Elite Sports Properties (ESP) is an Australian company that also operates small offices in the UK and Canada. The company provides athlete and event management, merchandising, promotions and public relations services. ESP manages 120 AFL players, 20 past, current and aspiring Olympians, and a number of coaches and sports media personalities. Corporate clients include National Australia Bank and Carlton United Breweries, which are sponsors of the AFL. ESPÕs overseas offices help newspapers use sporting events to increase their readership through competitions and promotions. Flying Start is a Melbourne-based agency which boasts a significant number of AFL players as clients Ñ 150, making up close to 30% of the total AFL competition. The company also manages athletes in the National Basketball League, Olympic and Common-wealth Games athletes, and Australian netballers. Founded in 1994, Flying Start is managed by Ricky Nixon and also has offices in Western Australia and South Australia. Horton Ella Group formed 10 years ago when marketing executive Rob Horton and sports celebrity Mark Ella set up an agency for sponsorship management, media relations, marketing and promotions. Two years ago, they launched a separate agency called Ella Management & Events (EME), which provides career guidance and helps aspiring athletes, particularly indigenous Australian athletes, negotiate sponsorship and endorsement packages. EME also operates a talent identification program to foster young Australian talent in the sports arena. IMG Australia represents some of AustraliaÕs most renowned sporting celebrities, including a host of current and past AFL and rugby players, and personalities such as Cathy Freeman, Karrie Webb and Mark Philippoussis. The company manages several major sporting events, including the Australian Masters golf tournament and the Bundaberg Rum Australia rugby test series. IMG Australia is part of IMG Worldwide, which is present in 33 countries. International Quarter-back specialises in managing sports celebrities and personalities. Formed in 1984 and based in Queensland, the company represents a host of rugby union players, swimmers Samantha Riley and Grant Hackett, and personalities Lisa Curry and Grant Kenny, among others. Octagon is the sports and event management arm of The Interpublic Group, and launched in 1997. It provides a range of sports marketing services, including athlete representation, event and property management, television rights sales and distribution, and television production and archiving. Some of its biggest clients include Soccer Australia and the Australian Cricket Board. Octagon also manages several large Australian sporting events, including the Queensland 500 and other motor sports competitions. The company has offices in Sydney, Melbourne and the Gold Coast and employs 36 staff. Sponsorship Solutions is a Melbourne-based consultancy providing marketing, communications and legal services. It helps its clients select sponsorship opportunities to suit their brand, and manages relationships between clients and the organisations they sponsor. The company helps sports organisations develop and manage sponsorship policies to help them locate sponsors, and publishes a fee index showing price changes in the Australian sponsorship market. Sponsorship Solutions also publishes a list of the top 40 sport and athlete sponsorship opportunities. Sporting Frontiers is a global sports marketing company backed by UK venture capital firm Pacific Investments. The company provides consulting in sponsorship strategy, leveraging and implementation, and also manages sponsorship events. Clients include Athletics Australia, Gymnastics Australia and Basketball Australia, and corporate clients include Telstra, Westfield and Hyundai. The company has offices in Sydney and Melbourne, and is headed by chief executive Michael Porra. Sports Marketing & Management has worked with several major Olympic and Commonwealth games committees, including the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, the New Zealand Olympic Committee and the British Olympic Association. The company was an agent for the Commonwealth Games in Man-chester this year, and is managing sponsorship sales for the Commonwealth Games in Mel-bourne in 2006. It employs around 25 staff at offices in Melbourne and Sydney, and is headed by group managing director Michael Bushell. Sports Marketing & Management also operates a London office.
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