MICHAEL PHELPS: THE GREATEST

OLYMPIAN

Rozz Joshua B. IgnacioBA 190 - Strategic Management

University of the PhilippinesProf. Mita Angela M. Dimalanta

MICHAEL PHELPS

• STARTED SWIMMING AT AGE 7• HAS ADHD• AS OF AUGUST 13, 2016, PHELPS HAD 28 OLYMPIC MEDALS • (23 GOLD, 3 SILVER, 2 BRONZE)• IN 2000, WAS THE YOUNGEST OLYMPIAN (15 YEARS OLD) IN

SEVEN DECADES• “CONSIDERED AS ONE OF THE GREATEST ATHLETE OF ALL TIME”

Vision

Be a world superstar

Mission

Go for the gold

AFI FRAMEWORKCompetitive Advantage

Analysis Formulation

Implementation

• "THE ONLY THING YOU CAN CONTROL IS YOURSELF. IF I HAVE A BAD RACE, I CAN PUT THAT BEHIND ME AND I KNOW I HAVE ANOTHER ONE COMING UP. I DON’T KNOW HOW I DO IT, I DON’T KNOW WHY I DO IT, IT’S JUST SOMETHING I’VE DONE.” - MICHAEL PHELPS

1. OLYMPIANS GENERALLY DO NOT TURN INTO GLOBAL PHENOMENA. ONE REASON IS THAT THEY ARE HIGHLIGHTED ONLY EVERY FOUR YEARS (E.G., NOT TOO MANY PEOPLE FOLLOW COMPETITIVE SWIMMING OR DOWNHILL SKIING OUTSIDE THE OLYMPICS). HOW DID MICHAEL PHELPS TRANSFORM HIS COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE AS AN ATHLETE INTO A “GLOBAL BRAND”

MICHAEL PHELPS (MP) WAS ABLE TO BUILD HIS IMAGE OVER TIME BY WINNING GOLD IN EVERY OLYMPICS THAT HE JOINED. SYDNEY(YOUNGEST) - ATHENS (6 GOLDS 2 BRONZE). HIS COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE, IN TERMS OF BEING A SUPERSTAR, IS HIM BEING A GREAT SWIMMER. HOWEVER, THE MORE IMPORTANT FACTOR THAT LEAD TO MP’S RECOGNITION AS A “GLOBAL BRAND” IS THAT AT THE START OF HIS OLYMPIC CAREER, HE ALREADY HAD THE SPOTLIGHT POINTED AT HIS DIRECTION BY BEING THE YOUNGEST OLYMPIAN.

DESPITE HAVING GLOBAL RECOGNITION, TOGETHER WITH HIS COACH AND MANAGER, MP DID NOT REST IN ACHIEVING THAT GOAL. MP, BOWMAN, AND CARLISLE, DEVISED A PLAN THAT IS INTENDED TO SEND MP TO THE WORLD OUTSIDE OF THE OLYMPICS BY BECOMING A SUPERSTAR.

THIS PLAN IS TO HAVE MP TRAIN WITH HIS COACH BOWMAN AS THE MAN-IN-CHARGE FOR MP’S PHYSICAL CONDITION WHILE CARLISLE WILL FOCUS ON MP’S MARKETING AND THE LAUNCHING OF HIS CAREER AS AN OLYMPIC SUPERSTAR AND A GLOBAL BRAND. A PART OF THIS PLAN IS THAT MP WILL ONLY SIGN FOUR YEAR DEALS (OLYMPICS ONLY HAPPEN EVERY FOUR YEARS) SO THAT MP’S FAME WILL BE PUT TO USE AND NOT DIE DOWN OUTSIDE OF THE OLYMPICS SCHEDULE.

ALSO, MP’S ACTIVE PARTICIPATION IN SOCIAL MEDIA HELPED HIM REACH MORE PEOPLE AND THUS INCREASE THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO WILL HEAR THE MESSAGE THAT HE WANTS TO SHARE TO THE WORLD.

