The multiple brand personalities of David Beckham: a case study of the Beckham brand.

Vincent, John ; Hill, John S. ; Lee, Jason W. 等

The Rise, Fall, and Re-Ascension of Brand Beckham

The career of David Beckham, celebrity soccer player, has had its highs and lows. But through it all, one thing has remained constant, David Beckham has rarely ventured out of the media or the public eye. For a decade, from his 1995 debut for Manchester United, his career went from strength to strength, his on-field brilliance matched only by his soaring marketing appeal in a sport that massively commercialized in the 1990s (Cashmore & Parker, 2003).

But as he hit his thirties, the Beckham star began to fade, and from 2006, his career has experienced turbulence. After resigning the England captaincy in the aftermath of England's disappointing exit at the quarterfinal stage of the 2006 World Cup, Beckham was subsequently dropped from the England national team squad in August 2006. In 2003 he moved from Manchester United to join famed Spanish soccer club, Real Madrid. By the end of 2006, he could not hold on to his first team place and it seemed that Beckham's fabled soccer career was declining (Wahl, 2007). As he fell from footballing (soccer) grace, Beckham's commercial celebrity appeal also eroded as he lost several lucrative endorsement contracts, most notably as the face man for Police sunglasses and the brand ambassador for Gillette (Leonard, 2006).

However, just as everyone was writing him off, Beckham, not for the first time in his fabled career, reinvented himself. The soccer and entertainment world was stunned in January 2007, when he signed with the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States, and the next phase of Brand Beckham was launched. It began in sensational style. In a sports world unfazed by gargantuan sports contracts, Beckham signed a contract that amazed even the most hardened of sports commentators. Worth an estimated $250 million over five years (Wahl, 2007), Beckham's Los Angeles Galaxy contract was signed only after the passing of a new MLS rule, the "designated player rule" (subsequently dubbed the "Beckham rule"), which permitted MLS teams to pay above the salary cap for two players. The contract was stunning, but fully reflected Beckham's global soccer notoriety and his Hollywood good looks. Carefully crafted by Simon Fuller, the architect of American Idol and former manager of the Spice Girls, Beckham's MLS deal dwarfed that of marquee athletes in the traditionally mainstream American sports of football, baseball, and basketball. Beckham's contract was thought to be justified by his popular and global appeal. It enabled him to benefit financially from all his image rights, related sponsorships and endorsements, as well as sharing in team replica shirt and club ticket sales. In effect Beckham's contract made him a partner with the Los Angeles Galaxy's owners, the Anschultz Entertainment group, which had previously partnered with Beckham in developing his soccer academy in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California, and Greenwich, close to Beckham's birthplace in London (Patrick, Weinbach, & Johnson, 2007).

The Beckham signing was deemed a watershed moment for U.S. soccer. Don Garber, the MLS Commissioner declared that "David Beckham is a global sports icon who will transcend the sport of soccer in America" ("Beckham to leave Real Madrid for LA Galaxy," 2007, n.p.). The combination of Beckham's persona, English, tall, lean, good looking, with glittering athletic skills, and a celebrity wife, Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham, was tailor-made for Hollywood, Los Angeles, and the MLS. It provided Beckham with new opportunities to generate excitement in U.S. soccer, reignite his soccer career and also to ply his looks and commercial skills in the world's most lucrative marketplace--Hollywood.

Beckham: On the Pitch

Beckham's distinguished playing career has been spent mainly with two of the most recognizable professional soccer teams in the world, Manchester United and Real Madrid. He built his reputation playing for Manchester United in the English Premier League. During his 10 years at the club, Manchester United dominated the English Premier League, which both then and now is widely recognized as one of the best and most competitive soccer leagues in the world. During his tenure with Manchester United, Beckham won six English Premiership titles, and was a pivotal member of the Manchester United team that won a unique soccer treble in 1999, garnering the Premiership, FA Cup, and UEFA Champions league in the same season. Though a midfielder, Beckham scored 86 goals for Manchester United (Halpin, 2007). Beckham's fame, though, was less from his goal-scoring prowess than his ability to deliver pinpoint crosses, strike 40-yard penetrating through balls with unerring accuracy, and bend his signature free kicks around and over defensive walls (Giardina, 2003).

