It’s been about a year and a half since the NCAA’s name, image, and likeness (or NIL) policy went into effect, giving brands the green light to ink partnership deals with student athletes.
Major brands have taken advantage of the opportunity ever since, including American Eagle, which has worked with 17 college athletes for a total of 55 million impressions over the past 14 months, according to CMO Craig Brommers.
Marketing Brew sat down with Brommers during our first annual summit for a conversation about the brand’s efforts to connect with Gen Z consumers through strategies like influencer marketing. We later reconnected with Brommers to learn more about how American Eagle approaches NIL partnerships in particular.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Marketing Brew: Thinking back to your first NIL deal, who was that with, and how did you settle on that person?
Craig Brommers: I remember very distinctly when the NIL sponsorship opportunity came out, our CEO, Jay Schottenstein…called me and said, “We’ve got to get in this game,” and we were excited to get in there as well. It just so happened that the college football season was starting, so some of our first NIL athletes happened to be football players…We had the quarterback from USC, we had the quarterback from Ohio State, we had a running back from Auburn, and then a defensive end from Florida State. We identified four football players from pretty big programs as we kicked off our NIL program.
MB: How did you go about adding more athletes?
Brommers: We quickly diversified into other sports, especially female athletics. In fact, one of the real insights for us, and from what I’m understanding through other marketers that have dove into NIL, is that female athletes are actually outperforming some of the more traditional male sports like football [and] basketball. I think it goes back to the fact that, for our audience, they are interested, to some extent, in how these athletes are performing on the field, but they’ve shown more interest in what these athletes’ lives are actually like off the field. That’s why you’re seeing for us—some female athletes really pop in terms of engagement. Probably the biggest one happens to also be the biggest college athlete out there. Her name is Olivia Dunne. She’s an All-American gymnast from Louisiana State…We also worked with a point guard for the UConn Huskies…Azzi Fudd, [who is] also one of our best performers in terms of engagement…We’ve also worked with volleyball players, track and field athletes, and softball athletes.
Get marketing news you'll actually want to read
Marketing Brew informs marketing pros of the latest on brand strategy, social media, and ad tech via our weekday newsletter, virtual events, marketing conferences, and digital guides.
MB: How have you evaluated athletes? What are you looking for in a potential college athlete partner?
Brommers: We've learned that success on the field does not translate to success in brand partnerships. So I always think you need to start with [asking], “What are your brand values? What are you trying to communicate?” Then, curate a list of athletes that authentically can stand for those values…Gen Z, without fail, has a strong BS meter, and if you’re forcing a relationship, they will call BS, and it won’t work, so I would find athletes that you feel really resonate in an authentic way with your audience. Some of that is not going to be the football player. Some of that is not going to be the All-American men’s college basketball player. Think beyond that. I think that’s where you can win.
MB: What can you share about your NIL plans for next year and going forward?
Brommers: Since we’ve been doing this for 14 months, we’ve gotten smarter, and we can place bets in a more surgical way now. We’re going to continue to do what has worked for us, and that’s finding a diverse group of athletes. We’re better understanding the deal-making process involved, so it’s a win-win for both the athlete and the brand. There’s some news out there about some athletes who are feeling taken advantage of. It’s really been important for us to make sure that we have a really strong brand reputation out there for making deals that are win-win, so we’ll continue to do that. I think that this content is resonating most for us in the social channels, so finding athletes who are clever in that space is something we’re looking into. As we look at what could be a challenging macroeconomic environment, I will say that college athletes can be some of the most efficient and effective influencers for your brand, and we’re excited to continue these partnerships.