Australian runner Cathy Freeman is "expected to pocket
more than" US$220,000 in "special one-off payments from her
sponsors as well as boost her earning power" from $550,000 a
year to ten times that "over the next three years" following
her performance in Sydney, according to Andrew Hornery of
the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. Nike was "capitalising on
Freeman's success just hours after her win" on Monday in the
400 meters by placing new billboards around the city
featuring Freeman in her Nike Swift suit. While some sports
marketing execs feel that Freeman was not as marketable as
swimmer Ian Thorpe "because she lacked Thorpe's confidence
in the public eye and eloquence," others said that her
"uniqueness and naturalness were far worthier qualities"
(SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 9/27). One sports marketing analyst
put Freeman's "potential contract earnings with Nike" at $2-
5M per year (Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH, 9/27).
NOT TOO SEXY? In Toronto, Chris Atchison writes that
"attempts to make" Thorpe Australia's "new sex symbol are
meeting with opposition -- especially from the opposite
sex." Julie Warren, a Sydney-area personal trainer, said of
Thorpe, "I don't really think he's good looking. He has a
big nose and big feet -- like flippers." Fifteen-year-old
Jackie McEwan: "He's definitely not good looking. He's not
unattractive, but he's not great" (TORONTO STAR, 9/27).
WHOSE STAR WILL SHINE? USA TODAY's Becky Yerak cites
some marketing execs as saying that the Sydney Olympics are
"shaping up to be one of the more forgettable Games for
corporations looking for fresh faces to pitch products and
services." But SFX Sports Marketing Div. President Fred
Fried, whose firm reps 32 Olympians, said that NBC's lower-
than-expected ratings will not have as big an effect on
endorsements as some have speculated: "These athletes are
highly exposed. You're still talking about prime-time
ratings." Meanwhile, Disson Furst's CEO Stephen Disson
"worries" that Marion Jones will be "tainted by her
husband's alleged steroid use." While some think the fact
that most of swimmer Jenny Thompson's Gold medals have come
in team events "limits her potential," Disson disagrees:
"She's so decorated that she'll be appealing" (USA TODAY,
9/27). SFX Sports Group's Ivan Blumberg, on Jones: "If she
sets the goal for herself [of five Gold medals] and then
accomplishes it, at the same time sort of standing by her
husband, avoiding the distraction, I think she'll come out
as a real hero and a role model" (NBC, 9/27). U.S. Gold
medal swimmer Tom Malchow, on the impact of a positive drug
test on endorsement potential: "There's definitely some bad
examples out there -- people who screwed up, and sponsors go
running for the hills. You're not going to make a dollar
that way, and I hope you don't" ("The Early Show," CBS,
9/27)....In Orlando, Bill Buchalter writes that U.S.
softball player and surgeon Dot Richardson "finds that she
is in demand as a motivational speaker, an endorsement
pitch-person, and a spokesperson on two Internet sites."
Richardson's CA-based agent Tom McCarthy: "Dot's still a hot
commodity. ... [But her] biggest dream is her aspiration to
open the Dot Richardson Medical Center. This is a viable
project whether it's [L.A.] or Orlando" (ORLANDO SENTINEL,
9/27)....In Sydney, Geoff McClure profiles the marketability
of Russian-born Australian Silver medal pole vaulter Tatiana
Grigorieva, who is "blonde, pretty and has long, slim legs."
Agent Rick Carter said of his client, "I honestly believe
that if you combine her competition, endorsements and
modeling work she could soon be earning [US$275,000-550,000]
a year." McClure notes that Grigorieva's current salary is
about $27,500 annually (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 9/27).
ARE TOP DEALS UNDER-PRICED? In N.Y., Richard Sandomir
writes that TOP sponsors at Olympic Park are "visible, but
not overwhelming," and the "impact is more tasteful than
grotesque." Meanwhile, IOC VP Dick Pound said the estimated
$55M TOP sponsorship is the "most under priced marketing
program in the world. We remind the sponsors of that very
often." The new TOP deals will cost $65M for the 2002 and
2004 Games (N.Y. TIMES, 9/27). McDonald's Chair & CEO Jack
Greenberg, on being a member of the IOC's TOP program: "We
think it builds the brand and builds our relationship with
customers. To try and do a financial analysis of it is
impossible, but we really think it's important to our
customers and it's one of those things that makes McDonald's
unique in our industry" (CNBC, 9/26)....USA TODAY's Baer &
Shriver report that Barbie Dolls are "among the hottest
items at Sydney 2000 Olympic stores" (USA TODAY, 9/27).