Beckham's international career has been luminous. In March 2008, Beckham represented the England national team for the 100th time, making him a member of a very exclusive club. Only four other Englishmen, Peter Shilton (125), Bobby Moore (108), Bobby Charlton (106), and Billy Wright (105) had reached this milestone before Beckham ("David Beckham earns 100th cap for England," 2008). Beckham's stellar international career has included representing England in the 1998, 2002, and 2006 World Cup final tournaments, and he holds the distinction of being the first-ever English player to score in three successive World Cups. He served his country as its talismanic captain from 2000 through the 2006 World Cups. As captain, Beckham led his England team through example, including some at-times virtuoso performances such as his last-minute bending freekick goal against Greece that secured the England national team's qualification for the 2002 World Cup Finals (Harris & Clayton, 2007).

Such performances for the national team endeared him to the English public and Beckham's right foot was even referred to as one of Britain's "national treasures" by Hugh Grant's character, in the 2003 film Love Actually. This and other game-changing performances propelled Beckham mania to unprecedented levels, even prompting The Sun newspaper to call for Beckham to be knighted (Harris & Clayton, 2007). Popular support was there, and in 2003, Beckham was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the Queen's birthday honors list for services to football (soccer) (Harris & Clayton, 2007). His importance to the national team was highlighted when a broken metatarsal bone in his foot, two months before the 2002 World Cup, bumped the death of the Queen Mother from the front pages of several popular newspapers. Prime Minister Tony Blair publicly implored the nation to be optimistic and the press, both English and foreign, urged their readers to pray for his swift recovery so that he could play for England in the tournament. Beckham recovered in time to be featured in the 2002 World Cup Finals, and scored the winning goal against England's arch-rival, Argentina, before the team was eliminated by Brazil in the quarterfinals. In the same year Beckham was selected as the 33rd greatest Briton of all time by the BBC, the highest position attained by any sports figure (Harris & Clayton, 2007).

Although Beckham is perhaps the epitome of the successful postmodern global sport celebrity, his soccer career has had its downtimes, during which he has endured much hostility from England's soccer fans and severe criticism in the press. Such occurred in the 1998 World Cup finals, when, against arch-nemesis Argentina, with the game delicately poised, Beckham was given a red card and sent off from the field of play for retaliating against an Argentine player. This meant that England was reduced to playing with 10 men, and although the team held the 11 players representing Argentina to a draw in regulation time, they were eliminated by a penalty shoot-out. This lapse of judgement did not go unpunished. England's national pride had been damaged and Beckham was widely vilified in the media for England's premature elimination from the 1998 Cup. Typifying the negative newspaper accounts of Beckham's sending-off, The Mirror's (1998) headline read "ten heroic lions, one stupid boy" (as cited in Harris & Clayton, 2007, p. 1). After enduring a season of terrace taunts from opposing team fans, Beckham gradually rebuilt his soccer reputation and popular appeal. Indeed the season after, he played a pivotal role in winning three trophies, the Premier League, the F.A. Cup [The Football Association Challenge Cup in English football (soccer)], and the European Champions League, aptly dubbed the treble, with Manchester United in 1999. As his field performances improved, so his image reached iconic status. It peaked in April 1999 when Time Out magazine went as far as to portray Beckham as a pseudo-Christ-like figure and featured him on the front cover in white trousers and see-through shirt in a pose evocative of Christ and the crucifixion. The caption read: "Easter Exclusive: The Resurrection of David Beckham" (Seenan, 2005).

In 2003, Beckham left Manchester United for Real Madrid. They paid $41 million for his services as their president, Florentino Perez, sought to build a club of global soccer superstars. Beckham joined a team that included the best-known names in the sport, including Frenchman Zinedine Zidane, Spain's Luis Figo, and Brazil's Ronaldo. This turned out to be an ill-fated strategy as despite their galaxy of soccer super-heroes, Real Madrid only won one trophy, Spain's La Liga title, during Beckham's time at the club. Commentators at the time, though, noted the club's upturn in commercial appeal and speculated that the true impetus for the transfer was more Beckham's global celebrity and iconic appeal rather than his playing ability. There is some truth in this. Some commercial synergies were evident with both Beckham and Real Madrid having sponsorship deals with Adidas and Pepsi. Both gained from Beckham's Spanish presence. Real Madrid's commercial revenue from club merchandise sales, such as replica shirts, increased 67% in Beckham's first season alone. The acquisition of Beckham also helped open up new markets in Asia and the United States with exhibition matches and tours. Such was his impact that it was claimed that the "Beckonomics" of the transfer helped to propel Real Madrid past Beckham's former club Manchester United as the world's richest club in 2006 (Deloitte Annual Review of Football Finance, 2006).