2. FOLLOWING THE BEIJING OLYMPICS, A PHOTO PUBLISHED BY A BRITISH TABLOID SHOWED MP USING A “BONG”, A DEVICE FOR SMOKING MARIJUANA, AT A PARTY IN SOUTH CAROLINA, KELLOGG’S WITHDREW MP’S ENDORSEMENT CONTRACT. WHAT DOES THIS INCIDENT TELL YOU ABOUT MAINTAINING AND INCREASING BRAND VALUE OVER TIME?

THE VALUE THAT A PRODUCT OR BRAND HAS, IN THIS CASE MICHAEL PHELPS’, DEPENDS ON THE CONSUMER’S PERCEIVED VALUE OF THAT PRODUCT OR BRAND. THE CONSUMERS’ PERCEPTION ON THE VALUE OF A PRODUCT DEPENDS ON MANY THINGS, IN MICHAEL PHELPS’ CASE HOWEVER MP’S “BRAND VALUE” WAS SEVERELY AFFECTED BY ETHICS. ETHICS PLAYS A ROLE IN THE VALUE OF THE PRODUCT OR BRAND AND THE ORGANIZATION THAT PRODUCES OR HANDLES THE BRAND. MANY PEOPLE CONSIDER MP’S BEHAVIOR (SMOKING POT) IMMORAL. HAVING CHILDREN AS ONE OF THEIR TARGET MARKET, KELLOGG’S MAY HAVE DROPPED MP BECAUSE IT WOULD BE UNETHICAL TO HAVE A PERSON CAUGHT DOING AN IMMORAL AND ILLEGAL ACT TO ENDORSE A CHILDREN’S PRODUCT. KEEPING MP AS THEIR ENDORSER MAY APPEAR TO THE PUBLIC AS KELLOGG’S NON-CONDEMNATION OF IMMORAL AND ILLEGAL ACTS. BEING A CUSTOMER OF MP’S ENDORSEMENTS, KELLOGG’S PERCEIVED VALUE ON MP’S ENDORSEMENTS MAY HAVE DIMINISHED.

“ A BRAND, PRODUCT, OR SERVICE IS MORE THAN JUST A PHYSICAL THING. HUMANS THAT CONNECT WITH THE BRAND ADD MEANING AND VALUE TO IT.”- IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT MP’S MEDALS AND WORLD RECORDS. MP’S MEDALS AND WORLD RECORDS ARE HIS ACTUAL PRODUCT AS A BRAND ENDORSER – HIM BEING A REPRESENTATION OF A GOOD SPORTSMAN OR A GOOD OLYMPIAN. WHAT’S MORE IMPORTANT IS THE CORE VALUE THAT HE PROVIDES THE COMPANY HE IS ENDORSING. MP IS A SYMBOL OF SUCCESS. HE IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF HOW PEOPLE CAN HURDLE THROUGH THEIR OBSTACLES AND BE A CHAMPION. HE HAS ADHD, IMAGINE HOW HARD IT IS FOR MP TO FOCUS ON JUST ONE THING – PRACTICING. IT SHOWS HOW HARD WORK BRINGS YOU SUCCESS. THAT’S WHY WHEN HIS IMAGE WAS STRAINED, KELLOGG’S HAD TO LET HIM GO. BECAUSE IF HE CAN DO MARIJUANA, PEOPLE MAY THINK THAT HE’S USING PERFORMANCE ENHANCING DRUGS TOO. AND KELLOGG’S DOES NOT WANT TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH THAT.

BRAND VALUE CHANGES OVER TIME DEPENDING ON HOW THE MASSES SEE YOUR PRODUCT. THIS MEANS THAT YOU HAVE TO COMPLY WITH THE STANDARDS OF THE MARKET IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN A HIGH VALUE PERCEPTION. IF YOU ARE SELLING, YOU HAVE TO GIVE WHAT YOUR CUSTOMERS WANT. VALUE IS JUST A PERCEPTION, YOUR CUSTOMERS WILL VALUE YOU OR YOUR PRODUCT IN ANY WAY THAT THEY WANT. PEOPLE DO NOT BUY YOUR GOLD MEDALS, THEY BUY WHAT YOU REPRESENT. E.G. HE STILL HAS HIS MEDALS BUT HIS VALUE HAS DIMINISHED

