Athlete Influencers + Sporting Events = Big Win for Brands

How Brands Can Win Big Partnering with Athlete Influencers During Sporting Events


The summer of 2024 is an exciting time in the world of sports. The success formula is as follows: Athlete Influencers + Sporting Events = Big Win for Brands, and we show you how.

Germany recently hosted EURO 2024, the 17th edition of the UEFA European Championship, which wrapped up on 14 July. The 2024 Summer Olympics, 33rd Olympiad, will take place in Paris from 26 July to 11 August. The UCI Road and Para-cycling World Championships will be held in Zurich from 21 September to 29 September. Looking ahead to next summer, Switzerland will host the UEFA European Women’s Championship, from 2 July through 27 July 2025.

Sports are always popular, but people seek additional sports-related content before and during these exciting global events.  We’ll provide tips for how your brand can score a “GOOOOOAAAAALLLL” with sports marketing. (Ha, couldn’t resist!) Throughout the article, we’ll also share Kingfluencers’ 10 best Swiss athlete influencers.

Benefits of Marketing with Sports Influencers & Creators

1. Increase your brand’s visibility

Many athletes create content on their own social media, so followers can enjoy watching their athletic prowess beyond official matches and races. Such athlete influencers are a natural fit with athletic brands, including shoes, apparel, and food and supplements. Followers of sports celebrities often engage in the same sport and therefore purchase the various gear required. Who better to recommend the best ski clothing than Swiss snowboarder Nicolas Huber? In addition to ski apparel brand Oneskee, Nicolas promotes health drinks and the Hürlimannbad & Spa in Zürich. He shares his global adventures, occasionally wearing make up like The Joker, complete with the purple suit. Pat Burgener is also a snowboarder and a two-time Olympian as well as musician and actor. He has worked with brands such as Swatch, FOCUSWATER, and Visa.

Athlete influencers provide brands with a way to stand out from the noise. Influencers give brands a real face that people relate to and help connect to consumers. Kickboxing champion Janosch Nietlispach shares adventures with his family and fitness routines in addition to promoting Gatorade, Migros, and BMW, or as Samsung ambassador, also for the Youth Olympic Games. Professional football player Ana Markovic is also an entrepreneur who is launching her own brand of innovative vegan protein water, RELOADZ.  With Kingfluencers, Ana is part of the Ochsner Shoes annual campaign

As followers enjoy both playing their sport and engaging with the influencers’ content, your brand can benefit from this connection. Athlete influencers can help you engage with their audience, sharing relatable brand messaging and building brand loyalty.

Tamara Glück Gonzalez, Teamlead Influencer Strategy & Relations at Kingfluencers, also states:

“It is highly advisable to integrate athletes into the influencer mix for certain campaigns. They hold significant PR relevance, and their followers, who admire them for their athletic achievements and image, view them as role models. These athletes often have a large reach and a strong connection to their community within their country, making them especially suited for long-term image campaigns. Additionally, their accounts become particularly attractive during sports events, as the momentum can be leveraged with creative storytelling.”

2. Connect with communities you may not reach otherwise

There’s no reason for sports influencers to limit their brand partnerships to the realm of sports. Athletes can be particularly helpful in connecting your brand with communities you may not reach otherwise.

From handbags and skincare to cars and travel, athletes consume many products and services, and their followers are interested in their endorsements and insights. But also values can be transported. For example, swimmer Noam Yaron uses world records in swimming to draw attention to the environmental pollution of the oceans. He has been collaborating with Kingfluencers for many years, including in the yallo campaign or Emmi Caffè Latte. Artistic gymnast and three-time Olympian Giulia Steingruber partners with Zak, the first real Swiss bank on your smartphone, or with Kingfluencers for Granini Hohes C. Swiss sprinter Sarah Atcho-Jaquier and two times Olympian partnered with Kingfluencers for the Gatorade campaign or Soda Stream. Snowboarder and three-time Swiss Olympian David Hablützel shares his athletic adventures as well as humorous content and promotes the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 phone or Dry Migros products. Some athlete influencers also partner with luxury brands. Tennis player and Olympic gold and silver medalist Belinda Bencic has worked with Mercedes and Bongenie Grieder. With Kingfluencers, she has been acting as a brand ambassador for L’Oréal Paris.

Sarah Schmid, Head of Marketing at Kingfluencers, makes aware of the role social media has played in making highlights, storylines, and community more accessible, breaking down barriers and allowing fans to watch any sport through infinite streams and channels:

“Niche communities are the heartbeat of sports marketing. By tapping into these passionate and engaged groups, brands can build authentic connections and drive loyalty that extends far beyond the game. It’s not just about the numbers; it’s about creating meaningful, lasting relationships.”

3. Partner with athlete influencers during major sporting events for a boost

Of course, brands can work with athlete influencers at any time, but partnering with athletes during major sporting events can result in a synergistic boost to your campaign. 

Even though these are competitions, the rivalries are generally friendly, and global audiences watch with good will. The huge visibility of these championship events delivers great opportunities for brands to generate buzz around your product or service in a fun atmosphere, surrounded by people enjoying themselves. #Euro2024 was tagged in more than 1.7 million Instagram posts and two million TikToks.

