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Gold is not the only standard for Olympians' advertising success
Mar 2, 2010
Gold Is Not Only Standard for Olympians’ Advertising Success
By KEN BELSON | The New York Times
For Lindsey Vonn, Apolo Ohno and Shaun White, winning medals at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver is their ticket to future endorsements. Their success, good looks and compelling stories should help them add to their growing stable of sponsorship deals with a variety of companies, marketing experts say.
But the vast majority of Olympic athletes — even those who won medals — will have a harder time cashing in on their appearances at the Games. Winter sports like speedskating and bobsledding will all but disappear from the airwaves and, for many Americans, interest in them will not grow again until the next Winter Olympics in 2014.
Olympic athletes also have to compete with well-established superstars in more popular sports like Derek Jeter, LeBron James and Peyton Manning. Companies also tend to favor athletes who win gold medals over those who win silver and bronze medals, regardless of the athlete’s back story.
Critically, the scandals involving Tiger Woods and Michael Phelps have made companies skittish about endorsing individual athletes, even successful Olympians. Some companies are sponsoring teams or leagues instead, while others are spending less on sports altogether. Everyone is thinking twice before signing deals, especially in this weak economy.
“After Tiger Woods, there’s been a lot of restraint right now among marketers,” said Bill Duffy, the chairman of BDA Sports Management, which represents professional basketball players like Steve Nash and Yao Ming. “Honestly, many winter Olympians are not prominent enough to go mainstream.”
Still, landing a multiyear deal from a national brand is not the only way for an athlete to cash in on his or her fame. Some athletes give motivational speeches and write books. Others endorse less visible products like vitamins, sports equipment or medical causes. Athletes in events like the snowboarding halfpipe may win deals from video-game makers.
Here is a partial list of the athletes who marketing experts say could win endorsement deals and who may resurface before 2014.
¶Steven Holcomb: The pilot of USA-1’s four-man bobsled crew who helped the United States win a gold medal in the event for the first time in 62 years. Burly and affable, Holcomb looks as if he has spent some time on a barstool, which makes him a strong candidate for a beer commercial, marketers say. He has an inspiring story, having nearly gone blind after battling keratoconus, a degenerative eye disease. The downside, marketers say, is that he was part of a four-man team and bobsledding is an obscure sport.
¶Evan Lysacek: The first American male figure skater to win a gold medal since Brian Boitano in 1988. Lysacek, 24, edged out Russia’s Yevgeny Plushenko, the defending Olympic champion, who later took shots at Lysacek, a story line that marketers could mine. He also has sex appeal, said Bob Dorfman, the executive creative director at Baker Street Advertising, which makes him a candidate for advertisements including colognes, shampoos and “any product served over ice.”
¶Julia Mancuso: She won two silver medals in Alpine skiing, yet lived in the shadow of Vonn. She created a stir when she said the intense interest in Vonn was hurting the team. The drama that followed — Is Julia friends with Lindsey? — thrust her into the spotlight and, marketers say, could help her land a deal with a national brand.
¶J.R. Celski: He surprised many observers by winning a bronze medal in short-track speedskating after slicing open his leg late last year. Celski had the advantage of racing alongside Ohno in several events, increasing his exposure. Alas, with speedskaters, “it’s Apolo all the time,” said Matt Delzell, a group account director at Davie Brown Entertainment, which represents companies in celebrity endorsement negotiations.
¶Rachael Flatt and Mirai Nagasu: Neither teenager won a medal in figure skating, but both planted the seeds for future exposure at the 2014 Winter Games. Flatt, in particular, won kudos for doing her homework during the Olympics, music to every teacher’s ears.
¶Johnny Spillane: The American won two individual silver medals in the Nordic combined, which includes ski jumping and cross-country skiing, including the first medal for the United States in the event. Given the sport’s obscurity, he may not win an endorsement deal from a national brand. But he could garner interest from smaller companies. “If an athlete wins a medal in a less significant event like Nordic combined, it’s going to be harder to get on Leno or Regis,” said Peter Carlisle, the managing director for Olympics and Action Sports at Octagon. “But there are regional and local deals. It’s about reasonable expectations.”
