My last article got a lot of traction and went modestly viral in the running community. See what people said about it, and get some more insider information on the whole conversation.
Gah, thanks for the kind words! I feel like there needs to be a middle man between the athletes and the creators to make it easier on the athletes to grab good content. So they can get back to that whole running thing they are so good at.
Great article series. So glad I came across it. I think it would be interesting to explore why some influencers are both an inspiration for some and an irritation for others. Is the difference just our perception of how attainable we think it is, or is it how authentic we think it is?
I think influencers are kind of at the mercy of public perception, and doing one thing wrong can really derail their career. I don't envy the position they are in! But I think you can tell when someone is trying to be an influencer to get brand deals and make it about themselves, versus someone who organically created a reason to have an audience. You can see through it pretty clearly, IMO.
great post Allison. what i particularly loved about your article is that you didn't go for the low-hanging fruit of just hating on influencers for the sake of hating on influencers, and having poignant thoughts regarding what they do for hobby spaces and what they can improve on. i wish more writers engaged with spaces with a critical mind like you.
Thank you! Really appreciate your feedback. I don't believe influencers are "bad" and I think anyone who complains about them doesn't understand the current digital world. But there's always room for improvement and reflection on what they stand for.
Very well written, a lot of insights and a refreshingly objective point of view. I feel that when it comes to sponsorship, there are always a lot of sensitivities for the athletes, including those who already have a contract, those who are looking for one and those who are dropped. A couple of weeks ago I wrote a piece about the actual investment that sponsored athletes do when they join an ambassador or athletes program. It titled "Soul For Soles" (https://dasz.substack.com/p/soul-for-soles) and also triggered a good amount of strong reactions.
Running is such an interesting market. As a very amateur triathlete and marathoner, who also is a dad, an employee and entrepreneur, who trains for the personal goals and benefits of dedicating oneself to a goal and reaping the benefits it is hard to relate to the professional athlete. Eric Floberg (flobergruns) and Nick Bare (BPN) got me into the space through their content. I relate to their content more as they are training on the side of a full time job vs professional runners like Clayton Young whose entire life is training.
It is also a talent gap. Watching a video of someone ripping a 2:10 marathon versus someone training for a more attainable goal (sub 3 hour marathon) makes me want to tune into the more realistic runners. I am never going to qualify for the US trials but want to hit goals like a sub 5:30 Ironman 70.3 and a sub 3:30 marathon so I want to watch content that speaks to me as a hobby runner/ triathlete.
So if you are a running company, whether it be shoes, watches, or apparel wouldn't you rather market to the larger market (hobbyists) rather than the smaller market of the elite crowd. Hundreds of thousands people run marathons but only 60-100 Americans will run fast enough for Olympic trials. If you are a company maximizing your advertisement you are motivated to support the more realistic influencer than the hard to relate to professional. What are your thoughts on this?
Apologies for my delayed reply! But I think you raise some great points. I agree, running influencers living "normal" lives compared to professional runners are more relatable to the every day consumer. And I think that's great. I think companies should be investing in running influencers who are providing value to the community through great content, education on training, and building community.
I think running brands need to be super creative these days to leverage their professional athletes. They have to stop viewing them as influencers in the traditional sense (posting content, dishing out affiliate codes). They are the best of the best, and they are using your product, testing it at the highest level, and generating brand awareness based on their performance. They are highly influential in a different sense. Look at someone like Des Linden. She has an incredibly loyal following of people who are inspired by her. All of her events sell out instantly. But she's not out here creating content for the sake of posting, she's just living her life as an elite athlete and still crushing 2:28 marathons.
Really interesting take on what I would consider a highly relevant topic. Id be really interested to hear your thoughts on sponsorships of younger & upcoming athletes? How does that work? How do you as the company decide what looks best for you? Thanks.
The NIL conversation is super relevant right now. You have play by the NCAA rules, which means you can't focus on performance when sponsoring a collegiate athlete. I think a lot of brands are trying to establish brand loyalty from a young age right now, and they can do that through NIL deals, which was never possible before.
I think a lot of it is building relationships with coaches and parents too, since they are the first line of defense for younger talent.
Thank you! I've wondered myself what it's like for photographers/videographers right now, since you guys are caught right in the middle of this conversation.
Exactly.. I up until now always forced to get work with or for athletes and those stories to tell used to be dramatic and emotional. Not sure if working with influencers could evoke the same within me ..
Great takes! I’m very hopeful to see some of these big brand sponsors do more to support their professional athletes digital brand building. And wanting them to tag us in to support because we agree it’s a massive miss in the market
I think it's such a big opportunity! Brands can really creative direct their athletes' social channels and be collaborative. I would think a lot of pro athletes would love that and be even more committed to representing the brand as a result.
My article notes he is sponsored by Satisfy. He’s a pro ultra runner but didn’t start out that way, he kind of borders both the influencer and athlete cultures which is actually perfect for brands.
Ohh yes I see that now! I think him being under your favorite influencers tripped me up! It makes sense he is both an influencer and a sponsored athlete. Once an athlete is sponsored I don’t really think of them as an influencer. That line definitely blurs. Love the articles!
Gah, thanks for the kind words! I feel like there needs to be a middle man between the athletes and the creators to make it easier on the athletes to grab good content. So they can get back to that whole running thing they are so good at.
