A Crowne Plaza official said TV ratings will be "significant in deliberations" in deciding whether to renew its title sponsorship of the PGA Tour's annual stop at Colonial Country Club, according to Jimmy Burch of the FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM. Crowne VP/Brand Management Gina LaBarre on Sunday "stressed the need to maximize exposure for the brand in exchange for extending" the deal beyond next year when it expires. LaBarre: “It’s all going to be in the ratings because, really, that’s what it’s about at the end of the day. So I won’t know at the end of this week what’s going to happen. We’ve got to see what we do from a ratings perspective … For us, it’s about how do we get more national exposure for the brand.” LaBarre "made her comments" before the identity of Sunday’s winner, world No. 1 Adam Scott, was known. Having Scott, an "elite golfer in terms of rankings and Q-ratings, as the centerpiece of a marketing campaign for the 2015 Colonial tournament projects as a huge coup for folks who favor a contract extension with Crowne Plaza." Short of having Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson "as your defending champion, a tour event can do no better in creating pre-tournament buzz than by promoting a title defense by Scott." But Colonial’s TV ratings "have not been buzz-worthy" since '11, when CBS’ overnight ratings for the final round "drew a 2.1," an increase of 110% from the '10 final-round ratings. LaBarre said, "This is where we put the lion’s share of our marketing is right here, through golf. So we have to get as much exposure as we can for the brand" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 5/27).
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OVERNIGHT RATINGS TREND FOR FINAL ROUND OF PGA TOUR CROWNE PLAZA INVITATIONAL
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YEAR
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OVERNIGHT
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'14
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1.5
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'13
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1.7
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'12
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1.7
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'11
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2.1
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'10
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1.0
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'09
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1.8
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THE ULTIMATE GOLFING EXPERIENCE: The PGA Tour today announced a five-year extension with BMW through '19 to title sponsor the BMW Championship. The automaker has sponsored the event since '07 when it became the third of four FedExCup Playoff events. BMW also will continue to serve as the Official Vehicle of The Barclays and the Tour Championship, the first and final FedExCup Playoff events, respectively (PGA Tour).
