North Actionsports Group

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Management & Business

Name: Tjerk-Jan van Doeselaar Student: 500725406

Class: 5th_{Year ISMB}

HVA: Tjerk-Jan.van.Doeselaar@hva.nl Coach: Rem Pronk

Assessor: Daniel de Bruin Supervisor: Jorn Thoes Date: TBD

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Shows aspects kite athletes Figure 2: Shows aspects wake athletes

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Shows the aspects derived from the literature review. Table 2: Shows the PESTLIED Model for NAG.

Table 3: Shows opportunities/threats of PESTLIED Table 4: Shows VRIO model NAG.

LIST OF DEFINITIONS

A list of definitions is created to support the flow of the document. These definitions will be applied throughout the whole paper with exception of first usage of North Actionsports Group.

North Actionsports Group – NAG Sponsored team riders – Athletes Chief executive officer – CEO

Model of athlete brand image – MABI King of the air – KOTA

Valuable, rare, inimitable, organized – VRIO

Political, Economic, Social, Technology, Legal, International, Environment, Demographics – PESTLIED.

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Abstract

Athletes in minority sports often have a second job to earn enough income to support their sports career. This is mainly due to the lack of sponsors involved in these sports. Athletes that want to live from minority sports need to create a strong personal brand to attract sponsors. To find out how, this research asks the question; which aspects are most important for an athlete in kite/wakeboarding to grow their personal brand? After which, these aspects will be tested to see if they can be supported by a sponsor (in this case NAG). To find out the most relevant aspects, a wide range of literature is reviewed. Topics like: growing a personal brand, life after a sports career, and sponsorship from both an athlete’s perspective as well as the brand’s perspective. There is limited research in the field of kite/wakeboarding therefore research from other minority sports is used as a reference. From this literature a set of targeted aspects was found and divined as; loyalty, passion, exposure, sociability, entrepreneurial, and opportunity.

The questionnaire included 16 professional kiteboarders and 6 professional wakeboarders. Questions are aimed to find out the relative weight of each aspect to determine the most important ones. The questionnaire is followed by a semi-structured interview with Annabel van Westerop a professional kiteboarder, aimed to validate the results of the questionnaire. The results showed that kiteboarders prioritise the aspects: passion, loyalty, and exposure. Whereas the wakeboarders showed that: passion, opportunity, and loyalty where the most important. The interview with Annabel did not only confirm these results but also showed that the aspects are related to each other.

When testing if a sponsor could support these aspects (in this case NAG). This research made an external and internal analysis of the company in question. The results showed to be very positive for the athletes that are currently sponsored by NAG. As NAG can provide their athletes with the aspects most important to them. This is shown by their long term sponsoring with several athletes, name branded items, and world-wide marketing exposure.

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1 INTRODUCTION

With the rise of social media, professional athletes have become an immensely important factor for the consumer industry (Summer & Johnson Morgan, 2008). Building a personal brand is therefore step one for an athlete creating a sustainable and successful career (Jackiewicz, 2019). When done correctly it will earn the athlete opportunities to find good sponsors as well as creating a sustainable future after their sports career (Gadiya, 2018).

Over the past decades, kitesurfing and wakeboarding have developed professional grounds which are still growing extensively. North Actionsports Group (NAG) is one of the biggest companies in this industry and works with some of the best athletes in their sports (Redbull, 2020). These athletes perform in the toughest competitions throughout the world such as the King of the air and the GKA. As some of the athletes are realizing the potential of sponsorship deals in the field, they are creating their personal branding to become more attractive for sponsors and other companies.

To analyse the value and importance of personal branding, The first part of the research will focus on answering the question: which aspects are most important for athletes in kite/wakeboarding to grow their personal brand? The second part will focus on whether they can be provided by a sponsor. For the matter of this research, the focus relies on athletes sponsored by NAG and the companies’ possibilities.

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2 LITTERATURE REVIEW

When a certain sport draws a great number of spectators, participants or viewers it is seen as a majority sport. These majority sports will take up most of the exposure available on different media channels. These two factors will make it interesting for brands to sponsor majority sports (BBC, 2020). In turn this creates a problem for sports that have less popularity, less media exposure and consequently are less attractive for brand to sponsor (Minority sports, n.d.).

In minority sports it is therefore much more difficult for an athlete to ensure a sustainable future. An interview with Georgia Gould (n.d.), explains that each person in cycling has their worth. Where some riders may make up to $100,000.00 per year, others have a full-time job next to their career. Lisa Sher, another professional cyclist, said that “This generation of kids that are coming up in the sport spends more time on the internet than they do in front of the television” (Felton, 2005).

A successful way to grow your value as an athlete is to be successful at your sports. Many brands will only sponsor successful athletes, as the amount of televised exposure a brand receives is a critical determinant in the return of investment and thus the more successful a partnership can be (Pruitt, Cornwell & Clark, 2004).

Brands often try to sponsor athletes at the beginning of their journey for relative small amounts of money to later reap the benefits (Kemp, 2007). Great examples can be found in motorsports where teams like Red Bull Racing create the next F1 superstar of tomorrow like Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, and Max Verstappen (Red Bull junior, 2020). This principle is applied in multiple sports where for instance Bode Miller (silver Olympian in skiing) is a long time team rider for SoBe soft drinks and Lizard (Barancik, 2002). Not only does a sponsor get great exposure if their athletes are performing well, but it will also boost the morale of the employees as Crompton (2014) suggests. Sponsoring should always be a win/win situation where funding allows athletes to focus more on performance and less on other ways to accumulate wealth. In return, the athletes can perform better therefore give brand exposure in return (Chiaruáin, 2017).

