Why a Good Spokesperson is Valuable

How companies have taken advantage of NFL superstars to promote their brand.

With the Super Bowl quickly approaching we have noticed a rise in the use of NFL players as spokespeople for popular brands. Spokespeople are often used to reach new audiences by connecting with the fans of celebrities. This is a valuable way to gain new clientele without changing your overall branding and messaging. Recently, NFL favorites, like Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs and Tom Brady of Tampa Bay Buccaneers, have been featured in advertisements. To commemorate their new found stardom we are looking at how spokespeople are used to promote brands. 

Put a face to the name

Spokespeople are a great opportunity to give your company a face and personal identity that your audience can connect with. Their primary purpose is to represent your brand in social media and advertisements. This consistency helps plant a mental image in consumer’s minds so that you are the first company that they think of when looking for services in your field. Tom Brady has been a successful quarterback since the start of his NFL career in 2000 with the New England Patriots. Recently, he has decided to switch teams and be a part of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This move created great chatter among fans and ad agencies saw this as a great opportunity to transfer his heightened publicity to the company they represented. For example, Hertz took advantage of this by producing a comical advertisement featuring Tom Brady. This worked well to get people connected with Hertz as a car rental company who typically might not consider them. Once they put a well-known face to their brand, it gave them room to run as a company and pick up new clients.

Give them someone to trust

When looking at new companies it is easy for consumers to feel a disconnect. This is oftentimes because they are looking at a corporate group that they know nothing about. Providing a spokesperson gives your audience someone to connect with and trust. The majority of people are more likely to trust another person than a company because they feel familiar and human. In this case, picking the right spokesperson is extremely important. You want to pick someone with a good reputation who is seen as trustworthy so that they can accurately represent your brand. State Farms made a great choice this past year in recruiting NFL star Patrick Mahomes as a new spokesperson in commercials. This commercial capitalizes on Mahomes’ success as a quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs and how State Farms gave him the “Patrick Rate”, a surprisingly great rate. This does a great job of showing that you can be successful like Mahomes and get a great rate as well when you choose State Farms.

Promote your brand personality

When looking for someone to represent your company, it is vital to take into consideration someone who will match your brand personality. Fame and success are not the only factors that go into this decision, especially if the celebrity is known for using harsh language or being repeatedly arrested. You want to find someone who can represent your brand well by giving it a personality that your audience will connect with. A great example of this is using Rob Gronkowski from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in USAA commercials. He was able to showcase how USAA values their active and retired military members and won’t let just anyone in. Not even a Super Bowl star. This prompted the brand’s values and made their target clientele feel special. 

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As you can see, we weren’t kidding. There are many reasons why spokespeople work well for promoting companies. NFL superstars are a great example of this with football being very popular in the United States, however there are many other great routes to take. Celebrities such as actors and musicians can also be a great option depending on who you want to represent you. So if you are looking for a spokesperson, make sure to not only consider someone famous, but someone who can represent the core values of your brand and who can reach your target audience most effectively.