When you hear the name Simone Biles a few things come to mind. Olympian. Gold medalist. Gymnast. Mental health advocate. Most importantly, Simone has used her stage/floor in the gym and on social media to illustrate the Power of She.
Simone Biles Builds Authentic Alignment With Athleta
In 2021, Simone Biles partnered with Athleta to become her exclusive apparel partner. This partnership formed prior to the 2021 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games. Analysis of Simone Biles and Athleta’s social media shows that the partnership between Athleta and Simone aligns perfectly with each other’s values and audiences.
Analyzing the demographics of their social media followings, both have primarily American female audiences, perfect for a brand that aspires for women to acknowledge their unique power. Roughly half of both audiences are also millennials, so Athleta is leaning into a core demographic with the partnership, building brand loyalty with one of that demo’s biggest sports stars. However, roughly half of Simone’s reach extends beyond that millennial audience, reaching multiple generations of women and girls via the Olympics, her social media and her tour sponsored by Athleta.
Beyond their audience similarities, Simone advocates for a valuable message that aligns with Athleta’s mission to empower women – she wants gymnasts and all athletes to always prioritize their mental health above winning. The value in this message is reflected on social media with the engagement received on her Instagram with the caption “mental health matters.”
That post has over 3.6 million engagements and earned over 26.9 million projected impressions, evidence of Simone’s powerful reach and engagement. Matching Athleta’s ethos, fans can see an authentic partnership built upon common goals.
Simone’s Social Media: Tokyo Olympics vs. Paris Olympics
For gymnastics, the Olympics are by far the biggest opportunity for exposure, both for the athletes like Simone and any partners they have.
During the Tokyo Summer Olympics when Simone first partnered with Athleta, her social media content had over 488M projected impressions and 32 million engagements, earning a social value of $16,307,746 and follower interaction rate of 10.71% for the three weeks around and during those Olympics.
For the same time frame in Paris, Simone’s social media was even more successful. In total, she earned $23,414,687 in social value with a follower interaction rate of 17.98% during the Paris games.
Comparing her content during the Tokyo Games and Paris Games, Simone had 19% more impressions, 67% more engagement and 44% more social value. Biles posted less during the 2024 Olympics, but still earned 90 million more impressions and 21 million more engagements. So even though Athleta signed Simone Biles when she was already a huge name post-Rio and going into Tokyo, by the 2024 Olympics they were partnering with an even bigger star than the one they signed.
With growth at that rate, Simone’s social value is projected to be $33,717,149 for 2028 LA Summer Olympics, should she compete.
Simone x Athleta Social Media Advantage
Athleta’s own content benefitted greatly from campaigns featuring Simone Biles. Comparing an average post by Athleta that’s worth roughly $700 in social value to a post featuring Simone worth roughly $8,000, the piece of content relating to Simone increased Athleta’s post value and engagement by 1000%. Having a recognizable face like Simone Biles model clothes and promote the brand created significant value for Athleta.
On Simone’s own page, she had two massive posts with Athleta after the Olympics. One with the 2024 all-around gold medalist in a ‘Power of She’ shirt (featuring her G.O.A.T. necklace) in front of the Eiffel Tower earned Athleta over 6.1 million projected impressions. Another collab post with Athleta and their new partner Katie Ledecky earned another 5.2 million impressions. In total, these two posts alone earned $175,600 in brand value exposure for Athleta.
With her star power at an all-time high following her multi-gold-medal performance in Paris, If Simone Biles competes in the next Summer Olympics, social value, follower interaction rate, and reach would all be projected to increase at LA28. Regardless, her historic comeback at her third Olympics has made her a household name (if she already wasn’t one) and a valuable athlete for endorsements and partnerships.
