⚽💸 Nike & Konami vs. Neymar & Griezmann: why brands dropped their $upport

The 50 Most Marketed Brands received more than US$3 billion in combined sponsorship value via social media

💰 Companies sponsor athletes for many reasons (positioning, reach, reputation, engagement,…), but they all are supported by the fact that fans take the trust they have in the performance of these athletes and place it in the brands.

According to Hookit’s data, in 2020, the total value generated by all brands with a presence in sport, exceeded US$6 billion in combined sponsorship value via social media, 49% of which was represented by the 50 most marketed brands.

World’s 50 Most Marketed Brands powered by Hookit’s SportGraph™

However, brands may find themselves in a spot where they must end the sponsorship contracts with athletes due to personal issues that come public, such as sexual abuse or racism accusations.

🎮 Konami, makers of the popular football video game, Pro evolution soccer (PES), has dropped its contract with French footballer Antoine Griezmann over a video that appeared to mock Japanese hotel staff. Social media posts including the video and the hashtag #StopAsianHate have been retweeted thousands of times. The brand has also asked the players' club Barcelona "to explain the details of this case and future actions", while the Japanese online retail giant Rakuten, who is the shirt sponsor of Barcelona, has also protested against the video.

Express Sports @IExpressSports

#Konami has decided to end their contract with #Griezmann following the leaked video with #Dembele.

indianexpress.comJapanese company Konami cancels Griezmann contract over racist videoKonami has ended their sponsorship of Barcelona forward Griezmann after videos emerged from 2019 appearing to show him and team-mate Dembele mocking Asian people.

🏆 On the opposite direction is Canal 11, a Portuguese sports channel, that was awarded the first prize for Best Journalism fighting differentiation, with a trilogy of TV reports against racism “Thuram’s fight”, “I’m black, so what?” and “The gipsy revolution”.

📺 Nike launched a new campaign “The Land of New Football | Play New”, where “everybody’s welcome – no matter who you are, where you’re from, or how long you’ve been in the game”. But this does not include 🇧🇷Neymar, with whom they ended the sponsorship agreement, over a sexual assault accusation by a company employee.

🚨 Don’t miss out on other brand’s goals and offsides, including crisis management and brand reputation!

⁉️ If you don’t know the difference between Konami and Kunami, please try to abstain from Farfalle, Funinni, Catuqui e Maracaté 🍐🍊🍑🥬, and follow us!