No Sophomore Slump: Paula Creamer Stays Hot On, Off Course

Creamer, Agent Focusing On Strengthening Endorsement Portfolio

By Brad Pinkerton, Staff Writer

It took Paula Creamer little time to make an impression on the LPGA Tour last season. Creamer burst onto the scene with two wins and 11 top-ten finishes, finishing second on the money list with over $1.5M on her way to Rookie of the Year honors. This season, the 19-year-old is picking up where she left off with three top-ten finishes. With the early success, Creamer’s agent, IMG Golf VP Jay Burton, said, “Interest continues to keep pace with the meteoric rise that she is enjoying.” However, Burton is wary of Creamer taking on too much, too quickly. He said they have tried to limit Creamer’s marketing commitments to a solid core of partners — for now. “We’re not looking to expand the portfolio right now,” he said. “We’re more interested in developing and activating the strong list of what we have.” Below is a complete list of Creamer’s endorsements.

PARTNER	CATEGORY	SINCE
TaylorMade-adidas Golf	Equipment, apparel & footwear	2005
Aldila	Golf shafts	2005
ADT	Security systems	2005
Bridgestone/Precept Golf	Golf balls	2006
Kraft Foods	Food & beverage	2006
RBS	Financial services	2006
Sundog	Sunglasses	2006
NEC	IT solutions/electronics	2006
Sun R&P	Licensing	2006
Golf Digest Japan	Calendar (2007)	2006

IN THE WORKS: Creamer is slated to appear in an upcoming TV spot for TaylorMade and print ads for RBS. Burton said they had a sponsor retreat several weeks ago where Creamer’s partners came together and collaborated on ways to cross-promote her. RBS head of sponsorship David Webb said, “RBS is always open to new ways in which we can promote the brand. If we can do this in a positive way by joining in a promotion with TaylorMade-adidas/Kraft/NEC/ADT, then it makes sense. But we always have to be careful not to dilute our aim.” Meanwhile, Creamer is planning to make several media appearances during the LPGA season. Sports Illustrated has already conducted a photo shoot and is scheduled to run a feature on her, possibly around the U.S. Women’s Open in late June. Burton added Creamer could also appear on the “Late Show with David Letterman” or “Good Morning America” by the end of the year. Burton: “There’s a tremendous amount of interest in her, and I think a lot of it is because she does a lot of media and people get to see her. ... It’s a good problem to have.”

Eye Up Manufacturing Creamer- Branded Items In Japan

LAYING UP: Because of the relative newness of her deals, Burton has not yet begun talking about extensions, but he expects Creamer’s sponsors to commit long-term when the time comes. He said he has had talks with companies in the automotive and timepiece categories, but nothing has materialized yet. Although opportunities abound, Burton said, “Paula said in day one that she was not interested in signing deals for the sake of being a billboard and making money. ... The last thing she wants is to be in a revolving door of today’s left sleeve says RBS, tomorrow’s left sleeve says something else.”

GLOBAL APPEAL: Burton stressed Creamer’s strong international marketing potential, as she has several deals with global companies, including Sundog (Canada), NEC (Japan) and TaylorMade parent company adidas (Germany), among others. Notably, Creamer is not currently shown on Sundog’s Web site. Burton said Creamer “has become an icon in Japan” because of her success in Japanese tournaments. Creamer, whose trademark color is pink, is known as the Pink Panther in Japan and has a licensing deal with Sun R&P, which holds the Japanese rights to the cartoon character’s logo. Japan-based Eye Up will manufacture and distribute co-branded golf ball carrying cases and magnetic ball markers in Japan next month. Burton: “They’re going to sell out. They’re going to sell like crazy.” Also, Golf Digest Japan has a deal with Creamer to produce a golf/fashion calendar for ’07.