SSA Blog: Performance lifestyle
Emma Raducanu cruised into the second round of Wimbledon with a relatively comfortable two-set win over the 46th-world ranked player, Belgium’s Alison Van Uytvanck. This match was seen as a tough start for the US Open champion, particularly after an up-and-down year so far.
Emma Raducanu has nine major partners includng Vodafone, Nike, British Airways and HSBC
Inconsistency is not uncommon amongst young sporting talent. Her shock win at the US Open saw her jump 332 places in the WTA rankings to #23. A string of minor injuries (including catching COVID-19 during the off-season) and coaching changes have inhibited her 2022 progress, yet she still enters Wimbledon as the world #11. Another major change has been the increased interest from commercial sponsors. Speaking on the BBC’s The Sports Desk Podcast her commercial agent Max Eisenbud "I've never seen the amount of excitement and companies that wanted to be in business with Emma after the US Open." There has been a suggestion that this increased commercial interest and days spent away from the court on photoshoots etc has also had an impact on performance. It’s an idea that Eisenbud dismisses saying "I know from the outside, you guys want to look at all those things - but if she locked herself in the room for the whole year and didn't do anything, I think it would be the same."
Working with Emma and her family, IMG, her agency, has drawn up a calendar with the primary focus on training and playing. Commercial appearances are out during the weeks prior to, during and immediately after tournaments. This leaves roughly 18 days available for sponsors to capitalise on their relationships. Additionally, Emma’s commercial days tend to start in the early afternoon and run late, through until 8pm or 9pm. This frees up the morning for training. It means that training can be done prior, to minimise disruption.
The importance of agents and rights holders understanding the performance needs of athletes cannot be overstated. The commercial rewards of success are part of elite sport, but if they begin to inhibit performance, they can become an unwelcome distraction. Prior to the London 2012 Olympic Games, with the UK sports marketing industry running hot, there was an example of one agency failing to properly account for appearance days for their athlete. Crisis meetings between the athlete, agent, sponsors and coaches had to be called, as with only months to go before the Games, the athlete was still contracted to over 30 days of appearances…
As the intricacy, sophistication and understanding of player and team performance grows, the need for better-defined performance, health and lifestyle rights also heightens. Performance lifestyle is an area of sport science that has progressed greatly since 2008. It pushes the idea that an athlete needs to live a lifestyle conducive to elite performance. Not just during competition but throughout the year. It emphasises making choices in areas such as nutrition, exercise, sleep, travel, recovery and general health that will benefit performance on and off the court. If agents understand the various elements that make up elite performance lifestyle, all of a sudden, a number of new opportunities can open up for their clients. The beauty of selling these elements of performance lifestyle is that rights can often be fulfilled with minimal disruption to athletes. If the strategic approach is right from the outset, much of the fulfilment will be achieved via the athlete’s day to day activities.
To make performance lifestyle work, it is important to define it’s different elements. This allows them to be packaged so partners are aware of where their rights start and finish. They can then develop credible activation programmes in the knowledge that their messages won’t be undercut, incurred upon, or confused by other partners. It does take some management, but ultimately creates clear delineation and a structure that maximises time and output for all.
Sport Science Agency has a range of expertise in developing and defining rights across performance and performance lifestyle. This has helped both brands and rights holders maximise this growing area of commercial interest. Being able to break down and visualise the various areas of performance lifestyle helps all parties understand what they are signing up to and how they can develop activations throughout a partnership. Performance lifestyle isn’t new in the world of elite sport. It is though, only just coming to the fore within the commercial space.
Coaches and performance teams are often worried that commercial interests will impact negatively on athletes’ performance. Raducanu has approached this issue by restricting the number of days available for sponsors. However, with greater understanding of performance lifestyle factors, a host of new opportunities can be developed without the need to impact her training and playing schedule. Commercial and performance will almost always cause some tension, but with the right level of expertise, performance lifestyle can become the factor that drives enhanced commercial opportunities.
Sport Science Agency uses its insight and expertise to tell performance stories and unlocks their value for brands, broadcasters and rights holders. To see some of our work click here If you want to know more about what we can do for you, drop us a note via info@sportscienceagency.com and we can arrange to go for a healthy vitamin packed drink.