After decades of building their own personal brands and struggling to get a share of the substantial endorsement deal pie, female athletes are finally having their moment in the spotlight
And for Craig Brommers, Chief Marketing Officer of American Eagle, it’s about time.
“Female athletes are among the best storytellers,” he said at the Retail Influencer CEO Forum in New York City earlier this month. “It all goes back to this entrepreneurial, hustle spirit that so many Gen Z female athletes need to have. Yes, they’re amazing successes in the field of competition, but student athletes are studying and contributing their time to causes they believe in. And they’re now signing huge deals with brands.”
It’s easy to understand the draw: according to a new study, people are 2.3X more likely to purchase a product when it’s endorsed by a female athlete. And up to 70% of American Eagle’s business comes from females, which makes building partnerships with female athletes seem like a no-brainer.
However, Brommers reaffirmed that this isn’t just a brand-building, feel-good marketing play to drive goodwill — it’s a true performance marketing strategy. And the brand’s latest collaboration with tennis star Coco Gauff, which launched the week before the much-hyped U.S. Open, is proof.
“Sports, and specifically female sports, are at the center of culture right now,” Brommers said. “When you think about female athletes and Coco and all the amazing Olympians, they’re not just driving press coverage, they’re driving ratings and eyeballs.”
He added: “I won’t sit in my seat at the company anymore if the brand isn’t performing, and female athletes are performing — not just on the field but for companies. That’s why the purse strings are opening. Because executives are realizing this works — sometimes, in a spectacular way.”
Advertisement
A ‘Grand Slam’ Product Drop
American Eagle has a longstanding partnership with Gauff, dating back to when the athlete was just 15 or 16 years old. She starred in a campaign alongside Gen Z-friendly influencers, actors and actresses, and “she had this presence almost immediately,” Brommers said. “These other fancy influencers were really blown away by the chance to actually meet her, because she was already coming onto the scene.”
The brand took this positive interaction with Gauff and used it as fuel for an expanded partnership that includes an exclusive collection based on Gauff’s travel-heavy lifestyle, her eclectic fashion sense and her existing love for American Eagle.
“What’s most important to me when partnering with a brand is making sure it’s something that comes organic to me and is something I already do in my everyday life,” Gauff said in a video played during the session. “Like every girl, I shopped at American Eagle and wore their clothes. I’m already a consumer of the brand, and what inspired me is my everyday style…but bodies are so different, and skin colors are so different. I wanted [this collection] to be an embodiment of me, but I also wanted it to be versatile for other people to wear.”
In the early stages of the collaboration, Gauff spent one-on-one time with the design team to discuss this deep brand connection, as well as her unique relationship with fashion, Brommers noted. While some influencers and celebrities simply slap their names on products and call it a collaboration, he explained that when there is a true meeting of the minds and “homework is done on both sides,” that is “where the magic happens.”
And that magic is shining through in the brand’s financial results. For example, the brand has featured Gauff wearing the collection’s Stovepipe Jean in store windows, billboards and social media; it is now American Eagle’s top-selling jean across the entire business. Brommers also noted that many of the items in the limited-edition collection sold out shortly after launch.
A History of Profitable, Relationship-Driven Campaigns
American Eagle’s partnership with Gauff has a lot of legs, largely because it’s riding the media wave of the U.S. Open and her explosive athletic (and endorsement) career. Not only is she a Grand Slam Champion, she also is officially the highest-paid athlete in the world and the face of brands across categories, from New Balance to Bose and even Rolex.
“Coco Inc. is here,” Brommers exclaimed. But he noted that the hype wasn’t the only reason American Eagle wanted to invest more time and dollars into this partnership: “Coco is such an embodiment of what Gen Z stands for. This is the hustle generation, and she is the ultimate multi-hyphenate talent.”
She’s an athlete and businesswoman; but she’s also an activist who “uses her platform and voice for causes she believes in,” Brommers said, values that are top-of-mind for Gen Z consumers. But the reality is, she’s also a genuine person — an innate trait that American Eagle looks for in all of its ambassadors. “In this long retail career I’ve had, I’ve worked with a lot of people, and Coco is one of the most authentic and kind people — and that is a reflection of our brand and values.”
Although many brands are just now recognizing the tangible value that female athletes bring to the table, they have played a central role in American Eagle’s partnership strategy for years. For example, the brand was one of the first to work with gymnast Livvy Dunne, “who has become a talented creator and influencer in her own right,” Brommers said. “When she put on a pair of our Dreamy Drape jeans, the explosion in sales was almost immediate. That educated us that some of these female athletes can move product very quickly.”
But marketing leaders should heed a warning: if these partnerships seem too transactional, they can quickly backfire, Brommers advised. This is why American Eagle focuses on ensuring that all its athlete partnerships are relevant, authentic and mutually beneficial.
“We all know when it feels transactional and when someone is making a quick buck,” Brommers said. “I think our team does such a great job of having conversations, really understanding what a potential partner wants to achieve and what we want to achieve together.”