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Being the best in a sport is a successful way to get sponsorship deals. Unfortunately only one can win which leaves many other athletes with less chances of sponsorships. Luckily for minority sports athletes where chances of sponsorship are small, the rise of digitalization brought new opportunities (Bichi, 2017). Alana Blanchard is one of the most famous female surfer from the last two decades. She did not achieve this through winning a lot of competition but instead used all the media channels to her advantage to create beneficial sponsorship deals (Surfertoday, n.d.). Athletes in minority sport sometimes choose other ways to find exposure, whether through influencing on social media or exclusively shooting clips and movies (Lemmons, n.d.).

No matter which way an athlete grows their exposure their value for a business will rise. From a marketing perspective, businesses sponsoring the right athletes can enhance the visibility and the culture associated because of the right characteristical traits or the marketing value associated to each particular athlete (Castillo, 2007). To find the right athlete Arai et al. (2013) and Arai et al. (2014) created the model of athlete brand image (MABI) based on Keller’s (1993) brand knowledge scheme. The MABI takes into account characteristics that are also non-sport-related like; attractive appearance and marketable lifestyle. Attractable appearance is one of the primary dimensions of credibility (Ohanian, 1991). An athlete brand has to be credible to provide more worth to customer expectations. A marketable lifestyle can be explained as the personality and values of the athlete (Choi & Riffon, 2007). With the rise of media platforms, the off-field personality can play a critical role in the overall brand image (Andrews & Jackson, 2001). As athletes grow their brand, fans are more influenced to buy products that are recommended or worn by their athletes (Charbonneau & Garland, 2006).

For athletes that compete in a minority sports, it is therefore important to establish a personal brand to create a sustainable living. Their brand needs to be relatable in the sense that fans can build a cultural, personal, and social connection (Ilicic and Webster, 2015). To realize what an athlete brand can do for their career, we have to discuss what an athlete brand is (Hasaan et al., 2018).

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The base of an athlete brand requires the awareness of fans. This can be achieved by having a successful career but also as Cortsen (2013) suggests, through relatable factors such as life stories, values, charisma, authenticity, and believability. These factors will increase the visibility of the athlete therefore growing their brand. Ratten (2015) suggests that athletes who turned entrepreneurs apply their human capital in trades of social, emotional, and leadership capabilities. One great example is legendary basketball player Micheal Jordan. At the peak of his performance, he signed a deal with Nike for the use of his name. The shoes wearing the Jordan name became a success and have made him about 1.3 billion dollars (Badenhausen, 2020). This is not the only case this has happened as many “famous” athletes use their brand for endorsement deals, company names, commercials, and ambassadorships (Goldman, 2018).

3 METHODOLOGY

For wake- and kiteboarding athletes it is important to establish their personal branding. As stated above, athletes can improve their personal branding through collaborations with attractive sponsors with similar values. To look into this matter, this research will firstly focus on which aspects are important for an athlete to grow their brand. To ensure there will be no influence executed by NAG, the research is written and conducted outside of the company. However, the main target audience (the athletes) will be predominantly sponsored by NAG. In the following section, the mixed methods approach chosen for this research will be explained in accordance with the timeline it is conducted in.

First, to gain a better understanding of the aspects involved in creating a personal brand, desk research is done and shown in the literature review. The literature review is focused on the subjects of growing a brand, life after a sports career, sponsorship from an athlete’s perspective as well as the possible benefits for a company. The literature review will predominantly be conducted outside the main subject area of wake/kiteboarding as there is little research available. To get the most relevant information, the literature review will be focussing on individual athletes from a team sport or athletes in individualistic sports. From the literature review, this research

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identified a set of aspects (see table 1) that seemed to be of significant importance to personal brand growth. These aspects will be leading the field research to discover which aspects are most important for athletes.

Table 1: Shows the aspects derived from the literature review.

To determine the importance of these aspects, a questionnaire has been made and sent to the athletes of NAG. The athletes will be chosen using convenience sampling, this is because the sample size of professional kite/wakeboarders sponsored by NAG is relatively small. On the other hand, using all the kite/wakeboarders from NAG this research will have an increased value for the company. The questionnaire will contain a mix of open, multiple-choice, checkbox, and Likert scaled questions. This combination will generate quantitative data which will be used to uncover the weight for each aspect. The qualitative data will help to explain why these aspects are important. To ensure validity, all data is manually entered using inductive coding with which the codebook has been created (see appendix 3). The codebook is used to cross-analyse the answers. By using Excel there is a decreased margin of error. To check and confirm the results from the questionnaire a semi-structured interview will be conducted with an athlete that meets the following criteria: currently building a brand, sponsored by NAG, and does additional efforts to promote themselves like an ambassadorship. These criteria will ensure the credibility of the athlete, and their ability to give valuable information about the subjects aforementioned. The interview will be approximately 30 minutes long, this will give the interviewer enough time to further explore subjects that were unclear from the results of the questionnaire. The nature of a semi-structured interview also gives the interviewer the freedom to go in-depth into certain aspects. The interview will be conducted through an internet connection due to the COVID-19 pandemic that we are experiencing in 2019-2020. The interview will then be coded using inductive and deductive coding. By coding the interview, one can extract the most valuable information. The codebook for the interview can be found in

Author How is it mentioned Aspect

Cortsen, (2013) authenticity and believability Passion Ratten, (2015) athletes turned entrepreneurs Entrepreneurial

Felton, (2005) the sport spends more time on the internet Opportunities/ Sociability Cashmore & Parker, (2003) athletes can enhance the visibility Exposure

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appendix 7. After the interview is analysed an interim result section is made in order to get a clear understanding of what aspects are important for the athletes. A radial graph is made for a clear overview of the aspect and their importance to each other.

