about \u2018a female athlete\u2019 rather than \u2018this particular female athlete\u2019 as an endorser for the brand, and consequently the potential athlete endorser has less leverage. Buck says of this that \u201cif you do challenge the parameters of what their expectations as a brand are\u201d then \u201cthe tendency is to go to the next option, and maybe player B or player C because they might be willing to do it for less, they might be more accessible, or they might be able to give up more of their time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Buck believes it is \u201cfor us (intermediaries) to educate and work with brands in order to bring that standard back up.\u201d But brands are beginning to recognise the surface is barely being scratched in terms of opportunities in women\u2019s sport \u2013 including the accessibility of its superstars, the chance to play an active role in the growth of a sport, and the perceived cleaner image of female athletes when compared with some of their male counterparts \u2013 means that the commercial landscape is \u201cconstantly improving.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learn to say no<\/strong><\/p>\n

The most important yet contradictory sounding step in the development of Houghton\u2019s commercial stature was the fostering of a new mindset: don\u2019t be afraid to turn things down \u2013 whether that be media appearances or paid commercial work that didn\u2019t fit the \u2018Houghton brand\u2019 vision. Buck says that \u201csaying no to a lot of bad deals or deals that weren\u2019t appropriate to Steph\u2019s personality and profile, and waiting for the right opportunities\u201d to come along, was essential to the overall strategy. This would ensure that Houghton would not be overexposed in media, and be free to accept the right offers when they arose.<\/p>\n

Saying no to deals is, of course, easier said than done. Buck says that many female athletes feel they must do their part to \u201cgrow the game,\u201d making themselves as accessible as possible in the process. Houghton was no different and was almost too accessible when Buck began representing her, which had a negative impact on her time and on her training schedule. \u00a0He said that her messages were \u201copen to so many different outlets,\u201d that it got to a point where things \u201cweren\u2019t really being listened to anymore because she said it over and over again.\u201d So one of the pair\u2019s first moves after they partnered was to adopt a policy of \u201csaying no more than you\u2019ll ever say yes\u201d and that\u2019s \u201cwhen the tide started to turn.\u201d<\/p>\n

The art of being less accessible, but still accessible, is an important one to master before athletes can reap the rewards of commercial partnerships that align with their personal brand. Buck says that once that\u2019s achieved, then athletes are \u201cdelivering important messages\u201d and can more easily \u201cdo the right interviews on the topics that are important to the growth of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

After six years of careful career and brand development, Houghton\u2019s commercial portfolio is now more valuable than her playing contract. And, according to Buck, the path she\u2019s followed may well act as a model for the other athletes that come after her. \u201cThe opportunities Steph\u2019s taken will create better awareness and commercialisation for the women\u2019s game and other players in general,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Passion Point: A Window to Deeper Fan Engagement<\/a><\/p>\n

Facebook and Women\u2019s Sport: The Opportunity to Innovate<\/a><\/p>\n

The Same, but Different<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n

\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We sat down with Matthew Buck, Director of Player Management at the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) to discuss profiles vs revenues in women’s sport.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":988,"menu_order":0,"template":"","categories":[1],"pathway":[],"topic":[],"sport":[],"class_list":["post-987","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCreating a Commercial Blueprint for World Class Female Athletes - Sport Business<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/sport-business\/articles\/creating-commercial-blueprint-world-class-female-athlete\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Creating a Commercial Blueprint for World Class Female Athletes - 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