A MARKETING MISSTEP
Some say Gronk suspension may hurt brand
New England Patriot Rob Gronkowski’s brand could take a significant hit unless the tight end deftly addresses his hard foul against a Buffalo Bills player and his resulting suspension — and soon, one marketing expert said.
“The key is how he reacts to the suspension,” said Henry Schafer, executive vice president of Q Scores, which has been measuring celebrities’ consumer appeal and marketability since the 1960s. “In our experience, if there’s no response or an inappropriate response, he could lose up to 20 percent of his consumer appeal.”
Gronkowski apologized after Sunday’s game, in which he dove into Tre’Davious White while throwing a forearm to the back of the head during the fourth quarter of the Patriots’ 23-3 victory while White was lying out of bounds in a defenseless position.
Gronkowski said he acted out of frustration with what he called the lack of consistency from the officiating crew. But that explanation didn’t spare him from a one-game suspension by the NFL and may ring hollow to some people in light of his plans to appeal the ruling.
“If I were managing Gronkowski, I would have him address this himself, not through lawyers and not through his manager or PR people,” Schafer said. “He’s got to do it himself, and he’s got to do it within the next couple of days. It’s really important in today’s high-tech environment to respond quickly. The sooner he does, the less impact there’s likely to be on his brand.”
Gronkowski generally has been perceived as both a talented athlete and an easygoing personality who’s unafraid to poke fun of himself — traits that have helped him win lucrative deals with companies like Nike and Dunkin’ Donuts.
At Dick’s Sporting Goods stores nationwide, he ranked fifth in jersey sales within the last week, sixth within the last month and eighth so far this season, according to company statistics.
But as bad as Sunday’s hit was, sports marketing expert Eric Wright said he doesn’t see Gronkowski’s brand suffering any longterm damage over it or over his suspension.
“To me, it would seem like the top sports story for a news cycle or two, but after this next week’s set of games, I’m guessing this will all go away, and we’ll be on to the next story,” said Wright, president of Joyce Julius & Associates Inc., a sports sponsorship research firm in Ann Arbor, Mich. “He did apologize, and that tends to expedite the process of everybody moving on.”