Beckham has always had his critics, many of whom note that his off-the-field persona masks deficiencies in his on-field performances. Such critics cite that Beckham is "less than the complete" soccer player, while claiming that he is too one-dimensional in his abilities to deliver the telling through ball, the in-swinging corner, or the pinpoint crosses and free kicks. They point to his lack of genuine pace, his underdeveloped left-footed play, his poor heading, and his dearth of one-on-one dribbling skills. These deficiencies, they note, despite his stellar offensive set-piece play, limit his overall team contribution at the highest levels of the game.

Brand it Like Beckham

Through his world-class soccer exploits and his multiple off-field personas, Beckham has not just become a brand, but a portfolio of brands. A brand is an intangible "mental box" or a creation or an association that exists in the mind of the consumer that adds value to products and services (Aaker, 1996). In Beckham's case his global popularity and iconic image has resulted in him adding significant brand value and goodwill to the various companies he is a spokesman for and the multitude of different products and services that he endorses. Together with his wife, Victoria, they actually have their own dVb (David and Victoria Beckham), brand label.

There are payoffs to global notoriety. It adds new audiences of potential sponsors as international corporations tap into the affinity and affection that a large section of the public have for global sport stars, like David Beckham. Their hope is that sports endorsements will cause fans to equate the image of the athlete with their products and services (Stone, Joseph, & Jones, 2003). Qualities such as the athlete's global popular appeal, recognition, credibility, overall fit, physical attractiveness, trustworthiness, expertise, personal characteristics, and cultural meaning transfer are what companies look for in athletes who endorse their products and services (Till & Busler, 2000). Their hope is that a Beckham endorsement will add significant value to their products and services. Beckham, though, is unique as his iconic image extends far beyond the sports arena into multiple areas, with each representing a profit center for exploitation. He is, in effect, not one brand, but an entire portfolio of brands, each representing a part of the chameleon-brand that is David Beckham.

The Celebrity Crossover Star: Multiple Brand Personality Beckham

In the commercial world, the Beckham brand has taken on "multiple personalities" or identities. Brand Beckham's multiple personalities or identities are what makes him unique and valuable and can add value to many different products and services. His brand has transcended the monolithic pure athlete persona and this point was articulated by Harris and Clayton (2007) when they stated:

   Beckham is without doubt one of the most significant
   athletes of (post)modern times. He transcends
   boundaries in a way that few (if any) other English
   athletes have ever done and (together with his
   wife) has become a truly global brand. (p. 219)

Beckham bends more than soccer balls. While the phrase "bend it like Beckham" refers to his almost unique ability to curve a free kick around a defensive wall and into a corner of the goal, in the media he also bends societal norms in a commercially appealing way. In this way the Beckham persona is truly multidimensional. On the field and through his soccer achievements, he is the epitome of the masculine sports male, quintessentially English, from a working class background, and immensely talented.

Off the field, his marketing image broadens to embrace other brand identities and personalities. He appeals to aspiring youth as a "working-class-boy-made-good." To families he is portrayed as a loving father and adoring husband. To popular music fans he is the proud husband of Posh Spice. Behaviorally, his non-conformist tendencies appeal to youth's individualism. In the world of high fashion, his clothes, and metro-sexual appeal attract the attention of "fashionistas" worldwide (Cashmore & Parker, 2003). Celebrity Beckham's appeal is in the eye of the beholder--a commercial chameleon or floating signifier, whose appeal depends on " ... the role and audience he seeks to address" (Cashmore & Parker, 2003, p. 214).

Beckham's uniqueness then is that while individual celebrities epitomize one of these elements, David Beckham embraces a number of them. The interactions among his various persona and images have given him enormous synergies in the media. His presence at an event always gives the media multiple reporting angles. There is always something to write about.

