After a historic win by Ash Barty at the Australian Open, the athlete is on her way to becoming the most marketable person in Australia.
Normally reserved for the likes of Hugh Jackman or Margot Robbie, experts predict that Ash Barty will become more than just Australia’s most marketable athlete.
Andrew Condon, a sports and marketing expert, told The Age and the Herald that “it sounds strange, but the challenge for Ash was her awareness. She has similar likeability to Roger Federer… But until Saturday, I don’t think her awareness was as high, and she probably wasn’t as salient as those individuals.”
“There’s no doubt that becoming the first Australian to win the Australian Open in 44 years will change how many Australians are aware of her, and the way she went about it will also increase her likeability.”
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“There’s no doubt she’s Australia’s most marketable athlete.”
“You’d probably go as far as saying she’s on the cusp of becoming Australia’s most marketable person.”
“Before the Open, her awareness was at 76%… Hugh Jackman and Chris Hemsworth have an awareness of 90%.”
In December 2021, Federer was the most marketable athlete in Australia but after Saturday’s result, Condon has suggested that’s no longer the case.
“She will be thrust into that stratosphere and from a marketability perspective, that’s significant, and testament to her on-court performances.”
However, Condon highlights that Barty’s focus on recreational activities over commercialisation indicates she won’t get to “Naomi Osaka levels” of off-court earnings, who earned $76 million from her partnerships.
“She likes to be in control of her time, play golf, go to the footy, hang with her family and her beloved dogs. She priorities those things above commercialisation of her marketability off court. And that’s been critical to her success.”
“Her management team has the view that she is going to make her money the long way around.”
“She is now going to be marketable for the rest of her life.”
