Octagon Announces Unification of Group Branding

NEW YORK (PROTEXT) - Octagon, the sports marketing andentertainment group, today announces the rebranding of all itsoperating companies under the single Octagon brand(http://www.octagon.com). This move will ensure the group presents a strong andconsistent identity worldwide, across all market sectors, andwill allow the operating companies to interact more effectively. Octagon commenced its operation in 1997, following theacquisition of two leading global sports marketing companies,Advantage International and API. It was launched with theintention of creating an international group capable of competingat the highest level, and on a broad front, in all aspects ofglobal sports and entertainment marketing. As part of TheInterpublic Group of Companies (NYSE: IPG), one of the largestadvertising and marketing communications groups in the world,Octagon has brought a unique marketing perspective to theindustry. Frank Lowe, founder, chairman and CEO of Octagon, said: "Thisunification of our operating companies under the Octagon brand isa logical and significant move forward. Having spent the last twoyears building a group whose focus is on providing a marketing-led approach to sport, we all felt that the time is now right tolaunch what is essentially a new brand of sports marketing." Since its conception, the group has expanded with theformation of Octagon Motorsports, through a partnership with theItalian-based Flammini Group. This continued with the creation oftwo other partnerships with CSI, the UK-based sports TV rightssales, production and distribution company, and Koch Tavares, aleading sports marketing agency in Brazil. Octagon now offers a high level of expertise in the followingeight core disciplines: athlete representation, consultancy,event management, property representation, TV rights sales anddistribution, TV production and archive, rights ownership, andlicensing and merchandising. To streamline this expansion program further, Octagon has beendivided into four operating companies, plus one regional partnerin Latin America, Octagon Koch Tavares. These are: -- Octagon Marketing -- Octagon Athlete Representation -- Octagon CSI (television production and distribution) -- Octagon Motorsports Frank Craighill, president of Octagon, added: "This move makesperfect sense for all our operating companies. It was becomingincreasingly important for us to create a structure and identitythat was right for a global group of companies that works acrossthe full range of sports marketing disciplines." Today Octagon ranks among the top three sports marketingagencies in the world. The group has over 800 employees in 17countries on all major continents, and offers a fullycomprehensive global sports and entertainment service. Itrepresents over 100 blue-chip multinational companies, and worksclosely with a number of sports federations and broadcastersaround the world. NOTES TO EDITORS: Octagon offers a fully comprehensive globalsports marketing service in the following areas:

Octagon Athlete Representation:

Services include:

-- Career management/guidance

-- Contract negotiations

-- Marketing and endorsements

-- Team relations

-- Public relations

-- Charitable activities

-- Financial planning and services

Selected athlete clients include:

Justin Leonard (golf), Davis Love III (golf), Anna Kournikova(tennis), Martina Hingis (tennis), Steffi Graf (tennis), DavidRobinson (basketball), Sergei Fedorov (hockey), Gareth Southgate(soccer), Ben Clarke (rugby), Steve Waugh (cricket), GustavoKuerten (tennis).

Octagon Marketing:

Services include:

-- Consultancy - helping to maximize the return on ourclients'

sponsorship investment.

-- Property representation - working with event owners to

increase the marketing value of all kinds of sports

properties.

-- Event management - taking care of every detail to ensure

sponsors get the results they want from events.

-- Rights ownership - creating and developing our own events,

which can then be tailored to the marketing needs of our

clients.

-- Licensing and merchandising - helping our clientscapitalize

on every brand building opportunity presented bysponsorship.

Who Octagon represents:

Consultancy (selected international clients)

MasterCard, IBM, Procter & Gamble, McDonald's, BritishAirways, Guinness, Pfizer, Colgate

Event Management (selected)

Stella Artois Tennis Championships, Rothmans Cup (SouthAfrican Football), NatWest Trophy (Cricket), Gravity Games,Cadillac NFL Golf Classic, First Union Cycling Series.

Property Representation (selected)

European Athletic Association, Commonwealth Games Federation,Gravity Games, USA Youth Soccer Association, USA Track and Field

Octagon CSI:

Services include:

-- TV sales - through our unmatched international salesnetwork,

negotiating the best possible deal for clients who own TV

rights.

-- TV production - producing more than 200 live events eachyear,

as well as over 300 hours of innovative originalprogramming.

-- Broadcast services - using our unmatched satellite and

technical expertise to ensure problem-free transmissionfor

broadcasters all over the world.

-- Marketing and consultancy - developing marketingsolutions,

from "virtual" advertising at sports events to producing

highly targeted sponsored programming.

-- TV consultancy - providing expert advice on all aspects of

bringing sport to the screen to major sportingorganizations

all over the world.

TV Consultancy

Present and past clients include:

Organizing Committee of the Sydney Olympics, CommonwealthGames Federation, England & Wales Cricket Board, South AfricanRugby Union, New Zealand Rugby Union, Australian Rugby Union,Rugby Football Union (RFU), Federation Francaise de Tennis,Tennis Australia

TV Rights Sales (selected)

English Football Association, English Football League,Scottish, Welsh and Irish Rugby Unions, Australian Cricket Board,New Zealand Cricket Council, United Cricket Board of SouthAfrica, Federation Internationale de Hockey

Octagon Motorsports:

Services include:

-- Rights ownership/motorsport innovation

-- Event management

-- Corporate consultancy/corporate events

Partners (selected)

Aprilia, Bimota, Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha,Action Performance, Champion, Corona Beer, Electronic Arts, Ford,Infostrada, Michelin

Events (selected)

FIM Superbike World Championship, FIM Supersport WorldChampionship, FIM Endurance World Championship, SportsRacingWorld Cu

Octagon Koch Tavares

Services include:

-- Rights ownership/sporting innovation

-- Event management

-- Athlete representation

-- Consultancy

Athlete Representation (selected)

Jorginho (beach soccer), Junior Negao (beach soccer), Magal(beach soccer), Juninho (beach soccer), Athirson (soccer)

Partners (selected)

S/A Industrias Votorantim, MasterCard, Banco do Brasil S/A,Banco Real S/A, Multibras S/A, Eletrodomesticos, Nestle,Telefonica, Campari, Olympikus

Event Management

Sao Paulo Marathon, Fera Brasil (radical sports competition)

Property Representation

Brazilian Men's National Volleyball Team Tour, FutsalBrazilian National, League, Beach Soccer Mundialito (Portugal)

Rights Ownership

FIVB Men's Beach Volleyball World Tour, FIVB Women's BeachVolleyball World Tour, Men's/ Women's and Mixed Volley FourChallenges, Beach Soccer World Championships, Beach Soccer CopaAmerica, Beach Soccer Copa Mercosul, Beach Soccer BrazilianChampionship, APBSL -- America's Pro Beach Soccer League otsOriginal Text Service: Octagon Worldwide Internet:http://www.newsaktuell.de Contact: Valerie Collin, 212-888-8847,or Louise Higgins or Annabel Hughes, +44-171-881-8888, all ofOctagon Worldwide Web site: http://www.interpublic.com Web site:http://www.octagon.com

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