Originally football (soccer) was Beckham's entrance to stardom. But the turning point and the key to his multiple brand personality was almost certainly his high-profile marriage to former Spice Girl and celebrity socialite, Victoria "Posh Spice" Adams, who became famous in the late 1990s as a member of the Spice Girls, a pop music group formed by Simon Fuller's 19 Entertainment. Their antics and celebrity lifestyles made tabloid headlines wherever they went, as did their highly publicized friendships with movie and popular music stars (Yu, 2005).

Individually, they were icons. Together, they became an overpowering commercial force that attracted more than twice the attention. Victoria Beckham receives as much interest from the media paparazzi as her husband and is known for her fashion sense and glamour. "Posh and Becks" as they are affectionately known have been labeled as the people's royalty. Their _2.5 million (or approximately $5 million U.S.) home in Hertfordshire has been dubbed Beckingham Palace. Piers Morgan, the former editor of The Mirror newspaper revealed " ... on a slow news day we used to lead the paper on the royals, now we go for Queen Posh and King David" (Morton, 2000, p. 19).

Dissecting the Multiple Brand Personalities

Beckham's potent combination of sporting prowess, physical attractiveness, sex appeal, celebrity marriage, working class roots, capacity for hard work, and multifaceted masculinity make him a model endorsement prospect for many global companies (Yu, 2005). His image as a wholesome, clean-living, devoted family man juxtaposed with his penchant for bending conventional rules maximizes his appeal to multiple demographic segments (Giardina, 2003). His masculine identity is firmly rooted in his athleticism. But a large part of Beckham's appeal can be traced to his non-conformity and contradictions or his androgynous blends of opposites. As Cashmore (2006) put it,

   Beckham reverberated with inclusiveness. White,
   but with Black tastes; straight, but adored by gay
   men; male, but with a penchant for nail varnish,
   body-waxing, and androgynous attire. (p. 233)

Beckham's fashion sense has resulted in extraordinary appeal among the Black community. He sports chunky jewelry. He uses fashion to exude confidence and sex appeal (Givhan, 2003). His hairstyles, clothes, and body ornamentation have developed into an important part of the Brand Beckham iconic image. Unlike most men, he changes hairstyles, and when he does it makes news. When he met Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first Black president, he wore Caribbean braids. During the 2002 World Cup, he had a Mohican cut. His body is adorned with tattoos including a winged crossed tattoo on the back of his neck. Under normal (i.e., non-Beckham) circumstances, such adornments would contradict his working class roots, soccer prowess, and strong family image. But in the media he is anchored with a strong hetero-masculine image. This occurs in spite of his constant infringements of traditional working class football (soccer) culture that emphasizes the strong masculine image and which normally vilifies any hint of effeminacy.

Such characteristics unveil Beckham as being the style icon, who embraces the values of metro-sexual man. This image presents Beckham as well groomed and manicured, someone who moisturizes regularly, and who with his wife endorses a line of fragrance brands. The Beckham body, hard and toned, is aligned with his metro-sexual tendencies and that also makes him a popular figure in the gay community. Far from discouraging this androgynous image, Beckham chooses to reinforce this "bi-sexual persona" through his choice of fashions as well as appearances in gay magazines. This image peaked in 2002, when in an issue of the men's magazine GQ, Beckham posed for photographs in what was promoted as "his most outrageous shoot." Beckham was photographed complete with facial makeup, baby oil on his uncovered chest, wearing a white silk scarf, and nail varnish. The shoot was reported under the headline "Camp David" in The Mirror (Harris & Clayton, 2007). This was an obvious blurring of male-female images. It worked because, as Rahman (2004) suggests, Beckham " ... sells precisely because he is constructed and represented with reassuring and dissonant elements of masculinity" (p. 231).

Beckham's family-man image is similarly so robust that not only did his reported affair in 2004, with personal assistant Rebecca Loos, fail to substantially undermine his wholesome family image; his commercial appeal not only did not falter, it was actually enhanced in some regards (Cashmore, 2006). It transpired that his alleged affair seemed to reinforce his heterosexual credibility and his appeal as the working class hegemonic man (Clayton & Harris, 2004). It also provided a counter-narrative to the notion that Beckham represented a kind of new age man emasculated by his allegedly dominant ex-Spice Girl ("girl-powered") wife who reportedly chooses his clothes and fashion accessories.

