Gateway Sports launches U.S. Office

Athletes are becoming the most in-demand talent in marketing. It used to be all about association - brands wanted to be seen next to an athlete because of the kudos. Don't get me wrong, that's still there. But people are starting to see athletes bring a lot more to the table than optics.

For a while, traditional influencers leapfrogged athletes when it came to building community. I think athletes got stuck in the blocks. 9-5ers were quitting their jobs, teenagers were pressing play on their cameras, and the world got hooked on people documenting their lives, their interests, their expertise.

Meanwhile athletes - and the agents representing them - were still pitching brands on the basis that they were champions.

That's shifting. The athlete community is waking up to the fact that the opportunity is bigger than that, and that they start with a real advantage.

I always say, when an athlete builds a social presence they are not starting from zero. They are starting with fans. And fans become followers, and followers become a community, far faster than a stranger ever would.

They also have credibility that can't be manufactured. What an athlete talks about online is rooted in something tangible - the feats they've achieved, what they put their bodies through for club and country. You can't manufacture a podium!

And they have leverage a digital-only creator doesn't start with. An athlete is already in the public eye by nature of the job. You'll see them on socials, but you'll also see them on ESPN, Sky Sports, NBC, performing in front of thousands in the stands and millions on TV. What comes with that? Press, media, broadcast interviews - a footprint that extends way beyond their feed.

The numbers are starting to back it up. One piece of research found athlete content now out-engages traditional influencer content by roughly two to one. 

But the biggest breakthrough is when athletes combine all of that with learning how to create and storytell on a par with your favourite creator. That combination is where the magic happens!!

And brands love it... Because athletes, as brilliant as they are at sport, are into so much more than sport. Tech, fashion, art, food, culture, business. When they shine a light on their own passions and build communities around them, the case for brand investment comes naturally, because the ROI now has depth.

We've seen it firsthand... Over the last 18 months we've built athlete campaigns for Victoria's Secret - a brand with no natural connection to sport - bringing world-class athletes into their mainline work across campaigns, store launches and events. It worked because the athletes weren't there as athletes. They were there as empowering women with credibility who are share the sames values as VS.

So: are athletes the future of influencer marketing? I think they might be. We're seeing it with our roster in the talent business, We're seeing it even more with our brand clients, across our consulting.

Which is why we've spent this year quietly building a sister agency, The Gateway Agency focused entirely on end-to-end athlete influencer campaigns for brands.

2027 is a huge year of sport - Women's World Cups, another season of Unrivaled, and a year out from LA28. I'm looking forward to seeing more athletes use storytelling to shine a light on what they care about. And I'm looking forward to helping brands find them.