Great article series. So glad I came across it. I think it would be interesting to explore why some influencers are both an inspiration for some and an irritation for others. Is the difference just our perception of how attainable we think it is, or is it how authentic we think it is?
I think influencers are kind of at the mercy of public perception, and doing one thing wrong can really derail their career. I don't envy the position they are in! But I think you can tell when someone is trying to be an influencer to get brand deals and make it about themselves, versus someone who organically created a reason to have an audience. You can see through it pretty clearly, IMO.
great post Allison. what i particularly loved about your article is that you didn't go for the low-hanging fruit of just hating on influencers for the sake of hating on influencers, and having poignant thoughts regarding what they do for hobby spaces and what they can improve on. i wish more writers engaged with spaces with a critical mind like you.
Thank you! Really appreciate your feedback. I don't believe influencers are "bad" and I think anyone who complains about them doesn't understand the current digital world. But there's always room for improvement and reflection on what they stand for.
Great post Allison!
Very well written, a lot of insights and a refreshingly objective point of view. I feel that when it comes to sponsorship, there are always a lot of sensitivities for the athletes, including those who already have a contract, those who are looking for one and those who are dropped. A couple of weeks ago I wrote a piece about the actual investment that sponsored athletes do when they join an ambassador or athletes program. It titled "Soul For Soles" (https://dasz.substack.com/p/soul-for-soles) and also triggered a good amount of strong reactions.
Thank you for reading and sharing your insight!
Thank you!
I prefer people who are influential to influencers.
Running is such an interesting market. As a very amateur triathlete and marathoner, who also is a dad, an employee and entrepreneur, who trains for the personal goals and benefits of dedicating oneself to a goal and reaping the benefits it is hard to relate to the professional athlete. Eric Floberg (flobergruns) and Nick Bare (BPN) got me into the space through their content. I relate to their content more as they are training on the side of a full time job vs professional runners like Clayton Young whose entire life is training.
It is also a talent gap. Watching a video of someone ripping a 2:10 marathon versus someone training for a more attainable goal (sub 3 hour marathon) makes me want to tune into the more realistic runners. I am never going to qualify for the US trials but want to hit goals like a sub 5:30 Ironman 70.3 and a sub 3:30 marathon so I want to watch content that speaks to me as a hobby runner/ triathlete.
So if you are a running company, whether it be shoes, watches, or apparel wouldn't you rather market to the larger market (hobbyists) rather than the smaller market of the elite crowd. Hundreds of thousands people run marathons but only 60-100 Americans will run fast enough for Olympic trials. If you are a company maximizing your advertisement you are motivated to support the more realistic influencer than the hard to relate to professional. What are your thoughts on this?
Apologies for my delayed reply! But I think you raise some great points. I agree, running influencers living "normal" lives compared to professional runners are more relatable to the every day consumer. And I think that's great. I think companies should be investing in running influencers who are providing value to the community through great content, education on training, and building community.
I think running brands need to be super creative these days to leverage their professional athletes. They have to stop viewing them as influencers in the traditional sense (posting content, dishing out affiliate codes). They are the best of the best, and they are using your product, testing it at the highest level, and generating brand awareness based on their performance. They are highly influential in a different sense. Look at someone like Des Linden. She has an incredibly loyal following of people who are inspired by her. All of her events sell out instantly. But she's not out here creating content for the sake of posting, she's just living her life as an elite athlete and still crushing 2:28 marathons.
Great piece. More please 🙏
Thank you, Mark! I'll be writing more commentary on the influencer marketing conversation, since it's definitely not going away :)
Really interesting take on what I would consider a highly relevant topic. Id be really interested to hear your thoughts on sponsorships of younger & upcoming athletes? How does that work? How do you as the company decide what looks best for you? Thanks.
The NIL conversation is super relevant right now. You have play by the NCAA rules, which means you can't focus on performance when sponsoring a collegiate athlete. I think a lot of brands are trying to establish brand loyalty from a young age right now, and they can do that through NIL deals, which was never possible before.
I think a lot of it is building relationships with coaches and parents too, since they are the first line of defense for younger talent.
Very valuable insights Allison!
For me as a photographer it is so important so understand also the relationship between brands and athletes/influencers - huge thank you!
Thank you! I've wondered myself what it's like for photographers/videographers right now, since you guys are caught right in the middle of this conversation.
Exactly.. I up until now always forced to get work with or for athletes and those stories to tell used to be dramatic and emotional. Not sure if working with influencers could evoke the same within me ..
Great takes! I’m very hopeful to see some of these big brand sponsors do more to support their professional athletes digital brand building. And wanting them to tag us in to support because we agree it’s a massive miss in the market
I think it's such a big opportunity! Brands can really creative direct their athletes' social channels and be collaborative. I would think a lot of pro athletes would love that and be even more committed to representing the brand as a result.
I thought Max was sponsored? isn’t he with satisfy and cadence? is that as an influencer?
My article notes he is sponsored by Satisfy. He’s a pro ultra runner but didn’t start out that way, he kind of borders both the influencer and athlete cultures which is actually perfect for brands.
Ohh yes I see that now! I think him being under your favorite influencers tripped me up! It makes sense he is both an influencer and a sponsored athlete. Once an athlete is sponsored I don’t really think of them as an influencer. That line definitely blurs. Love the articles!
Glad you are enjoying!
Great background piece on the different types of influencers you’ve encountered
thanks MOM!! <3