The road to marketing gold for Olympian Michael Phelps was paved years before he swam in China. Phelps and his agent Peter Carlisle of Octagon have been pursuing $100 million in endorsements.
If they succeed, their strategy could become the new model for managing Olympians.
Phelps' approach taps online media and other new venues and targets new geographies. His
appearances are atypical for swimmers, such as an eight-city tour, endorsements in fast-growing markets like China and a stepped-up presence online.
Phelps also posts to his Facebook page
himself. (He has 1.5 million "Phans," nearly as many as Barack Obama.) He also participates in Web chats. Videos of him and other swimmers are available at Swimroom.com and fans post tributes to
him on YouTube and blogs.
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