Branding in sport: the role of the athlete's image

Abstract

Athlete branding has emerged as a pivotal aspect of modern sports marketing, enabling athletes to transcend their athletic performance and establish themselves as influential figures in commerce and culture. This study examines the strategies employed by famous athletes to create personal brands and their subsequent impact on product sales. By leveraging frameworks such as self-presentation theory, brand identity theory, and schema theory, the research explores how athletes strategically construct their public personas through social media, endorsements, and philanthropic endeavors.