Lastly, to further increase the value of this research for NAG, an internal and external analysis is made in order to see to which extend they are able to support their athletes with growing their brand. The position of NAG in the market will be analysed using the PESTLIED method. This method will unveil whether the position and opportunities of the company are in-line with the aspirations of the athletes. The internal analysis is made using the VRIO framework. Using the VRIO method the uniqueness of the company can be examined. This is important to understand as it will explain why athletes want to be sponsored by NAG. Finally the results from the athletes will be compared with that of NAG in order to determine if NAG is a good sponsor for athletes that want to grow their personal brand.

4 INTERIM RESULTS

For a more diversified use of this research, the researcher has separated the results of the athletes and that of the company in question. By choosing to show the results separated and later combined we can observe the needs of the athletes in their pursuit of their brand and growth. Following the structure set in the methodology, we will first have a look at the results of the questionnaire. Some of the answers will be bivariate analysed to get a deeper understanding of the differences between the kiter/wakeboarders and long-time sponsored vs short time sponsored. The cross-tabulation tables can be found in appendix 2. To verify the answers and create more validity, the interview will be analysed using inductive and deductive coding. The results of the analysis will be compared with the overall result of the questionnaire to uncover more information about which aspects are important and how much they weigh in the opinion of the athletes.

In the following section, we will look at the results of the questionnaire. First, to create a brighter picture of the athletes taking part in this questionnaire, the demographics will be shown to establish more credibility. Following the demographics, the focus is

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turned to uncovering the weight of the aspects that athletes find important. Finally, athletes were asked about their brand and which aspects they find important to grow. In the demographics section, kite/wakeboarding athletes are combined whereas during the rest of the analysis they will be separated. The next subchapter will show the analysis of the questionnaire from the kiters followed by that of the wakeboarders. At the end of both sections there will be the overall results which will be discussed. For a quick overview, a radar graph is made of each target group.

Demographics of athletes

From the 22 international kite/wake team riders that NAG has in their payroll, 19 have filled in the questionnaire (Mystic, 2020). From the 19 participants, 13 are kiteboarder and 6 are wakeboarder. Collectively they have a great deal of experience in sponsoring as all athletes are sponsored by multiple sponsors and 16 are sponsored for 5 years or longer. Although being a sponsored professional athlete, 9 participants works a job from time to time besides their sport (appendix 4 demographics).

Aspects and weight towards sponsor, kiteboarders.

As aforementioned, from this section on the kite- and wakeboarders are separated. At first, we look at the kiteboarding athletes as this is the larger group. To find the weight of the aspects, questions 3 to 14 are used (see appendix 1). The analysis will focus on the aspects found before, during the literature review. Appendix 2 shows which question focuses on which aspects.

Kiteboarder loyalty

From analysing the answers given by the kiteboarders we can see that loyalty is very important. Only when athletes have been sponsored for longer than nine years, they have had more than six total sponsors in their life. This while taking into account that all riders currently have two to five different sponsors. This means that riders are generally very loyal and hold onto sponsors for a long time. Asked to rate the aspect of loyalty, 9 out of 13 participants answered it was very important to them. Converting the different findings into a number from 1 to 10, the average score for the aspect of loyalty is a 7,85 (see appendix 5, loyalty).

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Kiteboarder passion

As one would expect passion is overall highly rated by the kiteboarders. This makes sense as aforementioned, athletes in minority sports often have to have a job next to their professional sports career. From the questionnaire, we can also determine that the athletes who are sponsored for a longer period, rated passion higher than their peers who have been sponsored for a shorter period. Having used a simple grading system in which importance and years had been given a number (see appendix 5, Passion) the overall value given to the aspect of passion is an 8,08.

Kiteboarder Opportunity

From the questionnaire, one can see that all kiteboarders have at one point or another requested extra support for a special objective. Often sponsors support these endeavours and therefore we can see that kiteboarders are looking for opportunities. As seen in some of the extra quotes given by the kiteboarders, we can see that whilst approaching a sponsor they will look for opportunities to grow their brand (see appendix 7). Combining these various answers one can conclude that the grade given to the aspect opportunity is a 7,5 (see appendix 5, opportunities).

Kiteboarder Entrepreneurial

When analysing the entrepreneurial aspect, the questionnaire shows that there is quite some differences between the answers. Where some are aware of their brand image, and actively building it for their future, others are more laid back. However important it is for athletes to build their brand for the future, only one of the kiteboarders said to be extremely active with their brand. The kiteboarders were also asked to rate the aspect entrepreneurial. Overall one can conclude that the aspect entrepreneurial gets a grade of 6,52 (see appendix 5, Entrepreneurial). This grade comes with the note that some kiteboarders do find it very important where others do not and therefore it looks to be a very personal topic.

Kiteboarder Sociability

As aforementioned in the literature review, athletes have to have a marketable lifestyle to be more attractive to sponsors. Next to that, in minority sports, it is important to be

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present online and interact with your fans. Combining all these different facets this research has bundled them into the aspect of sociability. For this aspect, one looks at several themes to determine the weight, for instance: networking, social platforms, and the rating kiteboarders gave to the characteristic social. The first two themes where found considerably lower than when they had to rate the characteristic. Therefor the combined grade could only be determined as a 6,89 (see appendix 5, Sociability). Note that the lowest grade of the three is calculated from a slightly misleading question, therefore the overall grade is composed in combination with two other questions.

