Michelle Wie’s win at the U.S. Women’s Open “instantly boosted the value of her existing endorsement deals and could produce richer, better deals in the near future,” according to marketing experts cited by Emery & Lewis of the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. Wie already boasted more than $10M in endorsement earnings, but the “value of her existing deals with sponsors like Nike and Kia instantly increased on Sunday night.” Harvard Business School sports management professor Stephen Greyser said that Wie will “likely ink deals with sponsors in categories where she’s not already represented and the value of her existing deals may be renewed at higher values.” PR firm Centurion Strategies CEO Michael Bilello said that Wie will “sign larger deals over the next three months, perhaps for holiday advertising campaigns.” Emery & Lewis note in terms of “how much she can earn from endorsement income, there isn’t much to compare Wie to.” Ella Bee Media Group Head of PR Lila Brown said, “There’s not been a major female in golf for a long time, so it is hard to say if she can make as much as Tiger Woods, as there’s been nothing like her before” (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 6/24). FORBES' Patrick Rishe wrote with the U.S. Open title "now in hand, expect bonuses from existing sponsors to kick in for the brand visibility spikes afforded, expect new interest from new sponsors, and expect Wie’s confidence to grow from this conquest" (FORBES.com, 6/23).
MAKING THE MEDIA ROUNDS: GOLF WEEK's Beth Ann Nichols noted Wie since winning the Open has been on a "media whirlwind" in N.Y. Wie yesterday appeared on NBC's "Today," Fox News' "Fox & Friends," Fox Sports Radio's "The Dan Patrick Show," Fox Business and CNN. She also taped an appearance on "Live With Kelly & Michael" that is set to air Friday. Wie additionally "dropped into an Omega boutique on Fifth Avenue to show love to her sponsor" and "did the same at Niketown" (GOLFWEEK.com, 6/24). GOLFCHANNEL.com's Randall Mell wrote Wie’s Q Score is "undergoing an overhaul now," and her TV and radio tour "is part of that." Marketing Evaluations Exec VP Henry Schafer, whose company creates the Q Score, said, "All of this is going to create a lot of chatter about her, create additional exposure." Wie’s Q Score "was just 14 before she won the U.S. Women’s Open." For comparison, fellow golfer Lexi Thompson "carried a Q Score of 37" into the event. But Mell noted following Wie's win, her "story will be retold to a larger audience, and her Q Score is likely to reflect that when it is recalculated in a month or so." Wie currently has endorsement deals with Nike, Kia, Omega, McDonald’s, Sime Darby and Zengyro (GOLFCHANNEL.com, 6/24).
