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- 🏅 Interview with Sports Marketing Expert Jeff Chen
🏅 Interview with Sports Marketing Expert Jeff Chen
Hey there,
Welcome to NIL Wire's Interview edition, featuring Jeff Chen, a dynamic sports marketing and entrepreneurship force. With a rich background spanning pivotal roles at Jordan Brand and SLAM, Jeff now leads as a Fractional Head of Marketing for select sports startups. His expertise in developing culturally relevant campaigns and his prowess in brand communication, social media strategy, and collaborations with creators and athletes have positioned him as a key player in the industry.
Jeff's unique dual perspective as both a brand leader and entrepreneur allows him to offer invaluable insights into the evolving landscape of sports marketing, particularly in the era of NIL deals. In this interview, he shares his thoughts on the impact of NIL collectives, the potential for social impact campaigns, the role of platform-specific content creation, and the importance of authenticity in athlete partnerships.
Whether you're a brand looking to collaborate with athletes, a sports enthusiast curious about the behind-the-scenes of marketing, or an athlete seeking to maximize your NIL potential, Jeff's insights offer a valuable glimpse into the future of sports marketing.
Get in touch with Jeff:
Let's get right into it!
— Cole, Justin and Collin
How has the rise of NIL collectives like Division St. at Oregon and The Grove Collective at Ole Miss changed the landscape of sports marketing, and what strategies have you seen these collectives employ that have been particularly effective?
NIL Collectives have given student-athletes the resources to enhance their personal brands in this new era of monetization. Division St, in particular, has been great at providing bespoke, end-to-end services for University of Oregon student-athletes—developing creative concepts, producing content and brand campaigns, managing partnerships and the client sales process, driving fan engagement, and ultimately generating revenue for the student-athletes.
The winning formula that has been particularly effective includes strategies that share the athlete's unique stories in fun and creative ways, leverage distribution channels, and connect with fans authentically in hyper-localized campaigns.
We've seen athletes like Kenny Pickett use their NIL deals for charitable causes. How can brands and athletes collaborate to create meaningful social impact campaigns that resonate with fans and benefit communities?
Sports have always had the power to bring happiness to people. Pro athletes have long established foundations, engaged in philanthropy, and partnered with brands on community impact programs. Now, with NIL, student-athletes can use their platforms to partner with brands that align with their values, supporting community initiatives that matter to them.
Both brands and athletes have the potential to create meaningful work in these communities because every college athlete is a hometown hero. There are only 450 NBA players, but over 4,500 D1 men's basketball players. That's 4,500 different communities that can be celebrated and uplifted with a brand's support.
Teaming up with
With the success of athletes like Olivia Dunne in leveraging social media for NIL deals, how do you see the role of platform-specific content creation evolving in sports marketing strategies?
Athletes and creators must constantly evolve as social platforms update their features and audience behaviors adapt. The great advantage of being active on multiple platforms is the opportunity to grow a collective audience across them. Developing differentiated content that performs well on each platform while engaging with its unique nuances is a superpower to have. Mastering this multi-platform skillset will only bring more value and opportunities your way.
It's also important for athletes to understand the difference between an owned-audience and a rented audience. More superstar athletes, like Stephen Curry, have launched newsletters because they recognized the value of owning their audience.
As we've seen with examples like the Milk Means More campaign with Sierra Brooks, authenticity seems crucial in NIL partnerships. What advice would you give to brands looking to create genuine, effective collaborations with student-athletes?
The best partnerships are rooted in mutually beneficial value for both parties. When a brand's product authentically connects to an athlete's story, the alignment is a home run. For example, a few years ago, I led a collaboration between SLAM and Jahvon Quinerly for a custom jar of organic grape jelly, inspired by JQ's Jelly Fam story. The product sold out in less than 24 hours because everything aligned perfectly—from the product to JQ's story to the content shared.
For brands looking to create genuine collaborations, the best advice is to research the athletes thoroughly. Discover the insights behind their values, interests, and what excites them. Give athletes creative control and involve them in the entire process, from product creation to marketing planning. Make it a true collaboration—not just a pay-for-play moment that fans and consumers can see right through.