Beckham's global appeal is evidenced by the high percentage of people in Asia who recognize him. Over three years, he appeared in 150 countries in Gillette shaver advertisements. The Japanese Meiji Seika chocolate and confectionary company made a three-meter high chocolate statue figure of Beckham as part of his endorsement of their confectionary before the 2002 World Cup finals. Beyond that, Monks at a Buddhist shrine in Thailand even molded a gold-plated Beckham that people can worship (Yu, 2005).

As Cashmore (2006) stated, Beckham is a "moving advertisement" (p. 9). What is evident is that Brand Beckham has undergone a metamorphosis from the early days when his appeal was predicated on his soccer playing ability and his credibility as a world-class professional soccer player to a more complex multifaceted brand. This change has been carefully crafted by his management agency, 19 Entertainment, and been broadly based on his global fashion icon and jetsetter appeal (Yu, 2005). He has endorsed sports cars, airlines, chocolates, and electronic durable products, and has represented Motorola, Gillette, Pepsi, Upper Deck, Vodafone, Castrol, Marks & Spencer, and Coty (Rines, 2004). Beckham's sporting endorsement contracts includes the Adidas predator pulse thumbprint shoe that he wore in the 2006 World Cup, which incorporated an image of his thumb print into the shoe design. Beckham is also contracted to wear his branded Adidas predator shoes and an Adidas uniform while playing for the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Beckham the Brand Portfolio

Beckham's multi-faceted persona has, perhaps uniquely in the sporting world, made him not just a brand, but a portfolio of brands. Brand portfolios are collections of related brands that are marketed as separate entities to appeal to different segments within a given market (Barwise & Robertson 1992). David Beckham is not just a brand with a distinct personality; he is a portfolio of brands, each emanating from the different roles he plays in life--soccer player, father, husband to Posh, fashionista, sexual icon, and so on. We all play multiple roles in life--a man may be a father, husband, employee, and soccer coach for example. Each is a role that often requires different personalities to implement successfully. In Beckham's case, each of his roles, through media scrutiny and marketing magnification, has become a separate brand--each different, but all managed from Beckham Brand Central, his marketing group. Each brand is similar, but has its own personality (Aaker 1996). In Beckham's case, each persona is a distinct segment, and from a business perspective, each is a profit center.

Beckham's Brand Equity

Aaker (1996) defined brand equity as "a set of assets and liabilities linked to a brand, its name and symbol, that add to or subtract from the value provided by a product or service to a firm and/or that firm's customers" (p. 10). That is, brand equity is the value of the brand to the owner. The two main components of brand equity are the creation of awareness and image. In terms of brand awareness, Beckham is one of the world's most recognizable athletes with the media paparazzi following his every move. Additionally, Beckham's endorsements have very high levels of public awareness (Rines, 2004). The other component of brand equity is image. This refers to the cumulative effect of all the associations' people have with Beckham's multi-dimensional appeal. Brand Beckham's image is predicated on his multi-brand personalities. The benefits of Beckham's multi-dimensional global appeal and loyal fan following are that it enables his management agency to generate a portfolio of separate endorsements held together by the Beckham persona. This gives him significant brand equity. In 2005, the sum total of Beckham's brand portfolio value was estimated to be approaching $400 million (Yu, 2005).

I Love LA

David Beckham's decision to play for the Los Angeles Galaxy was monumental for the league, the club, and the player. For the MLS, it was a significant coup to attract a player of Beckham's stature. Shortly after signing him, Don Garber, the commissioner of MLS, was quoted in the Wall Street Journal as saying, "Having David play in the most commercially robust market in the world clearly is going to generate significant income for both the Galaxy and the league" (Patrick et. al., 2007, p. B2). But even this necessitated an MLS rule change to modify the designated player rule, which now states that each franchise can sign two players who can be paid more than the league maximum salary of $400,000. From the league's perspective, Ivan Gazidis, MLS Deputy Commissioner, justified the MLS's strategic investment in Beckham by claiming that he would deliver value to MLS broadcast partners and sponsors and also increase the value of all MLS teams. The signing also came at a critical time in the league's development. In 2007, the MLS, which was created in the aftermath of the United States hosting the 1994 World Cup, negotiated its first compensated TV deal with ESPN, Univision, and Fox Soccer Channel. The deal is worth $20 million a year. The league is also in the throes of expansion, adding Toronto F.C. and San Jose in 2007 and 2008, respectively. The league also has plans to add two other franchises in Portland and Philadelphia in 2010 (Bell, 2007).

