HOW THE WORLD’S NO. 1 FEMALE SKI RACER TURNS HER WINNING STREAK INTO MARKETING GOLD.
It’s prime cocktail hour at NBCU’s beach side cabana. The Cannes Lions festival is in full swing. Network executives are holding court, entertaining marketers and media mavens as the Mediterranean sun blazes, the rosé flows and live music wafts across the crowded wooden deck. Off to the side, quietly taking it all in is Mikaela Shiffrin, who, in a sleek red dress, could easily be confused as any one of the marketing pros, save for being the most obviously toned and fit person there. She is, after all, the current two-time reigning World Cup overall champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist, most recently winning the kamikaze-like giant slalom event at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. Shiffrin, 23, is in town for panels and the promotion of her own brand—which could be characterized as confident, graceful and grounded. That special blend of approachability and athleticism helped land Shiffrin blue-chip sponsorship deals with the likes of Red Bull, Longines, Oakley, Visa and others.
Post-Cannes, between her unending workouts in France and tending to her nearly 600,000 fans on Instagram, Shiffrin recently paused to speak with Adweek, reflecting on life as an Olympian, both on and off the slopes
Adweek: So, how was your experience at Cannes?
Mikaela Shiffrin: It was fun. What an amazing setting. I’d like to go back. I got to meet some pretty cool people— business executives, female bosses. It was a huge step for me to be there. It’s completely outside of skiing.
You’ve had a big year, switching from technical to speed racing, like the giant slalom. How did you get your head in that space?
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