S1E81 - Building Your Athlete Brand with CG Sports CEO Cejih Yung

Pursuit of Gold with Laura Wilkinson

Cejih Yung, Founder and CEO of CG Sports Company, one of the premier sports marketing firms in the industry, joins Laura for a fascinating conversation on this latest episode of the Pursuit of Gold podcast. Having developed his love for sports at a young age growing up as a competitive swimmer in the greater Seattle area, Cejih has gone on to earn an MBA from the University of Washington and a certificate in Negotiation Mastery from Harvard Business School. He has been leading CG Sports since 2016 and writes a weekly blog called Cejih Explains about all things athlete branding, sponsorship, and sports marketing. Given his unique ability to break all these things down into simple, easy, doable steps, Laura has invited him onto the podcast to show everyone exactly how they can get started building their own brand.

Together, Laura and Cejih explore various themes, including the art of building a personal brand as an athlete and seizing the recent name, image, and likeness (NIL) opportunities for college athletes. Along the way, Cejih details how his team empowers athletes to thrive not only in sports but also as influential figures in their field by strategically telling their story, creating an engaging social media presence, and using email marketing to forge meaningful connections with followers and sponsors Throughout their conversation, they unravel the significance of athlete branding, delve into the benefits of crafting a unique brand identity, and share practical tips to grow a dedicated audience and engage with potential sponsors. Cejih also recounts the journey of his CG Sports Company, the comprehensive services it provides to athletes, and highlights its advice to athletes to maintain consistent effort and authentic connections while avoiding the fleeting allure of viral social media posts. Listen in today as this undisputed leader in his field reveals absolutely all that sports professionals need to know about redefining their sports journey by building a brand that reflects their unique story and purpose.

Episode Highlights:

• Cejih Yung and CG Sports Company
• The significance and power of athlete branding
• Leveraging NIL opportunities
• Strategic storytelling
• Power of email marketing
• Growing an audience
• Success beyond virality
• Mental strength in sports

Quotes:

• "Your brand is how you are perceived by the market and how you want the market to perceive you and understand you."
• "It's not about going viral; it's about consistency and building authentic connections."
• "The value of mental skills in sports can bring confidence during pressure-packed moments."
• "The more valuable you can make your product, the better it's going to be for potential sponsors or partners or paid deals and things like that."
• "Think of there's you, the person, and then there's you, the product, in the market. And think about those two things."
• "Building an audience is important because you are taking people on the journey with you."
• "The most effective way that we have found to get audience engagement and really make a connection with an audience is through email marketing."
• "You as a person are the most important thing, more than your brand or your identity or any of this stuff."

Links:

• The Pursuit of Gold Website
• Grab the Top 10 Mental Skills Guide!

Laura’s Social Media:

• Laura’s Instagram
• Laura’s Facebook

Connect with Cejih:

• CG Sports Company
• CG Sports Brand Camp
• Cejih Explains
• CG Sports on Instagram