What is SO great about Tim Tebow?
Well, that was the first question that came to my mind when I started witnessing the excitement amongst my fellow football fans when the Florida Gators quarterback was picked up by The Denver Broncos. I don't follow college football, but I was born and raised a die hard Broncos fan so I follow the NFL very closely. How painful that is to say after this season is beside the point. Anyway, throughout the football season, Tim Tebow was in the spotlight without even being the starting quarterback. This 23 year old rookie has achieved the following on top of all his awards playing college football:
- He has the NFL's top selling jersey
- 88,277 Twitter followers (That's more than Tom Brady)
- "The Davie-Brown Index, an independent marketing research tool, found Tebow to be more appealing and more of a trendsetter than Tom Brady, Brett Favre, and Tony Romo."-The Bleacher Report (http://bit.ly/h2dx2q)
- Current Endorsements: Nike, EA Sports, Jockey (http://bit.ly/h2dx2q)
Basically, Tebow is a genius at applying successful branding strategy. His strategy is relevant to all sports fans because after all the recent scandals in all the professional sports (Tiger Woods, Michael Vick, Brett Favre, Ben Rothlisburger), people need a good person they can trust and root for. He sticks to this brand strategy by refusing sponsorships that would distract him from football. Finally, he gets involved with the community through his foundation, and personally using social media to let his fans in on his life.
My Concerns: Can He Keep This Up?
- Once he does get playing time, he needs to be able to prove himself on the field as a professional quarterback and live up to all the hype.
- He MUST remain humble and not become another disappointment like Michael Vick or Tiger Woods
Do You Think Tim Tebow is Overrated or Does He Live Up to the Hype?
Interesting post, Amber. I think the idea that a person is a brand as well is pretty fascinating. So as a brand, I agree - Tim Tebow needs to keep the established brand image strong through consistent messaging. In other words, he needs to stay true to the values and performance that made him famous.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, this brand is a human being. While his brand image has been build (I'm assuming) on his core personal traits and values, people evolve and change. Additionally, humans are subject to lapses of judgement and dips in performance. I'm not trying to be a pessimist, but I'm sure there will be a point that Tim Tebow does something that will tarnish his brand image. It's not that he's a bad person, it's because he's a human being.
Thanks Joel, I totally agree with you. I believe if he continues to establish himself well enough to his fans in the NFL, fans will be a lot more forgiving for personal blunders. Take Brett Favre for instance. I've talked to a lot of people about his recent scandal that totally went against his good, All-American man image, and they still love him.
ReplyDeleteI think the one factor that could lose fans the most is whether or not he will perform well when he gets playing time. His original fame came from his performance for the Florida Gators, so now he needs to prove himself in the pros. It will be interesting to see how strong the personal side of his brand is if he doesn't perform well, especially in a crowd of Denver fans.