Why don't companies sponsor more average athletes?

If they don’t care about elites, they’re not going to care about Joe the plumber.

They do sponsor "more average" runners. One example is Sage Canaday, who posts occasionally here. He has a large social media following that he gathered from years of relentless content creation, so he was able to draw a sponsorship based on that while faster runners might not draw a sponsor.

Sage is still reasonably fast, but he is a convenient example. There are slower runner than him who manage to get some free junk, but they are usually moms doing "medal monday" and other obnoxious things.

You see this in other sports too. For example, the couple on "sailing la vagabond" are objectively really bad sailors, but they were given a free boat worth a half million bucks because they drew a large following from years of creating high quality videos showing the chick in a bikini in tropical locations.

See my username.

Nike sponsors Sally McRae. She’s by no means an elite trail runner.

But she is very likable in a way most people can relate to, especially those of us with minimal talent but put out max effort.....

Nike sponsors Kaepernick, and he’s not even an athlete

Drainthefecesswamp wrote:

They do sponsor "more average" runners. One example is Sage Canaday, who posts occasionally here. He has a large social media following that he gathered from years of relentless content creation, so he was able to draw a sponsorship based on that while faster runners might not draw a sponsor.

Sage is still reasonably fast, but he is a convenient example. There are slower runner than him who manage to get some free junk, but they are usually moms doing "medal monday" and other obnoxious things.

You see this in other sports too. For example, the couple on "sailing la vagabond" are objectively really bad sailors, but they were given a free boat worth a half million bucks because they drew a large following from years of creating high quality videos showing the chick in a bikini in tropical locations.

Sage was the youngest qualifier at the 2008 olympic marathon trials, that's how he got pro sponsorship, not his social media presence. Oh and winning Ivy league heps didn't hurt.

Just not for money.... it's called brand ambassador.

As Thad would say, "Look it up"

UsedToBeFast wrote:

Outside of this forum and serious running circles it is alarming how few people even know who Shalane Flanagan and Galen Rupp are which made me think....why don't shoe companies target age groupers who look like the general public but run slightly faster?

It might seem unconventional but the average person who doesn't care about elite running might be drawn to this type of sponsored athlete than an elite who looks nothing like them and it could've be a net gain for whatever company tries this.

Thoughts?

Pretty much everyone Oiselle sponsors fits that description.

Far out wrote:

Nike sponsors Kaepernick, and he’s not even an athlete

So that's not really relevant!

UsedToBeFast wrote:

Outside of this forum and serious running circles it is alarming how few people even know who Shalane Flanagan and Galen Rupp are which made me think....why don't shoe companies target age groupers who look like the general public but run slightly faster?

It might seem unconventional but the average person who doesn't care about elite running might be drawn to this type of sponsored athlete than an elite who looks nothing like them and it could've be a net gain for whatever company tries this.

Thoughts?

Why? What's in it for the sponsor? What would they get out of it?

UsedToBeFast wrote: Outside of this forum and serious running circles it is alarming how few people even know who Shalane Flanagan and Galen Rupp are...

are you able to explain why that is "alarming" ?

outside of running, I could probably name two professional boxers, three or four tennis players and maybe a half dozen soccer players, but absolutely zero squash, snooker, basketball, baseball or poker players. I'm sure they are not alarmed by this. I'm sure they find it pretty normal for large numbers of people to have no idea who they are.

I read an article yesterday about a cat-litter scientist turning up to Charles Barkley's mother's funeral, and even after reading the article I had to go to Wikipedia to figure out who Charles Barkley is and why I should have heard of him.

there are millions of people who think every day about stuff you have never once considered. ever heard of Hailey Gruber? she's a 16-year-old American girl who finished 6th in the World Ploughing Championships.

the world is not just a lot weirder than you imagine, it is a lot weirder than you can imagine.

oh, and there are also lots of companies that sponsor athletes you have never heard of; my local butcher sponsors a boxing team.

Companies want to sponsor athletes who can draw attention to the brand, whether that be through winning races or having a large social media following. It was mentioned on a thread awhile back (can't remember the name) but there are east African runners who are much faster than Galen Rupp as you mentioned, but you don't know many of their names besides the most elite outliers, do you? Rupp has an American face that can be used as a brand, apart of the NOP, wins or places highly in many races, etc.

UsedToBeFast wrote:

Outside of this forum and serious running circles it is alarming how few people even know who Shalane Flanagan and Galen Rupp are which made me think....why don't shoe companies target age groupers who look like the general public but run slightly faster?

It might seem unconventional but the average person who doesn't care about elite running might be drawn to this type of sponsored athlete than an elite who looks nothing like them and it could've be a net gain for whatever company tries this.

Thoughts?

You make a good point. When I coached a high school team I always had the general public asking advice on training and shoes and even what cold weather gear I wore.

If one of the companies had thrown some free shoes and gear to me I would have pushed them.

I'm not saying I deserve money but I think there are some local runners/coaches who influence the people in their area.

You coaching a high school team gave you access to young and impressionable runners who were in the market for running gear. That is essentially what the companies try to accomplish on a larger scale when they sponsor athletes who are very active on social media.

Dawn Grunnagle was in NOP, with PRs of 16:30/34:53/2:34:56. Definitely faster than the “average” person could be run, but not a world beater like the rest of NOP.

UsedToBeFast wrote:

Outside of this forum and serious running circles it is alarming how few people even know who Shalane Flanagan and Galen Rupp are which made me think....why don't shoe companies target age groupers who look like the general public but run slightly faster?

It might seem unconventional but the average person who doesn't care about elite running might be drawn to this type of sponsored athlete than an elite who looks nothing like them and it could've be a net gain for whatever company tries this.

Thoughts?

*points to Kevin Hart

I suspect because many companies feel they get a better bang for their advertising buck this way>

https://twitter.com/maumeedeca/status/926072293666775040

Doesn’t LetsRun sponsor our village idiot?

UsedToBeFast wrote:

Outside of this forum and serious running circles it is alarming how few people even know who Shalane Flanagan and Galen Rupp are which made me think....why don't shoe companies target age groupers who look like the general public but run slightly faster?

It might seem unconventional but the average person who doesn't care about elite running might be drawn to this type of sponsored athlete than an elite who looks nothing like them and it could've be a net gain for whatever company tries this.

Thoughts?

How much was Dean Karnazes sponsored? Mind you he was on some super-human TV documentary show for not producing any lactic acid so maybe he is more elite than I used to think.