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Case Study

How to Launch a Successful Product Using Athletes and Influencers

A case study about how great launches don’t just introduce a product — they create a movement. In 2025, the brands winning day-one attention are those using athletes and influencers to spark relevance, trust, and reach.

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Why Influencers Work for Product Launches
  • Instant awareness: Influencers introduce new products to engaged, ready-to-shop audiences
  • Authentic storytelling: Their content feels like a trusted recommendation, not a hard sell
  • Fast-moving sales: Influencer links and codes drive measurable, real-time conversions
  • Cross-platform reach: Influence travels across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and beyond
  • High trust factor: Followers view them as peers — making endorsements more persuasive

The Specific Advantage of Athletes
  • Higher engagement rate: Athletes average 5.6% vs. 2.4% for influencers
  • Trusted: Athletes post less frequently, so their posts carry more weight
  • Credibility: Their lifestyles align with products in wellness, nutrition, gear, and fashion
  • Local audiences: Great for regional rollouts or geo-targeted launches
  • Cultural relevance: Sports moments = content hooks (games, tournaments, seasons)

 

What Makes a Product Launch Work:
It’s more than a post. A strong athlete / influencer launch blends content, storytelling, and strategy.
Here’s what to include:
  • Teaser content → build anticipation pre-launch
  • Product reveals → unboxings, reviews, tutorials
  • Lifestyle integration → showing real use in daily life
  • Retail activation → shelf visits, geo-tagged stories, "available at Whole Foods now"
  • Conversion tools → discount codes, affiliate links, swipe-ups
  • Post-launch content → check-ins, continued use, Q&A
    The goal: make your launch feel personal, organic, and relevant to your target audience.
 
 

Some Of Our Most Successful Product Launches:
Ka’Chava x Whole Foods:
 → Wellness creators helped drive an increase in-store visibility lift

Callaway Golf Clubs:
 → Golfers on tour + content creators generated more engagement than traditional ads. Check out our deal with Rati Thamcharoneket  and Callaway on the right.

Magnum Nutraceuticals:
 → Launch content aligned with athlete lifestyle and performance credibility of Floyd Mayweather

Just Protein
 → Fitness influencers drove education, trials, and repeat content

Walmart Clothing Launch
 → Styled athletes in new collections for seasonal rollouts across multiple regions
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Why OpenSponsorship:

OpenSponsorship boasts a proud roster of 40,000+ vetted athletes & creators. We use smart filters by sport, audience, geography, and values. In addition, we have fast activation for both social and in-person campaigns, real-time dashboards to track performance and ROI, and campaign managers who make execution seamless.

The Full Service Advantage

With a Full-Service plan, brands get a dedicated account manager assigned to them. These account managers are experts in athlete influencer marketing. They also maintain relationships with hundreds of sports agents and thousands of athletes. Their personal connection to agencies and athletes leads to better response times from talent, strength in deal negotiation, and management skills to handle all-stars in mid-season.

NEW Marketing Emails (5)

Source Athletes

Your Account Manager will find the athletes your team wants to work with.

Negotiate

Your Account Manager will handle all negotiations to ensure you get the terms and price you want.

Manage

Your Account Manager will handle the entire deal and ensure you are satisfied with their work.

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