“Octagon’s Carlisle sees a lot of Phelps in swimmer Hoff” by Heather Hileman

Peter Carlisle an Octagon agent has just signed Katie Hoff, who is already being compared to Carlisle’s most famous client, Michael Phelps. At the age of sixteen, Hoff won three gold medals at swimming World Championships this year. She has many other wins as well. She will be nineteen when she has her next opportunity in the Olympics in 2008.
Carlisle wants to start a swimwear deal with Hoff this fall. He says that other marketing deals will come much later. Companies are excited that she has turned pro, basically so they can make money off of her talent. Carlisle states, “It could be interesting to see what she and Phelps will be able to do in changing the sport or the way the sport is perceived by the general public.”
It is great that a young athlete has done so well with her talent. It shows that she has worked hard to achieve those goals by being awarded many gold metals. I don’t feel though that her performance should alter whether she should get a marketing deal. However, business marketers are going to pick those athletes who are doing well. They wouldn’t want to market someone who hasn’t won. They want to market the winners.