Kiteboarder exposure

The literature review suggests that athletes in minority sports will be working hard to get the most exposure as possible. In fact, from the questionnaire, we can confirm these findings. When analysing question 11, three participants had only given one answer, thus they have been removed as they might have thought that they could only give one answer. When analysing question 22 a similar thing had to be done but this time with 1 participant. Besides that, a correction is made by neglecting Twitter as one of the social platforms for exposure. This is done because Twitter is far bigger in Amerika then it is anywhere else (Statistica, 2020). After the corrections the analysis concludes that kiteboarders find it important to have exposure. Overall the analysis shows the weight of the aspect of exposure a 7,8 (See appendix 5, Exposure).

Overall results kiteboarder

Once all the numbers are compared, passion scores the highest for the kiteboarders (see figure 1: weight of aspects). This passion is present in kiteboarders as they have the struggle in their overall financial support. This passion should also be present with the sponsors, as participant number eight states: “working with quality sponsors helps me to have the right support, gear and be the role model I want to be”. Without the passion being reciprocal, the relationship between athlete and sponsor will be ineffective. Besides passion, the aspects of loyalty, exposure, and opportunity score high. Loyalty will most likely be due to the limited number of sponsors in minority sports. This makes having a good sponsor very difficult. Once working with a good global sponsor, an athlete would like to hold onto them as their might not be many

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other opportunities. Exposure scores high as we learned from the literature review, having exposure increases the value of the athlete’s brand. Creating or getting exposure is the most common goal between an athlete and sponsor. It is understandable

that this aspect rated high. A high rating in Opportunities is also no surprise, as with opportunities an athlete can increase their exposure and raise the value of their brand. The only complication is that in minority sports there are not many sponsors. This means that the power distance between sponsors and athletes is high. It is therefore up to the sponsor to meet the level of opportunity the athlete would like.

Sociability and entrepreneurial score are lower according to the questionnaire. For sociability, this might be explained by the opportunities they have, or have not had to work on some of the topics that were in the questionnaire. And although corrections have been made to questions 19 and 22, sociability did not score high. The last aspect analysed and possibly the most important for athletes is entrepreneurial. This aspect comes in lowest of all the aspects. Whilst it might be the most important aspect for a sustainable life after sport. As aforementioned in the literature review, starting a collaboration or own business is one of the most successful ways to utilize an athlete’s brand.

Aspects and weight towards sponsor, wakeboarders.

Although kite and wakeboarding might look very similar at their base, there are a lot of differences. For starters, the main aspect of kitesurfing is the kite with which one creates momentum whereas in wakeboarding this is done mechanically. This difference is also noticeable in the needs of athletes in the two different sports. Although there are likely to be a lot of people who practise both sports simultaneously. The next section will include the analysis of the wakeboarding athletes and which

10 9 8 7 6 5 Loyalty Opportunity Entrepreneurial Passion Sociability Exposure

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grades they gave to the aspects found most important in the literature review. it will also show the differences in the needs between the kite and wakeboarding athletes.

Wakeboarder loyalty

The analysis of loyalty shows that wakeboarding athletes give an even higher weight to loyalty as the kiteboarding athletes. The calculations are done the same as before, the only difference is that there are 6 wakeboarding athletes that participated. From the questionnaire, only one wakeboarder has had more than five sponsors. This shows that loyalty is very high as four riders have been sponsored longer than seven years. Putting the different calculations together and the wakeboarding athletes give loyalty the weight of an 8,46 (see appendix 6, Loyalty).

Wakeboarder passion

Passion for the wakeboarding athletes is the top priority. The athletes were asked to rate the aspect passion and unanimously they answered very important. The outcome of an 8,5 might as well be a 10 but the grading system is set up in a way where an 8,5 was the highest possible outcome (see appendix 6, Passion). This would suggest that wakeboarding athletes are generally more passionate then kiteboarding athletes.

Wakeboarder opportunity

Wakeboarding athletes have also rated the aspect opportunity high. All wakeboarders have answered to have tried to get extra funding for a project and all have answered they have had extra support from their sponsors. Four of the riders said that their sponsors give them the opportunity to sell products that are affiliated with them. When asked why the wakeboarding athletes chose certain sponsors participant number one said: “to get support and allow us to continue riding without having to spend so much on equipment”. Besides this, all wakeboarding athletes answered to have approached their sponsors or one of their sponsors themselves. All of these factors show that wakeboarding athletes search actively for opportunities. Overall the aspect of opportunity gets an 8,75 (See appendix 6, Opportunity).

Wakeboarder entrepreneurial

From the questionnaire, wakeboarding athletes also score high in the aspect of entrepreneurial. This is due to their awareness about their brand image in combination

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with working extremely hard to promote themselves. All participants minus one respondent find their brand to be extremely important and said to be working extremely hard promoting it. When asked to rate the aspect of entrepreneurial, five out of six replied that it was fairly important the second highest rating they could give. Overall the weight of the aspect entrepreneurial comes in at an 8,29 (see appendix 6, Entrepreneurial).

Wakeboarder sociability

As with the kiteboarding athletes, for the aspect sociability, the social trades of the questionnaire are taken from question 19 and 22 in combination with their rating of the aspect sociability. Where corrections were made for the kiteboarding athletes, all the wakeboarding athletes have filled in both questions correctly. Calculating all their responses together and the aspect sociability gets to a 7,01 (see appendix 6, Sociability).

