Tim Payne of the Phoenix celebrates after scoring a goal during the A-League Men – Wellington Phoenix v Macarthur FC at Sky Stadium, Wellington.
Photo: Masanori Udagawa / Photosport
From little over 4500 followers on social media to more than a million – all thanks to a Argentinean influencer.
All White Tim Payne’s profile has skyrocketed after Valen Scarsini told his followers to back upcoming World Cup’s most-talked-about, least-known player.
It’s been labelled a Cinderella story, but it’s one Payne could use to his advantage.
Since Scarsini shone the spotlight on the All White, Payne’s posts on Instagram have filled with people wishing him well – mostly in Spanish.
But in New Zealand, RNZ struggled to find people on the streets of Palmerston North on Friday who’d heard of the Wellington Phoenix defender, who’s also played for the All Whites since 2012.
So, Payne has some work to do in his home country, but has a huge opportunity here and in Latin America.
Sports player agent Henry Bates, who works for Halo Sport, said Payne had a chance now to use his new-found influence.
“It’s certainly a significant windfall in the commercial space for someone of his previous low profile,” Bates said.
“In comparison, players like Dan Carter are around the million followers mark, so there is some large potential to attract sponsors and partnerships – potentially really commercialise that.”
If Payne decided to do that, he’d have to hire professional help or throw himself right into it.
“Brands would certainly need than just a number of followers to make a lot of use out of it.
“If Tim is prepared to put a bit of work into it and have some good content, then we’ve seen players, and people outside of sport, that are really making a significant living from this number of followers.
“It’s potentially a bit of a windfall for Tim.”
‘Unique opportunity’
Massey University professor of marketing analytics Bodo Lang is amazed at how many people were now following the All White.
“He’s got such a big following. It hasn’t just doubled or tripled – it’s really grown incredibly.
“That to me makes it a unique opportunity and it makes the story even better. If he’d only gone up 25,000 followers, we wouldn’t be talking right now. That’s wouldn’t be a great story,” he said.
Tim Payne’s Instagram.
Photo: Instagram
“But this is a great story. It’s a Cinderella story, although I know that’s not quite the right gender.”
Sportspeople did get a sharp rise in their profile from time to time, such as when they performed well at the Olympics or on the world stage.
Payne’s new fame, though, was different as it came off the field, Lang said.
“I think this is really uncommon, what we’ve seen. Somebody else is effectively giving him a massive lift in his follower count by reaching out to his followers and saying, ‘This is the least-known person on the circuit. You should be following him.’
“Suddenly he jumps by a factor of 20. It’s unbelievable.”
Payne’s already posted a video thanking Scarsini and saying how proud he is to play for the All Whites.
The coming weeks should tell whether Payne can match the increase in followers – more than 1.4 million on Friday evening – with an uptick in quality output.
The All Whites’ first World Cup match against Iran kicks off on 16 June.
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