Frequently Asked Questions

Pliable defines athlete branding as the process of helping an athlete leverage their name, image and likeness to continuously build their brand during and after their playing career.

Athlete branding  provides athletes with the skills and tools to be a lot more marketable, whether it's to play at the next level or for future employment. The skills and tools for athlete branding include athlete profile development, career planning, content development, athlete logo design, media training, photo and video production and website development. 

Pliable works with high school, college and professional athletes to build their athlete brand.  Learn more

Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) is an abbreviation for name, image and likeness. The term NIL has become very popular because of the ruling on June 30, 2021 that allows NCAA college athletes to benefit from the name, image and likeness. Pliable helps athletes at all levels to learn about how they can increase the power of their athlete brand through profile development,  social media, media training, logo and website development and more.  Pliable works with high school, college and professional athletes to build their athlete brand.  Learn more

Athlete Branding is the continuous process helping an athlete build their personal brand during and after their career. An athlete's brand is based on the things that differentiate them from other athletes, including their core values and beliefs. 

The athlete branding process identifies things that the athlete is the most passionate about and aligns their career decisions with those priorities. A strong athlete brand is built over time (many years) and includes, networking, public relations, marketing, media relations, social media, and other strategies to reach target audiences who are interested in the athlete's career. The athlete branding process is important because it also aligns the athlete with their goals after their playing career.

Athlete Marketing is the process of promoting an athlete through traditional marketing and advertising platforms. Marketing or the related marketing and advertising campaigns for an athlete can stop and start at various points during their career. The goal of athlete marketing is to make the athlete more marketable for external opportunities, including sponsorship opportunities or brand partnerships that have a financial component.  With athlete marketing there is typically a strong call to action about what the athlete wants the audiences to do or buy.

Marketing is the process of promoting your product or service to your target audience by strong branding by using paid media or promotions to earn sales and influence your audience's behavior. There is always a strong call to action about what you want your audiences to do or buy. Typically, companies allocate at least 10% of their annual budget to marketing. 

Public relations is defined by the Public Relations Society of America as “a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.” Think of PR as earned media. In many cases, PR stems from an immediate need and involves media pitching, press releases and networking with local, regional and national media. 

Overall, public relations tactics typically cost less than marketing and advertising, but the return on investment can be slower and the goal is more about educating and influencing attitudes, opinions and beliefs about your company or products, ultimately leading to a favorable opinion and referrals.

Pliable is an extremely flexible company. We can provide many of our services remotely using video conferencing, including Zoom. While we are based in Augusta, Maine, we work with clients from across the country. Let us know what services you would like and we can create a game plan just for you.