Ivanovic's Success Not Yet Leading To Sharapova-Like Marketing
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Ivanovic Looking To Land More
Sponsors Following French Open Victory |
While WTA Tour player Ana Ivanovic is the "tennis 'it' girl of the moment," matching Maria Sharapova's endorsement deals will be "much tougher than winning one major," according to Charles Elmore of the PALM BEACH POST. Ivanovic last month signed a deal with Rolex, and adidas has "groomed her in its player development program." She also has deals with Juice Plus+ and Wilson. And while Ivanovic has earned more than $5M in prize money, she is "not playing in Sharapova's endorsement league," as Sharapova by the end of '07 was "widely reckoned to be the top-grossing female athlete of all time" with $23M in annual earnings. Univ. of North Carolina Sports Communication Program Dir John Sweeney: "We've gone through this incredible show called Anna Kournikova, who had the looks of a supermodel but couldn't win. Then Maria won Wimbledon. She's the one who won. I wouldn't expect the payoff to be as great for this latest one. We already have the supermodel-wins-major thing." Elmore noted advertisers may pursue Ivanovic "for her beauty as well as her tennis prowess, but Ivanovic has waded into the pin-up pool without diving into the deep end." However, not everyone is "comfortable with the way 'success' for female athletes like Ivanovic has come to be defined in sex-kitten terms. Blogger Diane Elayne Dees wrote Ivanovic is a "talented tennis player, but that ultimately will not matter to anyone who does not closely follow women's professional tennis." Meanwhile, Ivanovic's impact on TV ratings is "difficult to say with precision because other players are involved, but she sure hasn't seemed to hurt" -- the audience for this year's French Open, which Ivanovic won, on ESPN2 increased 24% over '07 (PALM BEACH POST, 6/21).
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Kirilenko Endorses adidas'
Stella McCartney Line |
THE GLAMOROUS LIFE: In London, Mark Hodgkinson notes Ivanovic and Sharapova both "want to be thought of as tennis players first and foremost -- being told they are beautiful is secondary." Tennis has "been through its Kournikova-phase, and learned from it." Tennis marketers are "fortunate to have, in Ivanovic and Sharapova, two players capable of both winning grand slam titles and transcending tennis." Sharapova: "Tennis is definitely more glamorous than it was a few years ago, and that's great because the more fans we can bring in to tennis the better." Meanwhile, WTA player Maria Kirilenko, who also is a part-time model, is endorsing adidas' Stella McCartney line. Kirilenko: "Stella has made some beautiful dresses for me. I think it's nice to look good on the court" (London TELEGRAPH, 6/23). Sharapova: "I don’t need glamour and attention to be happy. I’m very happy being settled and working my butt off trying to win Grand Slams. I want my tennis to speak for everything" (LONDON TIMES, 6/22). In N.Y., Filip Bondy writes the top players in the women's draw are "extremely attractive, dramatic, passionate, compelling. Their back stories are marvelous, their rivalries are promising." But they also "lack the sort of fluid, dynamic shotmaking that lifts the sport to a different level." Ivanovic is a "fetching brunette with a sweet disposition," and Sharapova is a "blond advertising machine with a killer's instinct." Also, Venus and Serena Williams are the "most remarkable success tale in tennis history." However, none of them are "particularly inspiring to watch" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 6/23).
MARKETABLE ASSETS: The WTA Tour last week formally unveiling its new marketing campaign, and CEO Larry Scott said, “Normally in sport you rely on the big manufactures -- the Nikes and the adidas -- to do most of the marketing around the athletes or individual events to promote ticket sales. It's rare a league sort of gets out there and does an overarching umbrella campaign. That's what we've done, but we've never done it to this scale. It's going to be multi-platform and it's really about setting the marketing tone for women's tennis, which is about this on-court athleticism, the great champions and off the court, this incredible glamour and lifestyle." Scott said that the "celebrity power of the athletes off the court (is strong). ... I think the next few years are going to be a great boom time for women's tennis because the off sport glamour and personality is as big as the drama off the court” (CNBC, 6/23).
DON'T FORGET THE MEN: In London, Nicola Copping reports ATP Tour player Roger Federer "intends to wear a herringbone-patterned cardigan" designed by sponsor Nike in the Wimbledon finals this year. The inscription on the five buttons "refers to his five victories" at the tournament. Federer last year wore a white Nike blazer onto the court before matches (LONDON TIMES, 6/23).
BUILDING A BRAND: In Manchester, Meikle & Addley report Wimbledon has licensing deals with 26 global companies and there are 15 official "suppliers" to the tournament, ranging from Blossom Hill for wine and Slazenger for balls. Wimbledon Marketing Dir Roger McCowen: "Merchandising is very small in the context of the income from our TV rights and out big official suppliers, but the difference is in the geographical reach, the 52-week awareness, the brand extension." Meanwhile, a merchandising superstore today opens in the Centre Court building at Wimbledon, bringing the number of merchandise outlets on the grounds to 15 (Manchester GUARDIAN, 6/23).
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