Building the Athlete Brand

Thomas van Schaik is a brand strategist, founder of The Athlete Brand and author of The Athlete Brand Book. He has spent more than two decades helping athletes shape their identity, influence, and long-term opportunity. At Adidas, he led global, award-winning campaigns with athletes such as Kobe Bryant, Muhammad Ali, Allyson Felix, Anna Kournikova, Leo Messi, and David Beckham. At the Dutch Olympic and Paralympic Committee, he helped build Team NL into a unified national brand. He also contributed to developing the IOC’s Athlete 365 Business Accelerator.Hans Westerbeek is Professor of International Sport Business at Victoria University (VU) in Melbourne, where he leads the Sport Business Insights Group in the Institute for Sustainable Industries and Liveable Cities (ISILC). He previously served as Founding Director of the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Active Living (ISEAL), Dean of the College of Sport and Exercise Science, and Pro-Vice Chancellor Sport, responsible for shaping VU’s university-wide sport strategy. He is a non-executive director of Sports Cloud Australia. He also holds adjunct Professorial appointments at Universities in Amsterdam, Madrid, Brussels, Beijing, and Mumbai.

• 1 The Evolution of Athlete Branding2 Decoding the Athlete Brand3 Strategic Foundations for Athlete Brands4 Preparing to Set Up an Athlete Brand Business5 Brand Analysis and Assessment6 Establishing Goals and Objectives7 Crafting the Strategic Game Plan8 Developing the Tactical Playbook9 Measuring Success and Improvement10 Expanding Reach and Global Positioning11 Digital Transformation and New Opportunities12 Intellectual Property and Brand Protection13 Athlete Influence and Social Impact14 The Future of Athlete BrandingAppendix: Core Brand Values Worksheet