Wakeboarder exposure

As with the analysis from the kiteboarding athletes, to determine the weight of exposure one looked at efforts made to create or get more exposure. During the analysis, something interesting showed up as all participants expected from a sponsor to give them more exposure, for instance by organised photoshoots. Whereas their efforts to create exposure by using several social networks were much lower. The combination of this caused for the weight of this aspect to be a 7,95 (see appendix 6, Exposure).

Overall results wakeboarder

When looking at the overall results, one has to take in mind that the aspect passion scored the maximum amount of points according to the coding. This makes it the highest scoring aspect for the wakeboarding athletes. As seen in the literature review as well as the analysis, the high score on passion can be explained by their dedication to pursue this profession even though it might not support them completely financially. Next to this, wakeboarding is seen as an extreme sport in which injuries are common (Carson, 2004). To take this amount of risk whilst not earning a living out of it, it must be fuelled by an unprecedented passion for the sport. The second highest is

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opportunity which is closely followed by loyalty. Opportunity is highly rated as from the analysis one can see their efforts to grow their brand. Besides this, they all approached their sponsors in search of more possibilities. The aspect loyalty rates high and can be explained with the

same reasons as that of the kiteboarding athletes. Wakeboarding is a relatively unpopulair sport and therefore not the most attractive for a sponsor. Once a wakeboarding athlete has a sponsor they will be trying to hold on to them.

As one can see in figure 2, sociability is the aspect that scores the lowest. This might have to do with the fact that wakeboarding is an individual sport. The questionnaire shows that there is still an opportunity for the wakeboarders to expend their social presents on other social platforms. This opportunity is also shown in the aspect of exposure which also rates lower than the other aspects. This might be a personal thing as there are two riders who participated in this questionnaire and work hard to create as much exposure as possible (The Peacock Brothers, 2020). The aspect of entrepreneurial also shows to be a little less important.

Results interview kiter

Looking at the colour coded interview (appendix 9), one can immediately notice that the kiteboarding athlete in question Annabel van Westerop, talks more about: loyalty, passion, opportunity, and exposure. This perfectly reflects the results of the questionnaire filled in by the kiteboarders as there the aspects of loyalty, passion, opportunity, and exposure scored the highest. This increases the validity of the answers given in the questionnaire. Taking a closer look at some of the things Annabel stated we learn that passion is not contained to the sport only but also for their

10 9 8 7 6 5

Figure 2: Shows aspects wake athlete

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playground. Annabel stated: “I’m also an ambassador for goodwill organizations such as Kite For Life Foundation and Clear Water Initiative”. She also stated that she will only work together with brands she supports. This shows that she consciously choses to be an ambassador for Clear Water Initiative because of her passion instead of any other benefits. Annabel loves to share her passion and “stoke” for every aspect of her sport from competition to freeride. Annabel expresses a high level of loyalty throughout her career. From her multiyear sponsorship with Cabrinha, to her latest sponsor NAG. She states that loyalty is also an important factor in her personal brand as when questioned about building her personal brand she states: “It’s also being loyal to your sponsors. I keep coming back to that because I think that riders that seemed to switch a lot between sponsors. I think they’re not doing very well at building their personal brand because other brands will then look at that and be like, well, you switch six times in the last two years. What are we going to get out of you?”. This reflects on the literature review where Kemp (2007) suggests that brands often sponsor early to reap the benefits in a later stage therefore showing loyalty from the sponsors side. The opportunities Annabel gets from her sponsors will affect her loyalty and passion towards that sponsor. This comes forward when she talks about her latest trip to the Caribbean. Here she got the opportunity to go on a catamaran trip and create great content for her sponsors. her sponsors in return gave her the opportunity to write a story about it which will later be published. It seems that the drive to travel is big with Annabel as she talks about multiple trips and events around the world. If her sponsor would limit her in her adventures their relationship will be less productive in which she would show less loyalty. Ones she gets the opportunity to go on a trip, one of her thoughts goes out to bringing a photographer to capture the moment. Annabel also mentioned another kiter by the name of Kevin Langeree who creates blogs for his own exposure not because his sponsor askes for it. This showcases the statement of Cashmore and Parker (2003) that the globalization of the media has and is playing a substantial part in the growth of an athletes brand.

When looking deeper into the aspects that are mentioned less, the aspect sociability is found most often in connection with peers. For instance, Annabel states; ”a big thing for me is visiting events and also because I’m event coordinator, That goes together really well, I love to be out there in different locations and meet our sales force, but

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also our customer, people that are excited about the sport. I love to network”. Within this quote, Annabel mentioned first her peers as in the sales force and then mentions customers. The other side is that although she searches for a lot of exposure there is no mention of interactions afterward. Therefore, although kitesurfing is an individual sport the social aspect is important but mostly within their own culture. Entrepreneurship falls in the same category as sociability. Annabel is very aware of her personal brand and the benefits it can bring. She makes sure to design her trips in such a way that there will be benefits. Whether that is organising a photoshoot or visiting events where she appears as a guest. Besides her media platform and appearances, she still chose for the security that comes with a stable job. Annabel does mention riders like Nick Jacobsen and Kevin Langeree who seem to be doing something special and are breaking new grounds. These riders show a high level of entrepreneurship through their unique approaches to kitesurfing.

