<\/p>\n
She loves the players, and he loves the game. Translation: 12-time Grammy Award\u2013winner Taylor Swift is dating two-time Super Bowl champ Travis Kelce.<\/p>\n
If we\u2019ve learned anything from the athlete-celebrity couples who have come before them (think David and Victoria Beckham or Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union), it\u2019s that when two well-liked celebrities with fans across demographics tie their reputations together, brands often come running to bask alongside their individual\u2014or dual\u2014star power.<\/p>\n
In the case of Swift and Kelce, the opportunities seem to be coming, well, swiftly, especially following Swift\u2019s attendance at a Kansas City Chiefs game this weekend appeared to confirm their tie-up. As of early Tuesday afternoon, the NFL Players Association had already received pitches from two of its partners to create new Kelce merch from the weekend\u2019s excitement, Gina Scott, the association\u2019s VP of partner services, told Marketing Brew. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Eagles\u2014who have both Kelce\u2019s brother Jason Kelce and running back D\u2019Andre Swift on the team\u2019s roster\u2014are also jumping in on a surging interest in the names on jerseys.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have the ability to capitalize upon this popularity, and that\u2019s a huge value to partners,\u201d Scott said.<\/p>\n
But with Swift\u2019s international reach and a high-stakes social media landscape, marketers \ud83c\udfb6 need to calm down \ud83c\udfb6 \u2014or at least check their playbooks before hopping too fast on the Traylor bandwagon.<\/p>\n
Before the rumor mill about a possible relationship with Swift began to churn, Kelce had a big reputation of his own. Already known as one of the best tight ends in the NFL, his dating show Catching Kelce, <\/em>which aired in 2016, contributed to more mainstream name recognition. The athlete is currently No. 6 on the NFLPA\u2019s Influencer Hot List and No. 15 on Kantar\u2019s Sports Monitor Athlete Reputation Tracker.<\/p>\n After the public sightings over the weekend, though, Kelce\u2019s star has risen even higher. His jersey shot to the No. 5 top-selling jersey in the NFL this week, Scott said, and Kelce merchandise saw a 400% increase in sales. Beyond that, he gained tens of thousands of followers overnight\u2014although his follower count still doesn\u2019t hold a candle to Swift\u2019s\u2014and it\u2019s worth noting that he\u2019s also \u201ctaking a bit of a risk with his public perception or image\u201d in the event that there ends up being bad blood between the two, said Kantar EVP Ryan McConnell.<\/p>\n But if brands come a-knocking, Kelce may not take every deal that comes his way. He currently has deals with 25 brands including Bud Light, Pepsi, and Nike, according to SponsorUnited. It may be even harder for brands to connect with Swift: the musician has done relatively few endorsement deals recently, like those Capital One ads during her Eras era.<\/p>\n While Kelce is \u201cmore sponsorable now\u201d than he was before his relationship with Swift took center stage, according to Morning Consult Brand Analyst Ellyn Briggs, the singer-songwriter\u2019s fanbase is hard to compete with. A majority of US adults identify as Swifties, including a fairly even split between men and women, per Morning Consult.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s already at the peak of her powers, and she will probably lose more reputationally than she might gain financially by pursuing more brand deals, given the highly engaged nature of her fanbase,\u201d Sam Yardley, EVP of sports marketing agency Two Circles, said. \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s in her interest to cash in directly with brands now.\u201d<\/p>\n For marketers who aren\u2019t lucky enough to get the official Swift-Kelce stamps of approval, there are still ways for them to capitalize on the buzz. Endorsing the Chiefs or other players on the team is one more realistic avenue, Yardley said. Even without official licensing rights, some clothing companies, like the apparel brand Charlie Hustle, are already spinning out new products that reference the Chiefs and Swift, and sports merchandise company BreakingT is selling a shirt that reads \u201ckarma is my tight end.\u201d<\/p>\n There are other ways for brands to get in on the excitement. Kelce wore pants and a jacket from fashion label KidSuper while leaving the game hand-in-hand with Swift, and the brand moved quickly to feature the fit on its site, push out a press release, and even change the name of the jacket and pants to include \u201c1989.\u201d In these instances, speed is key, given that there\u2019s a chance \u201cthe rumor mill dies down in a week,\u201d Scott said.<\/p>\n The email newsletter guaranteed to bring you the latest stories shaping the marketing and advertising world, like only the Brew can.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n And for brands that can\u2019t turn around merch with a day\u2019s notice\u2014or whose bread and butter isn\u2019t merch\u2014there\u2019s always social media. Arby\u2019s, for instance, engaged without mentioning Swift or Kelce by name, instead referencing a viral post<\/a> of Swift eating chicken and \u201cseemingly ranch\u201d at the game.<\/p>\n Heinz used the same viral condiment post as inspiration behind its limited-edition \u201cketchup and seemingly ranch\u201d sauce\u2014a repackaged version of its long-standing \u201ckranch\u201d sauce\u2014which was promoted on its Instagram account. Companies that have the ability to be nimble and move quickly are best positioned to take advantage of viral moments like this, Briggs said.<\/p>\n \u201cBrands are usually a few steps behind the trend curve because they have to get creative approvals, they have to go through all these hoops,\u201d she said. But \u201cthey can just throw up a picture of Taylor Swift in the booth and tie it to their brand with a tweet with little approval process.\u201d<\/p>\n Social posts are low risk because there\u2019s little to no cost associated with them and spending too much money on any one product or campaign tied to a celebrity couple can sometimes backfire. Take crypto exchange FTX, which ran an ad featuring Tom Brady and Gisele B\u00fcndchen right around the time news broke that they would be getting divorced. When it rains, it pours\u2026not a month after the couple called it quits, FTX collapsed.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019d be very dangerous to put money into a campaign with both of them,\u201d SponsorUnited CEO Bob Lynch said.<\/p>\n Briggs advised brands to allocate any investments tied to Swift and Kelce based on how long they think news of their relationship might spur sales or engagements. It\u2019s a hard calculation, but she noted that even if excitement around the pair doesn\u2019t stay at the level it was when Swift attended Sunday\u2019s game, there will likely still be fans looking for ways to engage even after the hype dies down.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nWe can\u2019t make any promises<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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