Tom Brady is the Quarterback for the New England Patriots, and a successful one indeed. Winning six super bowl rings throughout his illustrious 19 season career, he has defied father time by playing well into his 40's. Brady has been successful both on, and off the field however, with his own personal brand, TB12. Brady attributes the majority of his success in his "old age" to his rigorous diet and exercise plan that keeps him in shape. In September of 2013, he launched the TB12 Sports Therapy Center in Foxborough, Massachusetts, the home of the New England Patriots (Digiday.com). The launch of the fitness center became the launch of his brand, one of the first personal brands amongst athletes that has taken the sports marketing world, specifically influencer marketing by storm.
So first, what is TB12? According to Digiday.com, it is "a sprawling brand that is everything from lots of reps with fitness bands to a diet featuring avocado ice cream - all premised on the fitness gospel that underpins Brady's legendary run in the NFL" (Digiday.com). Brady has a goal to help other athletes, ranging from football to skiing, maintain a healthy body and prolong their career as long as possible, just as he has. And the brand has grown far from just a fitness center. "As they try to scale, TB12 has expanded beyond the one center by selling other products. 'The TB12 Method' book was released in September 2017. A few months later, they launched the TB12 Method mobile app. TB12 also has an online store for workout equipment like TB12 resistance bands, supplements like TB12 electrolytes and apparel like TB12 hats and, through a partnership with Under Armour, recovery pajamas that help you heal muscles while you snooze" (Digiday.com).
But one of the major successes through all of this is how Tom and his team have branded the quarterback to become a relatable athlete that people can get behind, and want to buy products from. "His in-house team decided to explore on building his brand through Facebook by sharing Brady's personality through personal photos and funny memes...as an attempt to make the athlete more relatable" (adweek.com).
The branding efforts have paid off immensely. Prior to Super Bowl 52, Brady was featured in a Facebook watch series called Tom vs. Time. After the series, the TB12 team partnered with Facebook to create two separate TB12 advertising campaigns to bolster product sales, and the results were phenomenal. According to "Facebook for Media," the ads increased sales of TB12 products by 98.8% and increased TB12 app installs by 56.7%. By using the watch series to market himself and the program, Tom Brady was able to garner even more success than the brand had already been experiencing. The viewers of the show increased traffic to tb12sports.com by 64%, and 53% of the revenue created. The TB12 marketing team geniusly drove Tom's personal social media following and the brands following through the roof.
All in all, Tom Brady and the TB12 team paved the way for athletes to begin their own personal brands and become social media influencers. Athletes like Derek Jeter, Russell Westbrook and Cristiano Ronaldo (to name a few) have followed in Tom's footsteps, creating their own brands, mainly clothing and apparel lines. Today, athletes are utilizing their endorsements on social media to not only promote themselves, but the products they represent. As TB12 continues to grow and expand, watch out for more and more athletes to begin to develop their brands as Tom has. He has set the groundwork for how an athlete should properly become a social media influencer.
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