People also typically enjoy food and drinks while watching a sporting event. Conveniently, a football match lasts as long as Zweifel Chips’ new limited edition 90-minute pack. In a recent campaign, Kingfluencers’ creators demonstrated their creative ways to unbox this perfect snack for friends and family to enjoy together.

Member of the Swiss national women’s football team Alayah Pilgrim has promoted Coca-Cola. With Kingfluencers, she has implemented almost 60 influencer campaigns, including many for L’Oréal as brand ambassador for CeraVe and Garnier Skincare

Brands can also use influencers for pre-event promotions and live event coverage. In addition to excellent audience engagement, this can generate real-time interaction and feedback from fans.

Many major sporting events also stretch across several weeks and reach large worldwide audiences. Content creators can share authentic good vibes and promote your product in a way that doesn’t feel like a promotion. During Euro 2024, former football manager Harry Redknapp worked with LADbible and Walkers Crisps to promote its crisp pint for the summer of football, achieving a 2.51% engagement rate. According to CORQ., Redknapp also teamed up with Sorare to talk about its fantasy football league (0.04% engagement rate).

Digiday recently described Euro 2024 as “a big step change” for the areas advertisers will rely on. In addition to increases in television ad spending, “many brands are increasing their spend on influencer partnerships, and increasing paid social budgets to amplify influencer content and reach viewers on their second screens. That reflects shifts in sports viewing habits since the last Euros, which took place when TikTok was barely a feature in most marketing plans.”

Best Practices Marketing with Sports Influencers: Cross-Platform Activation

Maximize your reach by utilizing various platforms. In addition to social media channels like Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and X (formerly Twitter), consider incorporating OOH advertising options and TV. Partnering with Kingfluencers makes it easy to expand your campaigns. Kingfluencers’ TV Spots combine the power of video, TV, and influencer marketing. With our newest partnership and creation of a joint influence media network with Goldbach, we can extend any social media campaign to the content network – including online advertising in networks like 20 Minuten, TV, and even out-of-home, which covers a wide array of advertising options in Switzerland, such as billboards, digital displays, and megaposters.

The Link Between Your Brands & Creators

By working with athlete influencers, you can fuse the excitement of sporting events with authentic brand advocacy. With the proper strategy, the result is a synergy, with the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. Kingfluencers serves as a link between brands and creators. Reach out to us to explore how we can help you team up with influencers and creators  – ATHLETES or not –  to build campaigns that amplify your brand messages before, during, or after sports events, ensuring a seamless connection.

Kingfluencers’ 10 Best Swiss Athlete Influencers (no particular order)

  1. Member of the Swiss national women’s football team Alayah Pilgrim has also promoted Garnier skincare and Coca-Cola. With Kingfluencers, she has implemented almost 60 influencer campaigns, including L’Oréal as brand ambassador for CeraVe.
  2. Swiss snowboarder Nicolas Huber shares his global adventures, occasionally made up like The Joker – purple suit included. He works with brands including Oneskee ski apparel, health drinks, and the Hürlimannbad & Spa in Zürich. For Kingfluencers, he will be part of the new MSD campaign that goes live in summer, promoting the importance about HPV knowledge.
  3. Swiss sprinter Sarah Atcho-Jaquierr took part in the 4 × 100 meter relay at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, the 2016 Olympic Games, and the 2017 World Championships in London and partnered with Kingfluencers for the Gatorade campaign or Soda Stream. She also partners with adidas, Maurice Lacroix or Raiffeisen.
  4. David Hablützel is also a snowboarder and three-time Swiss Olympian and shares his athletic adventures along with humorous content. Dave promotes the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 phone and Chiefs’ vitamin milk. For Kingfluencers, he did a cool brand activation for the Dry Migros Campaign
  5. Professional footballer Ana Markovic is also an entrepreneur who is launching her own brand of innovative vegan protein water, RELOADZ. For Kingfluencers, Ana is part of the Ochsner Shoes annual campaign

6. Kickboxing champion Janosch Nietlispach shares fitness routines, adventures with his family, and promotes different brands from BMW to Nivea personal care products. With Kingfluencers he has implemented over 70 campaigns, including as Samsung ambassador, also for the Youth Olympic Games, for comparis, Gatorade, and Migros.

7. Swimmer Noam Yaron uses world records in swimming to draw attention to the environmental pollution of the oceans. He has been collaborating with Kingfluencers for many years, including in the yallo campaign or Emmi Caffè Latte.

8. Tennis player and Olympic gold and silver medalist Belinda Bencic has worked with Mercedes and Bongenie Grieder. For Kingfluencers, she was part of multiple L’Oréal Paris campaigns.

9. Pat Burgener is a snowboarder and two-time Olympian as well as musician and actor. He has worked with brands such as Swatch, FOCUSWATER, and Visa.

10. Artistic gymnast and three-time Olympian Giulia Steingruber partners with Zak, the first real Swiss bank on your smartphone. With Kingfluencers, she was part of the Granini Hohes C campaign.