You’d think a sport that thinks logo placement and brand “exposure” are the alpha, omega and pinnacle of sponsorship activation would at least have the correct brand name and spelling of an athlete’s sponsor on the meet’s start list and results site. Instead, we have The Track Meet doing a double disservice to 17-time NCAA national champion Edward Cheserek’s long-time sponsor:
For those not familiar, there’s no “t” in Skechers, and the runners wear and are sponsored by Skechers Performance, not Skechers writ large. Cheserek’s peers within the company’s sponsees past and present include Meb Keflezhigi and Kara Goucher, not Joe Montana and Demi Lovato. It’s like teams and athletes sponsored by Jordan Brand - ultimately, the money comes from and goes to Nike, but the two are distinct.
We recently talked to a veteran post-collegiate jumper who noted that, in her six years out of college, no one and no institution has given her any advice or insight about how to navigate the business and sponsorship side of the sport (or of any sport). We thought that could be a good idea for a series of blogs and videos - a kind of Sponsorship 101 for athletics. Considering the provenance of The Track Meet within the track & field (ahem) business community, we should probably start with covering the pre-requisities for an entry-level course.
All things considered, she’s probably benefitted from the oversight.
