Winning the Olympic gold medal in the women’s halfpipe competition last week will boost the value of U.S. snowboarder Hannah Teter’s current endorsements by 25 percent, bringing in incentives worth well into six figures, said her agent Peter Carlisle. He responded to questions via e-mail that Teter is “entertaining several exciting possibilities as a result of her performance in the Games.”
Carlisle, Octagon’s director of Olympics and action sports, also represents women’s halfpipe silver medalist Gretchen Bleiler and men’s halfpipe silver medalist Danny Kass.
Teter’s existing endorsements include Burton, Mountain Dew and Motorola. Bleiler’s include Oakley, K2, Napster, Grandoe (gloves), Giro (helmet), 24 Hour Fitness, Collection, Aspen/Snowmass and Snickers. Kass, who also won a silver medal in the 2002 Olympics, has endorsement deals with Gnu, Vans, Under Armour, Jack’s Garage, Grenade, Monster Energy Drink and Boost Mobile.
Carlisle said top snowboarders earn endorsement income in the mid-six figures each year, with some bringing in more than $1 million a year.
The following athletes earned notoriety and media attention for their performance during the first week of the Games in Turin. We asked agency executives to offer their thoughts on the marketing potential of these gold-medal winners:
Joey Cheek Gold Medal, Men’s 500-meter speed skating
Davie-Brown Talent Senior Client Director Scott Sanford said Cheek’s well-publicized $25,000 donation to the Right To Play foundation “does a whole lot to increase his exposure, but not his marketability. It’s definitely a positive story, but I don’t think it’s going to be something that’s going to get brands to say, ‘Hey, we’ve got to bring that guy aboard as a spokesperson.’ The exposure that he’s getting for this donation will, sad but true, be pretty much forgotten about in a couple of weeks. What a brand could do is match his donation or add a zero to his donation and kind of bring him aboard to kind of deliver that message.”
Ted Ligety Gold Medal, Men’s combined skiing
Radiate Sports Group President Steve Lauletta: “Anybody that achieves that level of success in the Olympics, whether it’s one, two or three medals, you are seen as somebody that has the wherewithal to achieve that level of best in the world. That opens up a lot of opportunities, whether it’s out-in-front consumer endorsements or being on television ads or point-of-sale promotions and things like that. Or it’s speaking engagements and the ability to tell your story.”
Hannah Teter Gold Medal, Women’s halfpipe snowboard
Relay Senior Director of Sponsorship Consulting Matt Pensinger: “Undoubtedly, Hannah’s performance has increased her marketability. … That said, it’s interesting to compare Hannah and Gretchen Bleiler. Gretchen is more polished at this point and has been much more active in marketing herself. Hannah is probably a better fit right now for brands who want to reach that core snowboarding demographic, but she also has the chance to work on broadening her appeal.”