For the LA Galaxy, signing Beckham was the lynchpin to the club's marketing strategy, where his global appeal is being used to great marketing effect. Initial marketing and promotion efforts have included creating a new team logo, a shirt sponsorship deal, and the provision of a post-season team tour of Asia. Tim Leiweke, the president and CEO of Anschultz Entertainment Group, which owns the Galaxy, claimed that within three months of signing, Beckham had already "paid for himself." He noted that since Beckham's arrival at the Galaxy, the club had sold-out their luxury suites, attracted 11,000 season ticket holders, inked a groundbreaking shirt sponsorship deal worth an estimated $20 million with Herbalife, and had increased merchandise sales by 700% for the Galaxy and by 300% for the league ("Beckham already having a commercial impact on U.S.," 2007; Wahl, 2007). Clearly, in its early stages, the Beckham deal was paying off.

For Beckham, too, the deal is working. Clifford Boxham of Octagon, a United Kingdom sports management agency believes that the move also helps Beckham finish his career as an impact player, which he has always been throughout his career. This was a shrewd move. It would have been difficult for Beckham to have maintained his status in the hyper competitive European leagues, outside a star-studded team such as Manchester United. Then, too, there is also his crossover appeal, tailor-made for the laissez-faire lifestyles of the Hollywood market, which would be less pronounced in Europe than in the United States (Patrick et. al., 2007).

A number of question marks remain, however. Although the Bend It like Beckham movie created curiosity, David Beckham, the worldwide soccer celebrity, is not as famous in the United States as he is in many other parts the world where soccer is the preeminent sport and his soccer skills are widely acknowledged and appreciated. He will also be trying to make an impact in a market where soccer is still positioned behind the traditional powerhouse sports of football, basketball, and baseball. But there is hope, as the Beckham persona has faced and overcome this challenge before. His ability to rise above his sport and make an impact can be seen by his popularity in Japan, a nation where sumo wrestling and baseball are more popular than soccer. Michael Levine, an experienced publicist, concluded that Beckham's move to Los Angeles is a " ... tremendous opportunity. LA is the world's best celebrity platform location. This is a great brand extension opportunity for him, and soccer is largely irrelevant" ("Beckham to leave Real Madrid for LA Galaxy," 2007).

Is the Grass Greener on the Other Side?

Beckham's debut for the Los Angeles Galaxy against the English Premier League team, Chelsea, occurred in front of a packed Home Depot Stadium and was broadcast live by ESPN. However, the Beckham star was dimmed as he arrived in Los Angeles with an injury and this limited his appearances for the Galaxy. It also hindered the impact he was able to make playing for the Galaxy in his first season. In addition he joined a struggling Galaxy team in mid-season, which failed to qualify for the post-season play-offs, and resulted in a change of coaching staff. Although there were high points in Beckham's second season for the Galaxy, including his scoring from his own half in a game against the Kansas City Wizards, the team struggled to find peak consistency to win games. Midway through the season, with the team languishing in a mid-table position the club's historic coaching problems continued when the head coach Ruud Gullit left the club by mutual consent, and the general manager, Alexi Lalas, was fired. However, Beckham's own form for the Galaxy in his second season with the club was good and his England international career was revived by new England manager Franco Capello.