3. ACCORDING TO A STUDY BY TWO ECONOMIC PROFESSORS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS, ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF AN ATHLETE WHO LOST SIGNIFICANT “BRAND VALUE” IS TIGER WOODS, WHO DESTROYED AN ESTIMATED $14 BILLION IN STOCK MARKET VALUE OF FIRMS SPONSORING HIM – ACCENTURE, GILLETTE, NIKE, PEPSICO (GATORADE), AND ELECTRONIC ARTS (EA). AS A MANAGER, WHAT LESSONS ABOUT CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS CAN YOU DRAW FROM THE EXAMPLES OF PHELPS AND WOODS? WHAT ARE SOME GENERAL TAKE-AWAYS THAT A STRATEGIST SHOULD KEEP IN MIND?

CELEBRITIES ARE THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE SPOTLIGHT POINTED AT THEM. THEIR LEVEL OF INFLUENCE ENCOMPASSES THOUSANDS AND EVEN MILLIONS. BECAUSE OF THIS, HAVING THEM ENDORSE A BRAND OR A PRODUCT WILL MOST LIKELY ATTRACT ATTENTION. HOWEVER, THE INCREASED ATTENTION THAT THE ENDORSED PRODUCT WILL GET MAY MAKE OR BREAK THE NAME OF THE PRODUCT IN THE MARKET. THE STRATEGIST SHOULD KEEP IN MIND THAT THEY WILL ALWAYS NEED EXTENSIVE RESEARCH ABOUT THE ENDORSER, HIS/HER ATTITUDE, VALUES, BELIEFS AND BEHAVIOR. THE MISSION AND VISION OF THE COMPANY SHOULD ALIGN WITH THE INSPIRATION AND THE IMAGE THAT THE CELEBRITY ENDORSER PROJECTS. THE ORGANIZATION STRATEGISTS SHOULD HAVE BACKUP PLANS. IN PLANNING, THE PLANNER CAN USE MANY TOOLS TO PREPARE FOR THE FUTURE SUCH AS SCENARIO AND CONTINGENCY PLANNING. IN CASE THE CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT WILL DO MORE HARM THAN GOOD, THERE SHOULD ALWAYS BE A COURSE OF ACTION TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE.

REFERENCES• ARSHAD, S. (2014, JANUARY 18). MICHAEL PHELPS NET WORTH. RETRIEVED FROM TSP

PLUG: HTTP://WWW.TSMPLUG.COM/RICHLIST/MICHAEL-PHELPS-NET-WORTH/• GROTH, A. (2012, JUNE 16). THE MENTAL STRATEGIES MICHAEL PHELPS USES TO

DOMINATE THE COMPETITION. RETRIEVED FROM BUSINESS INSIDER: HTTP://WWW.BUSINESSINSIDER.COM/THE-MENTAL-STRATEGIES-MICHAEL-PHELPS-USES-TO-DOMINATE-THE-COMPETITION-2012-6

• RAJ, R. (2012, SEPTEMBER 10). ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS: FIVE IMPORTANT LESSONS TO LEARN FROM MICHAEL PHELPS. RETRIEVED FROM BUSINESS 2 COMMUNITY: HTTP://WWW.BUSINESS2COMMUNITY.COM/STRATEGY/ACHIEVE-YOUR-GOALS-FIVE-IMPORTANT-LESSONS-TO-LEARN-FROM-MICHAEL-PHELPS-0275059#PU54Z6PGOSIBHVUG.97

• ROTHAERMEL, F. (2015). STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT. NEW YORK: MCGRAW-HILL EDUCATION.

• ROVELL, D. (2012, NOVEMBER 30). MICHAEL PHELPS' AGENT SHARES STRATEGIES. RETRIEVED FROM ESPN: HTTP://WWW.ESPN.COM/BLOG/PLAYBOOK/DOLLARS/POST/_/ID/2444/UNDEFINED

• CS.ANANAS.CHAOXING.COM/DOWNLOAD/56F0B1F0E4B0B07FE6D36CB1