When Caroline Wozniacki takes the court tomorrow for her opening-round match at Wimbledon, she will be sporting a new logo for Sony Ericsson on her dress that represents the latest sponsorship the top-ranked player has signed. Wozniacki earlier this month renewed her deal with the London-based electronics company through ’13 and expanded it to include global rights. The deal previously had just been for her home country of Denmark. Wozniacki will engage in the company’s newest effort in forging sport and entertainment -- its Xperia Hot Shots Web-based TV show, which began in March and features six WTA Tour players. Wozniacki will join Maria Sharapova in promoting the Xperia Hot Shots campaign through social media as well as being incorporated into video content for the series. Sony Ericsson Head of Global Marketing Partnerships Stephan Croix said Wozniacki’s appeal and on-court dominance were motivators for extending the deal. “Her reaching number one in the world is giving her completely different leverage on a global basis, different kind of visibility as well. And she is developing at a tremendous pace; her presence in media but also in social media.” Wozniacki, who is repped by Lagardere Unlimited Tennis President John Tobias, also has sponsorship deals with adidas, Rolex, Yonex, Turkish Airlines and Oriflame, among others. Sony Ericsson served as the title sponsor for the WTA Tour from '05-10, and Croix said the company initially sought out women’s tennis to “increase our relevance with the female target audience.” As those goals of balance between demographics and brand awareness were achieved, the company set its sights on harnessing its digital platform. “The WTA is one of the sports associations with the highest number of followers through digital channels and they have proven to be extremely innovative,” Croix said. “So it is a perfect fit for what we want to do.”
