Contact a celebrity, a guaranteed comm’ conversion, Marketing and Sales

New French unicorn Sorare, which offers a platform for exchanging sports cards using blockchain, has given itself a big promotion by inviting soccer and tennis stars to its board. This startup, founded in Paris in 2018, was welcomed in January 2022 Serena WilliamsSorare as board advisor and Kylian Mbappe, from June 29, 2022 – as an investor and ambassador. But also in previous years Gerard Pike, Rio Ferdinand or Antoine Griezmannas well as investors.

A key marketing asset to bring startups closer to players’ fans. These stars will concretely help the startup, which has 130 employees based in Paris and New York, build a strong brand in sports and become a giant in entertainment. Because after taking up soccer, Sorare, who until then remained fairly reserved, wants to expand into American and women’s sports, such as a partnership with the North American Major League Baseball (MLB). Twenty-three-year-old French soccer world champion Kylian Mbappe will help the start-up company in product development and also reach a wider audience in terms of marketing thanks to its large fan base.

“These individuals are not included in the decision-making bodies. We ask them for topics or business advice. Serena Williams is the only one with a bigger role. He advises the management committee on our development in the United States,” comments Thibaut Predhomme, Sorare’s chief of staff. Personalities like Antoine Griezmann, not paid. Thibaut Predhomm adds: “Only they have a wider specific partnership, using their image and very specific actions to communicate.”

Investment return

Treat yourself to something like a sports celebrity, movie star standard bearer his brand? Many leaders dream of it, but few allow it to happen. “It’s great comm. By bringing a celebrity to the capital, there is a real opportunity for a start-up to reduce the cost of image rights by a factor of five or ten in exchange for a percentage of the company’s capital. , says Eric Trastour, director. Oxygen Communications is an agency specializing in celebrity marketing and influencer marketing.

Interest is not only based on the implementation of advertising campaigns and the conquest of end consumers. “This can be an approach to reassure financial partners, to federate the employees of a company. The manager can invite the celebrity to a “motivational” seminar or to an event where he brings his best clients,” the expert adds.

Building a true partnership

To deceive the stars and ensure that the marriage contract is registered at the time, several conditions must be met. Firstly,interest identity for society to be real. In order not to spoil his imageBrand DNA should match that of the celebrity. “There is nothing worse than the public realizing, as with Gad Elmaleh and LCL, that the ambassador is there for financial gain. We felt he was there to cash a big check,” Eric Trastour said.

To attract different athletes, Sorare emphasized his assignmentand developed partnerships and a road map personalized. One of the more social aspects of the partnership between Sorare and Kylian Mbappe involves the creation of the Inspired By KM player to help disadvantaged youth discover the possibilities offered by blockchain, the new Internet. “The athletes want it true partnerships and they don’t want to join a moving train. They must have a specific purpose,” admits Thibaut Predhomme.

Target young retirees

In order to lure agents, you need to make sure you present your business model well, even if that means promising them significant future earnings and targeting people who have recently retired. A company operating in the field of sports is therefore interested in approaching Tony Parker, Wilfried Tsonga or Roger Federer. Eric Trastour advises: “It is important that celebrities have time to be actors in society and that their contractual obligations to their sponsors are not monopolized too often.” It’s best to work over time, at least a year, so that consumers associate the brand with the personality and give the company and personality time to establish their goals. “A contract or partnership must be valid for two years or extended for one year,” says Eric Trastour.

Last tip: you have to studypicture of people, in order to use the power of social networks and communication in the best way. Because the goal of the entrepreneur is to publish photos or even video clips of the celebrity on his website, Twitter or Facebook page or convey the main messages of the star. “You need to analyze the influencer’s influence on the Internet. Some refuse to be on Instagram or communicate very little,” notes Eric Trastour.