However, off the field, brand Beckham made an impressive debut in the United States. Since their arrival in Los Angeles in the late summer of 2007, the Beckham duo has garnered significant publicity and media attention. Beckham was featured on the front cover of Sports Illustrated and launched his own weekly television show David Beckham's Soccer USA on the Fox Soccer Channel and MLSnet.com. Victoria also starred in her own one-off television show Victoria Beckham: Coming to America. Evidence of Beckham's continuing appeal is exemplified by his appearance in an Armani advertisement in tight white y-fronts (briefs) in December, 2007. The advertisement helped increased sales of the y-fronts by 260%, ("Beckham's ad is not pants," 2008). In collaboration with Coty, the world's largest fragrance house, the duo launched the Intimately Beckham line of "his" and "hers" fragrances. In addition through their newly created dVb (David and Victoria Beckham) brand label they launched a range of sunglasses and a denim collection. In 2007, the dVb brand opened its first concession in the famous Harrods department store in the west end of London's famed shopping district. From a global perspective, too, their West Coast location has enabled the Beckhams to expand their global notoriety across the Pacific. In conjunction with Japanese design label Samantha Thavassa, Victoria Beckham has developed her own line of handbags and a jewelry collection available in Japan (dVbstyle.com, 2008). In September 2008 Victoria Beckham's showcased her first dVb line of dresses in New York Fashion Week. She designed the dresses herself and received positive reviews. The early indications then suggest that the Beckham brand has benefited greatly from their move to Hollywood.

In 2009, it is anticipated that David and Victoria Beckham will continue to develop their family, fashion, and entertainment brand identities through their joint dVb label as well as continuing to lend endorsements to other global brands. However, doubts remain as to whether brand Beckham will be able to overcome soccer's second-class status in the United States. Furthermore, skeptics question whether the popular appeal of the duo will withstand Beckham's inevitable decline as a world class soccer player. They claim that much of Beckham's brand identity is still predicated on his physicality and athletic prowess as a world-class soccer player and that his other brand appeals will erode in tandem with his declining soccer status. Similarly, Victoria's singing career, which is what made her famous originally, has been in decline for many years. Although she reunited with the Spice Girls for their worldwide reunion tour in 2007, her recent solo efforts have not been commercially successful. Set against the declining status of both their original careers, only time will tell whether the Beckham brand will continue to prosper.

From a branding perspective, though, David Beckham presents a unique case study of how a sportsman can transcend his sport by crossing over into the realms of entertainment and fashion. Initially famous as a soccer player, his marriage to Victoria Adams, of the Spice Girls, provided him with a platform and with the necessary connections to crossover into the celebrity world of entertainment and fashion. As one of the world's most recognizable athletes, Beckham has been able to leverage his sports fame as few have ever done. In part, much credit is due to his manager, Simon Fuller, who skillfully crafted his contradictory multiple brand personalities or identities into multiple markets. Each appeals to different market segments, and each works because each personality is, as Cashmore and Parker (2003) noted, separated by time, space, and media. For example, if you do not read gay magazines, you are only vaguely aware that he has a cult status among that group. Similarly, the typical soccer fan may only rarely read fashion magazines. Beckham the marketing chameleon is whatever his fans want to see in him, whether it is the gay icon, the family man, the sportsman, the dedicated fashionista with metrosexual tendencies, the working class lad made good, or the Hollywood celebrity. Now for successful exploitation each role or persona must be addressed through different marketing or branding strategies and leveraged in distinctive ways to appeal to different market segments. But together they increase brand value. Beckham's multiple iconic images have become a portfolio of brands able to add value or generate brand equity for multiple products and services. This is Beckham's uniqueness and what made him so attractive to MLS, which is hoping that Beckham's global brand value and enduring appeal will provide the league with greater recognition and improve its image. It is why they were prepared, in effect, to partner with him in a contract that is potentially twice as lucrative as the contract that baseball player Alex Rodriguez signed with the New York Yankees. Whether the benefits from improved recognition and image can be sustained in the long run by MLS remains open to question.

Although there are obvious lessons for other elite sports stars that desire to crossover into other arenas, it should be acknowledged that Beckham is thus far unique in the sports world in the way his brand personalities are leveraged in so many distinct ways. Manchester United fans used to chant from the terraces "there's only one David Beckham." Today, while still true, it has been the successful leveraging of his multiple brand personalities that have made him into a true global sports brand. In essence, Beckham is perhaps the ultimate in how good marketing can make the brand.

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John Vincent, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Alabama. His research interests include sport media and the intersection of gender, race, and nationality.

John S. Hill, PhD, is a professor in the Culverhouse College of Commerce at the University of Alabama. His research interests include international business and marketing, and strategic management.

Jason W. Lee, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Leadership, Counseling and Instructional Technology at the University of North Florida. His research interests include socio-cultural aspects of sport, sport branding, and the use of film as an educational tool in sport management.