In a Marketing Shift, Athletes Now 'Control the Narrative'

For centuries, sports have produced iconic people and magnetic stories, but there has never been a better time for athletes to connect with a wide audience on their own terms. During a panel on The Influence of Athletes at Cannes Lions, movers and shakers in the creator economy and new media spoke about how players and teams can "control the narrative" better than ever before, which can lead to significant financial and marketing gains. Previous generations of athletes and franchises were reliant on traditional forms of communication, like live broadcasts and print publications, when an athlete might only be seen by the public for a few hours during a televised game. Now, technology has brought new opportunities, and athletes can tell their stories year-round in their own unique ways. Creativity, Pro Athletes and Pickleball Collide at Stagwell Sport Beach "I never felt comfortable how the media told our stories, how they covered us," former NFL wide receiver Brandon Marshall said about his career. So the six-time Pro Bowl player started House of Athlete fitness facilities and the I Am Athlete media network, a digital platform that gives players and entertainment figures the ability to convey who they are and what they want to accomplish. “Now, in new media, athletes have opportunities to be their own entities,” Marshall said. Victoria Bachan, president of the management group Whalar Talent, added that fans no longer focus on sports only during the season and that they’re interested in athletes year-round. But, she said, that also makes it important that athletes don’t overextend themselves and burn out early. “It’s 100% about the long game,” Bachan said. “And I think the beauty about youth is that you have a lot of excitement. You want to go and you want to do and you want to have fun. But sometimes you have to think about what’s next. You have to think about the future. How are you building an infrastructure for your life?” Alexis Ohanian, founder of the venture capital firm Seven Seven Six, was the lead investor in the National Women’s Soccer League’s recent expansion franchise Angel City FC, which started playing in 2022. During the panel, Ohanian—who may be best known as the co-founder of Reddit—said that players, and their personalities, drive the value of the organization. “I don’t actually think about the team of Angel City as a team first,” Ohanian said. “That is the fundamental mistake every traditional sports team owner thinks. What matters are the players. The players create the value that makes our team worth anything. We saw the Messi effect, right? That is the most glaring example, as you saw all of those followers from Instagram flee and move their attention from PSG to some club in Miami at the bottom of the table. We’re in a crater house. The leverage has shifted.” He also said that current social media algorithms are an “opiate of exactly what we want always,” and that, moving forward, people will gravitate toward unpredictable and unscripted forms of entertainment like sports, presenting a massive opportunity for athletes. “We need things in our life that are not scripted, that are not controlled, that are fundamentally human," he said. “So what is the one pillar of entertainment that has real stakes, real humanity, real wins and real losses? It’s sport.”

Cannes Lions

Athletes Now 'Control the Narrative,' Creating New Storytelling Opportunities

The switch from teams to individual stars marks a new chapter for sports

Scott Recker

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Scott Recker