To conclude, the interview confirms some of the literature as well as the results given by the kiters in the questionnaire. Therefore, this research states that the aspects of loyalty, passion, opportunity, and exposure are more important than the aspects of entrepreneurial and sociability. The interview however shows that the aspects are intertwined and that if one aspect is missing the others will be affected. Sponsors working with these athletes need to take the weight of these aspects into account to create an enhanced relationship with their athletes.

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5 EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL ANALYSIS

An external and internal analysis is made to detect which aspects can and cannot be supported by NAG in its current position. By using the PESTLE method, the external environment will be analysed based on several factors (Rastogi & Trivedi, 2016). These factors will show the opportunities and threats which have consequences for their ability to provide the athletes with correct support. Once an understanding of the external environment is created, an internal analysis is made. The internal analysis will be done using the VRIO method. With the VRIO method, we can establish the position of NAG in the total market (Jurevicius, 2013). The VRIO method looks at the uniqueness of the company. This will create a greater understanding why athletes would want to join a brand like NAG. The outcome will determine the position NAG finds itself in contrary to their athletes

External analysis

For the external analysis, the PESTLE method will be used in the configuration PESTLIED. This is done because NAG is a global company working with athletes from different backgrounds. With the PESTLIED configuration, the extra subjects are International and Demographics (Rastogi & Trivedi, 2016). Mystic is one of the bigger players on the international market whereas North has the same aspirations (Pinfold, 2019). Below in table two the PESTLIED is worked out for the external environment of NAG. The most important aspects are underlined and discussed in table 3. Finally the effects of the external environment will be analysed which will help us determine how well NAG can support their athletes.

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Table 2: Showing the PESTLIED Model for NAG

(Specific source table can be found in underneath the reference list)

P

olitical

E

conomical

S

ocial

T

echnology

1. The Netherlands enjoys a stable political situation.

2. The Dutch kitesurf association is working on political level to maintain or open new kite spots around the Netherlands.

3. Brexit will have considerable effects on the costs of events and sponsoring in the UK.

4. Average wages are likely to be raised in the Netherlands.

5. Possible recension can damage the income of NAG.

6. A growth in riders popularity can bring an increase in sales.

7. Kitesurfing is one of the fastest growing sports.

8. major kite events get more

spectators.

9. “surf culture” makes for a social vibe.

10. Growth of social platforms.

11. Kitesurfing as a sport is developing rapidly, because of technological advancements.

12. Use of social platforms are rising to the increase of visibility.

13. Cameras are developing rapidly

which creates creative

opportunities.

14. Kites are being developed using computer modelling to get the optimum performance.

L

egal

I

nternational

E

nvironment

D

emographic

15. Kitesurfing in the Netherlands is

illegal unless on designated

locations.

16. There are little options in health

insurance for competitive kite

surfers.

17. Bans on specific forms of

kitesurfing.

18. World sailing is the governing body of kitesurfing recognised by the IOC.

19. Wind patterns change therefore kite surfers travel around the world.

20. Travelling becomes more

accessible.

21. Kitesurfing is yet to become an Olympic sport which will bring an expected rise in popularity.

22. “Surf culture” is very aware of environmental problems.

23. Kitesurfing is mostly practised in countries that border with an ocean. 24. New kite brands keep coming up

which brings more competition.

25. All beach/ water lover 26. Between 14 and 70. 27. Reasonably wealthy.

28. Travel to kitesurf at specific locations.

29. Kitesurfing happens in most

countries.

30. Kite surfers often live close to the ocean.

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PESTLIED analysis.

A lot of things are changing in the environment of NAG. Within the changes, Some possibilities and threats can affect their ability to sponsor athletes. To keep attracting and holding on to some of the best athletes in the sport, NAG needs to be aware of their external environment to cooperate with their athletes in the most effective way. Table three shows a clear overview of the opportunities/threats and actions. On the left side are the most interesting statements from the PESTLIED analysis. Behind are the opportunities and actions that could be taken by NAG to help their athletes.

Table 3: Shows opportunities/threats of PESTLIED

Statement Opportunity/Threat Action to keep athletes satisfied

Brexit will have considerable effects on the costs of events and sponsoring in the UK.

Threat: Shipping supplies to events or riders in the UK might become more expensive.

Create specific shipment dates for suppliers and athletes to lower the costs.

Possible recension can damage the income of NAG.

Threat: With the decrease of income, sponsoring might be one of the first facets to decrease.

Focus on the crucial riders first, then the local riders.

Kitesurfing is one of the fastest growing sports.

Opportunity: Keep up to date with the developments in the sport, Sponsor kite schools in order to introduce the equipment from the start of their kiting career.

Sponsor the best kite schools, Search for opportunities in which athletes can use their facilities for reduced prices. Having professional athletes around will create more incentive to learn with that specific school or location.

Major kite events get more spectators. Opportunity: Make sure to keep supporting the

biggest kitesurf event to remain a global brand.

Sponsor the right events to remain a strong global brand. Sponsor riders extra whilst participating during these events, New gear/ exclusives.

Growth of social platforms. Opportunity: Make use of a big number of

platforms. Keep up dated with new platforms rising.

Showcase riders, ask riders for good content on the different platforms. Takeover etc.

Cameras are developing rapidly which creates creative opportunities.

Opportunity: Keep updated with the newest technology. Try to find collaborations with new camera tech to create unseen footage.

Assist riders with creating good content by getting them in contact with the right photographers. Also get them in contact with the pioneers of new camera technology.

There are little options in health insurance for competitive kite surfers.

