Other athlete’s endorsements seemed to match their moods. Canadian couple Jamie Sale and David Pelletier–first denied then awarded the gold medal in pairs figure skating–not only landed contracts with Kleenex and Crest. NEWSWEEK’s Jennifer Barrett spoke with Robert Urbach, executive vice president of SFX Sports Group, which represents current and former Olympians from Bode Miller to Bonnie Blair, about what athletes are most likely to cash in on their Olympic experience.
NEWSWEEK: Who is poised to make the most from their Olympics experience?
Robert Urbach: It depends on the athletes’ desire or their intentions to maximize their Olympics exposure into dollars. But Sarah Hughes is certainly at the top of the list. She had the right performance at the right time and in front of a very large audience. She is very genuine, poised beyond her years and seemingly grounded. She is really an ideal representative for companies who are targeting that critical advertising age group. She can speak with credibility to high-school juniors. She would be an opinion leader and she would have a valuable influence on their purchase intentions.
Hughes seems to be a logical successor to Michelle Kwan, who earned seven-figure salaries from her endorsements. What’s Sarah’s earning potential now that she won the gold?
It’s dependent upon her desire to associate with companies in the short-term, and her desire to continue skating. Michelle Kwan is a good model. She had very good success with endorsements. I think Sarah Hughes could do $5 million a year–but only if her desire is to maximize her earnings potential. She is certainly at the top of the list because of her performance and the general popularity of figure skating, which has a platform beyond the Olympics.
Sale and Pelletier are already cashing in on their gold with their Procter & Gamble contract. How many more endorsements are the Canadian pairs’ skaters likely to get?
When you talk about Canada, those two are the story of the games, though we also have the men’s and women’s hockey teams that won gold medals. Their opportunities on the marketing front do not really penetrate south of the border though. That’s not to say they are not marketable to the U.S. but clearly, being Canadian, Canada is where their real market will be.
Are there any athletes whose appeal transcends national borders?
Figure skating has a strong non-Olympic following around the world. There are skating events throughout the world and they do well on television, drawing pretty well on an international basis. Skaters can do tours and exhibitions worldwide. But, that said, I don’t think our Olympic athletes will be that marketable outside the U.S. There’s a difference between doing commercials and events. Some of the U.S. athletes may be competing internationally–and multinational companies may use them internationally–but their core market will still be domestic.
You represent Bode Miller, the first American ever to earn a medal in the Olympic combined event (which pairs the downhill and slalom skiing). What kind of attention has he gotten?
Bode is such an engaging personality with a tremendous story; he is starting to get a lot of attention. He is a new client, and we are working together to achieve his objectives off the snow. We are in the process of engaging with various companies and looking at schedules and speaking engagements over the next several months and even years. Bode is the kind of guy who girls want to go out with, guys want to be and companies want to associate with.
He’s got a very unique style that is somewhat unorthodox. He goes for it on the slopes, it’s all or nothing–one mistake can be fatal or take you out of the race at least. He’s very unique in his approach to the sport. He is a pioneer in his technique and somewhat of a free spirit.
How much do looks and personality count in the competition for contracts? If Sale and Pelletier didn’t have such nice smiles, would they have gotten a toothpaste endorsement? What if they had gotten the silver instead?
It’s up there. The four main factors would be: performance, recognition, personality and corporate mentality. That’s the ability to define their celebrity value to companies, to become a corporate asset.
What about Apolo Ohno, who won the gold in the 1,500-meter speed-skating race only after the South Korean skater was disqualified? Did that hurt his potential for future endorsements, or did the controversy add to his appeal by increasing his exposure?
I think he is very newsworthy, and he had a lot of exposure in the telecast. Clearly, he is very good for the right product and the right following. He seemed very popular. But his is a sport you don’t see very often. His challenge is to maintain exposure without the Olympic platform. He is 19. That’s a very competitive and coveted age group for many companies that want to enhance their brand imagery. Ohno could certainly help them do so.
How much does it affect future endorsements if you place but don’t get the gold in the Olympics? What about Kwan, for example?
I’m sure she would have been more marketable had she won. If you can be gracious in defeat and add to your credibility, that helps; though it is challenging given that the exposure has now been shifted to the winners of the games. But there are still so many skating events. Kwan is already headlining the “Champions on Ice” shows and she will be in TV specials. There are many platforms for her. I think she handled it well. Keep in mind, she is still considered the third best in the world. That’s not bad.
Now that Derek Parra has won gold and silver Olympic medals for speed skating, do you think he can quit his job at Home Depot?
I think that he’s going to get a lot of endorsements, but if Home Depot is smart they will figure out ways to keep up their association with him, to turn their employee into an asset. Maybe they can do a commercial on how to build a rink in your backyard. I think Home Depot ran an ad congratulating him, which was really nice.
Bobsledders Garrett Hines and Randy Jones were the first black men to win winter medals in the 2002 Winter Games. And bobsledding brakewoman Vonetta Flowers became the first black woman to win a gold in the Winter Games. How much does that count for when it comes to endorsements?
It’s a great story. We hope there will be more African-American athletes to win. But that is not the only story. Vonetta Flowers, whom we represent, is a woman from Alabama who was trying to win in a relatively obscure winter sport. She and her partner, Jill Bakken, are a great story. They were not the favorites. They sort of snuck in there and won the medal. Vonetta had always excelled at track and field. But she failed to qualify for the Olympic team a couple years ago. Her husband [Johnny Flowers] gave her a flier for a bobsled tryout and said, “Why don’t you give it a try?” Two years later, she is on the “Today” show with the gold medal. I think a lot of people don’t understand bobsledding but would like to try it. It takes a lot of training and discipline though, without a lot of recognition. The constitution of a bobsledder is admirable.
Who are we likely to remember by the 2006 Olympic Games?
I think we’ll see Bode Miller, who is America’s top skier, and clearly Sarah Hughes, at 16, and Sasha Cohen, also a teenager, plus Michelle Kwan, who is still 21. But I think the 2006 Olympics will also include a lot of new athletes we haven’t even heard of yet.
I think Bode has the opportunity to become really well-known beyond the games. He has such a personality and confidence. He is a lot like another big name: Picabo Street. They are both free spirits, both ski aggressively, and they are in sports that have platforms beyond the Olympics–and they have great first names.
