Maybe Brands Should Rent Pro Surfers? | One already does!

 

An interesting read over on Surfing Mag about how the surfing industry is so dead brands may only be able to afford surfers for a day to a weeks worth of work at a time. But maybe it makes perfect sense? It comes from the mind of Stuart Cornuelle who has reinvented himself into a Futurist from his previous occupation as an original co-founder of WHAT YOUTH. (What happened Stuart? Please tell.)

The most interesting thing is that (as I remember it) Monster Energy used to do this in snowboarding. You see in their attempt to do everything opposite of their rival Red Bull (who, like them or not, take excellent care of their athletes over the long-term with perks like state-of-the-art training facilities, doctors, etc.) they would ‘hire’ pro snowboarders to put stickers on their gear over the course of a Monster event, or X-Games, or what have you. Paying big money too just for a few days.

Monster can you confirm?

Anyway, read the article because it may not seem so crazy in a few years time.

 

“Or what about the Zipcar / Netflix / Spotify model? Buying access, not ownership. Brands could rent a pro when they need one and quit paying when they don’t. You only want [insert Pipe Specialist] on your team for the Hawaii season? Fine. That’ll be $100k. Parko puts together a boys’ trip and invites [insert unsponsored pro]? Billabong could do a three-week deal to get stickers on his nose, the new Summer ’17 trunks on his waist, and all media rights from the trip in perpetuity. Marketing a la carte.”

 

Click over to SURFING MAG for the full feature Should Surf Brands Rend Professional Surfers?

 

 

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