Threat: When athletes get injured they cannot provide footage, recovery might take longer as they won’t be able to get proper health care.

Assist with getting kiters on the right insurance by opening a conversation and looking for the best options.

Kitesurfing is yet to become an Olympic sport which will bring and expected rise in popularity.

Opportunity: Be ready for the increase in popularity of the sport. Try to be present at the event for exposure.

Invite a small number of athletes to be present at the event as well as creating daily content on the first ever appearance of kiting in the Olympics “Surf culture” is very aware of

environmental problems.

Opportunity: Have a line of environmentally friendly products and promote them as such.

Make sure that the environmentally friendly products are also worn by the athletes to showcase their quality.

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Internal analysis.

To understand where in the market NAG stands, a VRIO analysis is done. The VRIO analysis shows what strategical advantages NAG has on its competitors. Knowing this, one can better understand why riders want to join a brand like NAG (Mulder, 2018). The more uniqueness the brands of NAG, the better their position is to attract and hold onto the best athletes in the sport.

Table 3: Shows VRIO model NAG

Resource

V

aluable

R

are

I

nimitable

O

rganisation

Apparel X - - - Wetsuit Knitflex Fox fleece Flaremesh Technical tops X X - - X - - - X X - - X X X - X - - - Harness Softshell Hardshell technology Stealth bar X X - - X - - - X X X X X X X X Bags X - - - Kites X X - - Bars Quick release Quick loop change

X X - - X X X - X X X X Boards X X - - Team riders X X X X Events Sponsor X X - X Brand NAG Mystic North Kiteboarding X X X X X X X X X X X X

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At the moment Mystic is the carrying force behind NAG. With their unique hard-shell harness and the latest innovations in kitesurfing. The innovative stealth bar gives them a clear advantage over their competitors. Also, design-wise they are leading over the competition as the Mystic Len10 Majestic X harness won a Red Dot award (Zac, 2019). The brand image of Mystic has also been one of the carrying forces and that is why they are the most popular kite accessory brand according to IKsurf (2018). North Kiteboarding has launched on august 8, 2019, nevertheless, their brand image was already growing. Their marketing department has done a great job building the brand before launch (Fuld, 2018). Only teasers had been shown, and a group of world class team riders was assembled. Before sales started, only the team riders had been able to fly the new kites and they had already achieved podium places with the kites. These results have massively improved their brand image (Arai et al, 2014). North kiteboarding also has a patented quick-release design which is very important for safety.

Results external/internal analysis

From both analyses, we can conclude that NAG has a great position in relation to the market. This makes the company favourable with athletes. With their global image they will boost the personal brand of their athletes (Annabel, 2020). This position however also creates power distance between athlete and sponsor as more athletes want to get sponsored by NAG then they can support. This in return, lowers the bargaining power of the athletes that get sponsored. However according to the marketing manager of Mystic, Jorn Thoes (2020), Mystic has loyalty highly rated in their sponsoring strategy, with some athletes being sponsored from the start of their professional career 10+ years ago.

External

The external analysis shows that there are many opportunities to work with the sponsored athletes. By actively chasing the opportunities presented in the external environment, NAG can grow its brand using sponsored athletes. As globalization keeps growing NAG needs to be present on different social media platforms to keep its position of most popular brand in the market. This can be achieved in many ways,

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although one significant event is on the horizon of kiteboarding. The Olympics has always provided a good platform for the growth of a sport (Weed, Coren, Fiore, Wellard, Dowse, et al, 2015). Although the discipline of racing is being showcased, which is not the targeted discipline of NAG. NAG can however show their passion and dedication to the sport of kiteboarding. The threats NAG faces in their external environment need to be handled appropriately. Brexit is still developing and should be monitored to create the best strategy to deal with it. The biggest threat of NAG in the sector of sponsoring is injuries. Kitesurfing is considered an extreme sport and brings a higher risk of injuries. These injuries might be career-ending for athletes and because of this, a protocol should exist so both parties know their responsibilities. Long-time injuries might end up very costly for the company. It would therefore be a great gesture if NAG helps to find the best healthcare for their athletes.

Internal

The VRIO model shows the clear advantages NAG has over the competition. This makes NAG a very attractive sponsor for any athlete. They follow the mission of Mystic “why follow when you can lead” (Mystic, 2020) by innovation, design, and sponsoring. Being able to use the latest and best materials as an athlete could mean the difference between winning and losing. Beside their products, NAG puts a lot effort in their sponsoring. This comes to show during the biggest kitesurf events like the King of the air, where NAG is the main sponsor next to the organizer Red Bull. Another example is the world freestyle competition where all judges, commentators, and hosts are wearing Mystic clothing (GKA, 2019). By doing so the brand gets a lot of exposure. Being sponsored by a brand with global image and much exposure brings a lot of opportunities for an athlete to grow their brand.

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Conclusion

When understanding the priorities of athletes growing their brand, sponsors and athletes can create a more sustainable and profitable future. The questionnaire showed that kiting athletes find the aspects loyalty, exposure, and passion most important. These findings were confirmed by an interview with Annabel van Westerop, who showed that these aspects effect with each other. Loyalty is likely to derive from the lack of sponsors in minority sports and therefore a good personal brand is crucial for an athlete. This can be built in two ways, by winning or exposure. Most athletes therefore choose to focus on exposure to build their brand. Exposure in 2020 is mainly done through social media, which in its nature is about sharing your ideas, opinions, and passion. Annabel commented that she gets the most response on social media when she is feeling good and shares her passion. Where kitesurfing is about to step into the spotlights with their first appearance on the Olympics, wakeboarding still has to develop a stronger platform to get that opportunity. This shows that wakeboarding has less popularity and therefore building a good brand image becomes more important for these athletes. This explains why the aspect opportunity is rated higher as there are less opportunities overall. Kite- and wakeboarders should therefore focus on building a strong brand image in order to create opportunities for their future. Their personal brands should focus on their strengths shown in this research in order to connect with their audience. This will ensure a sustainable growth in their brand and therefore a stronger position for their future.

