Modern Brand Building: "Stroshow Style"
Marcus Stroman is building his own unique brand image
uncommon from anything we have seen in current
baseball players.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you're from Toronto and you're unfamiliar with Marcus Stroman, you need to get out from the rock you are living under. But just in case, here is a quick recap on the energetic Toronto Blue Jays pitcher referred to as "Stroshow".
Since the departure of David Price this summer, Stroman has been tabbed as the undisputed ace of the Blue Jays pitching staff. The uncharacteristic ace - hes only 5'8" 165 lbs - had a historic comeback from a torn ACL (while completing his degree at Duke, I may add) to go 4-0 with a 1.67 ERA to launch the Jays to their first postseason appearance since 1993. He's energetic. He's lovable. He's passionate. He has a great story line and even more importantly he cares deeply about the development of his personal brand.
Generally, when you look at MLB rosters there are only a few individuals that jump off the page from a marketing standpoint. Baseball players as a whole generally struggle to attract premier marketing opportunities outside of the elite talents in key markets. There isn't much opportunity to have your brand asscoaited with the athlete out on the field, exposure time is limited due to batting orders and rotations and you're limited by team deals from presenting your sponsored athlete in full uniform.
I'll still stand by this point, since the retirement of Derek Jeter there hasn't been a baseball player that has his same presence as the face of the league. Bryce Harper has the performance and the attitude. Mike Trout has the individual hardware and corporate persona. Giancarlo Stanton has the freakish physique and primetime power. However, none of these athletes have that "Jeter Factor". There isn't that global appeal or extension outside of baseball. Everyone knew who Derek Jeter was - he was the starting shortstop of the New York Yankees (pretty much every kid's dream growing up), won multiple world series, was featured in entertainment magazines whilst dating the most popular female celebrities and had multiple cinematic appearances. It's a rare quality for any athlete to have, so when you see a spark of it in a certain athlete, you get excited.
Now, slow down - I'm not saying Marcus Stroman is going to have the same presence as Derek Jeter, probably nowhere remotely close. The point of this post is to highlight how Stroman is working to diversify himself from something more than just a "baseball brand" and work his way into the sports and entertainment limelight similar to how Jeter did. More importantly, he presents a direction for young professionals to diversify themselves in an increasingly competitive workplace. Here are a few guidelines that can be taken from Stroman's personal brand building to apply to your own brand building as a young professional trying to make it in the sports and entertainment industry.
Take ownership of something meaningful.
Stroman has built his career around the phrase, "Height Doesn't Measure Heart". He has always been referred to as an undersized uncharacteristic starting pitcher since he first put on a glove. You're typical MLB ace is upwards of 6'2" with a huge wingspan - that never phased Stroman. He has taken this philosophy and has not only turned into an incredibly promising ace in the MLB but has created a movement and culture around it.
This movement has led to Stroman creating his own clothing line based around the phrase while increasing his legion of followers. He is serving as an inspiration to not only athletes that were told they were too small to make it but to any individual that has been told that they have too litte / too much of something to be anything special.
I mentioned in my last article , how important it is to take ownership of something to diversify yourself from other applicants. Stroman took a philosophy and turned it into a movement - I'm not expecting you to do the same but you can take inspiration from this. Start you're own marketing club in your program, develop your own charitable initiatives in support of a personal cause, or go out and start producing you're own unique content. Diversification in this industry is key and taking inspiration from this helps.
Associate yourself with brands that can open
up new opportunities.
Stroman is beginning to rack up a sizeable endorsement portfolio including signing with the Jordan Brand, BioSteel and creating his own line with New Era ball caps. So we can take this and see that he has dabbled in fashion once again, associated himself with some of basketball's premier athletes and global representation with the Jordan Brand (I wouldn't be surprised to see a Stroman/Drake themed "black and gold" line) and has the ability to cross-promote himself with multiple other professional sports leagues through the performance brand, BioSteel. On top of this, he joined his good friend Mike Stud in his most recent music video (watch here) which immediately increased his brand awareness outside of the sports world and could open up doors in the music industry.
All strategic moves that can lead to new opportunites to increase his brand awareness and change his brand perception. Now, I'm not saying to go out and film a rap video (don't listen to me, do it) or start your own shoe line but instead apply this to your personal resume and your job search. You may be hung up on a marketing job with a particular sports brand but why not look towards work in consumer products or building a financial institution's brand? It's all applicable and the former master mind behind MLSE, Richard Peddie can attest to this. His dream was to run a basketball team - yet along the way he worked for Colgate, Kraft Foods and Pillsbury which opened up doors for him to take his job at the Rogers Centre and eventually MLSE. These are all opportunities that are going to give you the experience to reach your end goal in the industry and could possibly open you up to a whole new array of opportunities that you couldn't have fathamed.
Don't be afraid to showcase who you are
and what you're about.
Suffice to say, Marcus knows what he is all about and isn't afraid to show it to us. He is energetic and passionate on and off the field and his endorsement portfolio shows that. He has associated himself not only with brands that will take him to new heights but are a representation of who he is as an individual. This is the part that I believe will be the most effective in his personal development - associating himself with brands that are believeable. I don't forsee Stroman signing a deal with a premium financial institution, it's not in his brand image and it won't be believable to his legion of fans - they will see right through it. He is an urban, energetic and youthful brand and his partnerships need to reflect that.
As a young professional this can be taken in two ways - associate yourself with companies that represent who you are as an individual and showcase those qualities through multiple outlets. If you think you know the ins and outs of sponsorship, than make your Twitter page all about sponsorship. If you're passion surrounds social media strategies than create your own blog highlighting your philosophies and ideas that can help brands increase their awareness. The point is - showcase your talents and your image so the companies that mirror that will come knocking at your door.
Until next time,
- D.
