With Stephanie Rice and Quade Cooper’s relationship now public, sit back and watch Cooper’s profile go from rugby player to celebrity.
Cooper isn’t the first person to ride on the coattails of a high profile romance and he won’t be the last. Moving from the back pages to the social pages certainly has its benefits. That’s not to say everyone enjoys having their relationship in the spotlight. Just ask Michael Clarke.
But if it’s publicity you want, there is no denying a celebrity relationship will raise the fame stakes (and the cash) for the game players.
In this case, both Rice and Cooper are successful sportspeople, however Rice will do more for Cooper’s profile than the other way around. Right now, Cooper is a rugby player with a niche rugby following, but the Rice factor now introduces him to a whole new audience, mainly women. That’s powerful.
In fact, the more demographics a celebrity appeals to the more valuable they are. Think of a celebrity with multiple sponsors, now look at the target market of those sponsors. If the celebrity manager is smart, they will select sponsors that cover varying demographics. 
I should state, this strategy of spreading your appeal doesn’t work for every celebrity, only the very marketable can pull it off.
“Guys want to be him, girls want to have him” is always better than “Guys want to be him, girls don’t know who he is.”
It will be interesting to watch Quade Cooper make the transition to celebrity and how he handles the attention that goes with it.
