Michael Phelps Strategizing for Gold

Michael Phelps: Strategizing for Gold

1-

The name of “Michael Phelps” turned into a “Global Brand” with a well elaborated strategy orchestrated by his manager Peter Carlisle with the help of his coach Bob Bowman. After seeing MP’s performance and potential in the Athens Olympics, the idea was to train him to get in the best shape possible to insure more exposition and more wins in Beijing. At the same time, his name had to be highly exposed all over the market place (they concentrate more on the Chinese market as he was about to compete there for the Olympics) and the virtual world that is Internet to nurture his fans and keep their attentions focusing on him.

2-

The idea behind the whole story of building his name as a “Worldwide Brand” was to get the most out of it: as many endorsements as possible with a fat check from different sponsors. To achieve this goal, his manager had to elaborate plans to establish a certain notoriety of the name Michael Phelps. With his notoriety, companies in quest of a more exposure on the market would be interested in associating their names with MP.

3-

Back in 2009, the leaked photo of Phelps with a bong, suggesting him smoking cannabis, got him into some troubles such as his suspension for 3 months from all competitions, leading him to publicly apologize for his act. Despite his apologies, Kellogg’s decided to withdraw its endorsement contract with Phelps.

This incident is showing the interests that endorsers are looking from a public figure. The value of his brand relies on the positive image he’s spreading all over the world. And this positive exposure is what companies are looking for so they can associate themselves with. Once this positive image is scratched, endorsers are giving up on this brand,