Minority sports like wake- and kiteboarding are less popular and thus less attractive for sponsors. This creates a great power distance between athlete and sponsor. NAG as market leader attracts the best athletes in the industry. They utilize their position in the market to accommodate their athletes with what they need. As a sponsor, NAG shows loyalty by supporting young athletes for long periods. Their passion is shown with the latest innovations in the sport to push the limits. They give opportunities and exposure to their athletes by providing photoshoots, name branded products, and even jobs inside the company. This shows that NAG is a good sponsor for athletes that want to grow their brand.

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Discussion

Where the majority of the research on sponsorships, athletes, and personal branding is done with high profile individuals in major sports, this research focusses on the specific target group of kite- and wakeboarders. Limited academic research has been done around this topic which makes it harder for companies to understand the situation. Together with NAG, the research question was made as follow: What aspects are most important for an athlete in kite/wakeboarding to grow their brand? To add more value for NAG an extra chapter was included to find out how well NAG can accommodate their athletes in growing their brand. The research found out that for kiteboarders the aspects: loyalty, passion, and exposure are most important whereas the wakeboarders showed that loyalty, passion, and opportunity are most important. Besides the aspects, external and internal analysis of NAG showed that they are currently sponsoring the athletes in a correct way. They create a win/win situation where athletes have opportunities to increase their exposure by using the brands marketing to create more value for their brand.

Interpretations

The literature review was done fairly broadly in the knowledge that there is limited research around this subject. This meant looking at closely related subjects like: popular vs minority sports, past vs present, and athlete vs brand. The subjects where all in the context of personal brand and sports sponsoring. These themes continued during the questionnaire, interview, and internal and external analysis. The hypotheses were derived from first-hand experience as co-team manager of Mystic and was as follows: “Creating and getting exposure is the number one way to grow your personal brand through your sponsors to support their lifestyle”. Contrary to the hypothesis a passionate, long-term relationship turned out to be more favourable by the athletes. This is in-line with the brands view on the matter as stated by Kemp, (2007) “Often brands try to sponsor athletes at the beginning of their journey to later reap the benefits”. This indicates that sponsors also want a passionate, long-term relationship with an athlete. Besides this, the results also suggest that every action comes with a reaction, and this principle applies to the aspects found most important. This means that when an athlete wants to grow their brand through sponsorships, they need to be aware of their relationship with their sponsor. These findings will help

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athletes in minority sports understand which aspects they should be prioritising to grow their brand together with a sponsor.

Implications

Kitesurfing and wakeboarding are such new sports that limited research has yet been done in this field. This makes that the implications can be significant in a way that this research can be used to create a better understanding between kite/wakeboarding athletes and their priorities for growing their brand and if a sponsor is able to accommodate this. Further, this research widens the field of minority athlete sponsoring and can be used as a comparison for other fields of sports. Lastly by focussing on aspects rather than financials, this research can be used by athletes and sponsors to evaluate their priorities and spark a conversation about the needs and wishes of the athletes rather than expenses and income. This way a better relationship can be built to get a organic relationship between athletes and sponsors.

Limitations

The target group of the questionnaire, although taken by convenience is a good sample group for this particular research. The target group shows a lot of diversity through their: demographics, background, and specialization within the targeted sports. The chosen target group is especially favourable for NAG as it sees their athletes participate in this research. For further research on this topic the questionnaire could be scaled using the snowball effect where professional athletes ask their peers to participate to create more valuable and accurate results.

The current COVID-19 brings with it some major limitations. Where the interview had to be conducted online as personal contact was prohibited. It caused for a situation where it is difficult to read the interviewees body language throughout the interview. This might take away some of the credibility but, as the interviewee was in their own house (safe environment) it might also be that the interviewee dared to be more open and give more valuable information. Upon further research and multiple interviews, the results could be compared and see which of the two was correct. Due to the lack of available data around this subject, the research can only be seen as a start upon which further research can be based. The available data was mainly found surrounding high-profile athletes in popular sports as opposed to athletes in minority

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sports. This research shows that there needs to be further research done surrounding the athletes view on sponsorships and personal brand growth.

Recommendations

Due to the lack of written research about athletes in minority sports, the main recommendation would be to have more research created around this subject. For athletes in minority sports research around this topic might give them the confidence to fully focus on sports instead of having a second job next to their profession. Besides this, a greater understanding from the athletes into sponsoring would lower the current power distance between sponsors and athletes. Knowing both the athletes and the brands side, an athlete has a better position in negotiations about sponsoring contracts. For brands, further research should be done around the satisfaction of the athletes. As stated in this research many of the aspects are intertwined with each other and therefore to get the most out of the sponsorship they need to understand what is important for an athlete an what is not. As a follow-up study, financial incentives can be studied and their effect on the relationship with the sponsor. It would be interesting to find out to what extend the financial security needs to be for an athlete to focus solely on their sport. These recommendations are meant for minority sports only because for these athletes it is much more important to know their position in negotiations.

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