Cristiano Ronaldo may not be able to move the stock prices of Fortune 500 companies with a flick of the hand (read Brendan Coffey’s piece exploding an urban legend this week to understand) but he, along with Paul Pogba, can make brands rethink their literal positioning and visibility as the constant battle for visibility and ROI continues on.
For those who aren’t aware, this past week the two global football stars took issue with the prepositioned bottles (Ronaldo-Coke, Pogba-Heineken) on their interview tables after their Euro 2020 (yes its 2021) matches. Ronaldo, who preaches healthy mind healthy body (although he has endorsed KFC in recent years and did promotional work for Coca-Cola in China in the mid-2000s as well as worked for their rivals Pepsi, not exactly a healthy alternatives but I digress) took issue with bottles of Coke, a bigtime global partner in soccer, being displayed on the table in front of him as his weekday presser against Hungary. He picked up the bottle, pushed it to the side to that the label wasn’t visible, and uttered “agua” to the live and streaming audience, touching off a probably unplanned firestorm for FIFA, the event organizers and in some ways for Coke (although lets not forget Coca Cola has some of the biggest water brands in the world as well…maybe a compromise and big bucks for a Ronaldo pivot in the coming weeks?), who got dissed by one of the most valuable marketers on the planet.
Then you had Pogba, a devout Muslim, turning aside a beer brand that was positioned on his stage, carefully explaining why he was doing it. The fact that it was a non-alcoholic version did nothing to lessen the message.
The power of the athlete influencer comes up again, and once again should make brands think, listen and communicate messages when the eyes of the world are upon you. While no one probably knew Ronaldo was going to take such a stand (and by the way all the logos were in clear display behind all the athletes throughout the days media events), it is another example of how box checking around brands and visibility needs to be rethought. Throwing up some props by an intern may seem like a great way to get exposure, but is an elite athlete sitting there ready to drink soda? Is he or she going to grab a beer? No. So figure out a better, more authentic way, to engage. It’s not easy, but in a world where digital engagement is key, and authenticity is even more important, just “doing things” for the sake of doing rings hollow.
The two incidents also show the continued need for refined communication to athletes and better listening all around. Some may argue that the issues caused by the two athletes actually heightened brand awareness for Coke and Heineken…who would have even noticed the bottles if the attention wasn’t called to them…but in the end is there a pivot here? How can these two global brands find a way to show they listened, they are interested, and they want to speak to cause marketing and problem solving with such a massive platform, not just promoting product.
There have been countless instances of competing logos being removed from bottles during press conferences over the years. Logos being covered (Michael Jordan at the Olympics covering over a brand logo with the American flag because it was not Nike as one of the most memorable), but in today’s social driven world, the logo removal or the inclusion and hope that no one notices, holds less and less water…or soda, or beer. Looking for the creative and authentic, understanding the athlete voice, and cooperative storytelling can probably bring even more power to a brand making a big spend at a big event than just throwing some bottles on a stage.
While these two elite footballers may not have realized it at the time, they could have a big impact on many brands positioning and storytelling cooperatively going forward. At the least, it will hopefully make sure that alignment is correct, the uncomfortably instances are lessened, and that maybe, like with so many other lessons this past year, that a rethink is in order for greater, less traditional exposure, driven by the power of the athlete stage and he creative good of the brand marketers.
Score two, not just one, for the players.
