Wie corners market for Sony
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Sony Open photo gallery |
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By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Staff Writer
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Michelle Wie said her friends got quite a surprise when they opened their mail and Sunday newspaper over the holidays.
"Some of my guy friends were like, 'I opened the mail and I screamed ... ' "
There was Wie, Sony's most visible celebrity sports endorser, in glossy full color. On top of a slick holiday catalogue Sony said it mailed to "millions" of homes, Wie was featured in a four-page advertising insert in many Sunday newspapers, including The Honolulu Advertiser, four weeks running.
"It was almost embarrassing to go to school," Wie said. "(But) it was pretty cool. It took a lot of time to take those pictures and I'm glad they came out decent."
As Wie tees off at 8:30 a.m. today in the Sony Open in Hawai'i, where the company hopes her performance enhances that profile, her marketing career has taken off even as her golf game awaits a championship liftoff.
On the heels of Wie's multi-million-dollar endorsement contract with Sony, the world's second-largest consumer electronics maker has begun building a series of advertising campaigns around the 17-year-old who ranks as the highest-paid endorser in women's golf.
Speculation has put the five-year contract she signed with Sony on her 16th birthday at approximately $5 million per year, though neither Wie nor Sony will confirm numbers. Along with deals with Nike, Omega and others, it has been estimated that Wie's non-golf earnings run approximately $19.5 million per year, according to Golf Digest and the Chicago Tribune, topping even Ernie Els ($18.4 million) and Jack Nicklaus ($17 million).
Stuart Redsun, senior vice president of corporate marketing for Sony Electronics, declined to release sales figures but said the feedback from the holiday campaign, "in the marketplace from our retail partners has been extremely positive."
Redsun said Sony plans to tailor campaigns such as graduation, Mother's Day and Father's Day around Wie. "There will be plenty of opportunities for us to do things with her around those time frames."
Wie's agents touted her attraction for advertisers as giving them entree to the "sweet spot" of age groups, the 10- to 30-year-old market. Redsun said, "A lot of kids her age wonder what would I do if I had her lifestyle?"
"The thing about working with Michelle (is) she really has a passion for the Sony products," Redsun said. "And, she is herself a consumer, so it is great to show her products and get her feedback on how she can use them.
"We really know our product is going to be a hit with the younger target (audience) when she doesn't want to give it back."
This week, as she attempts to become the first woman to make the cut in a PGA Tour event in 62 years, Wie is hard to miss. Pictured holding a golf ball in one hand and a Cyber-shot camera in the other in front of a mandala-like array of golf clubs in a Sony ad, she is the first person you see when opening the Sony Open official program.
This week, with the focus on her golf game and the 2007 season, Golf Channel commentator Mark Rolfing said, "I think it is a year she should break through. I think it is important for her to play well at Sony. Not so much specifically as a goal of making the cut or top 20, but to play well and make a good showing."
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SONY OPEN TEE TIMES TODAY First Round First Tee 7:10 a.m.—Shigeki Maruyama, Billy Mayfair, Paul Stankowski. 7:20—Charles Howell III, Bob Estes, Steve Lowery. 7:30—Daniel Chopra, Michael Allen, Shane Bertsch. 7:40—J.B. Holmes, Heath Slocum, Jeff Sluman. 7:50—Ben Curtis, Fred Funk, Shaun Micheel. 8—Eric Axley, John Rollins, Carl Pettersson. 8:10—J.J. Henry, Aaron Baddeley, Peter Lonard. 8:20—Mark Hensby, Paul Azinger, Pat Perez. 8:30—Gavin Coles, Stephen Marino, Michelle Wie. 8:40—Craig Bowden, Anthony Kim, John Merrick. 8:50—Tripp Isenhour, Chris Tidland, Kevin Hayashi. 9—Kevin Stadler, Doug LaBelle II, Abe Mariano. 11:40—Jerry Kelly, Steve Stricker, Bill Haas. 11:50—John Daly, Briny Baird, Bo Van Pelt. Noon—John Huston, Matt Kuchar, Brett Quigley. 12:10—Will MacKenzie, Jason Bohn, Kenny Perry. 12:20—Trevor Immelman, Jeff Maggert, Bart Bryant. 12:30—Vijay Singh, Corey Pavin, Brett Wetterich. 12:40—Jim Furyk, Stuart Appleby, Tim Petrovic. 12:50—Cameron Beckman, Richard S. Johnson, Ryuji Imada. 1—Bob Heintz, John Mallinger, Jim Rutledge. 1:10—Cliff Kresge, Rich Barcelo, Michael Putnam. 1:20—Bryce Molder, Craig Kanada, Hideto Tanihara. 1:30—Paul Sheehan, Craig Lile, Joe Daley. 10th Tee 7:10 a.m.—Tom Pernice Jr., Bubba Watson, Daisuke Maruyama. 7:20—Brian Gay, Mathias Gronberg, David Branshaw. 7:30—Ryan Palmer, Robert Allenby, Jesper Parnevik. 7:40—Joe Durant, D.J. Trahan, Luke Donald. 7:50—Davis Love III, Tim Herron, Tom Lehman. 8—Dean Wilson, Geoff Ogilvy, Arron Oberholser. 8:10—John Senden, Robert Gamez, Rich Beem. 8:20—Paul Goydos, Dicky Pride, Craig Barlow. 8:30—Robert Garrigus, Jason Dufner, Azuma Yano. 8:40—Brandt Snedeker, George McNeill, Ryan Armour. 8:50—Parker McLachlin, Andrew Buckle, David Chin. 9—Boo Weekley, Steve Wheatcroft, Tadd Fujikawa. 11:40—Chris Smith, Dudley Hart, Nathan Green. 11:50—Steve Flesch, J.P. Hayes, Harrison Frazar. Noon—Glen Day, Joe Ogilvie, Mathew Goggin. 12:10—Rod Pampling, Chad Campbell, Ted Purdy. 12:20—Stephen Ames, David Toms, Wes Short Jr. 12:30—Chris Couch, Rory Sabbatini, Stewart Cink. 12:40—K.J. Choi, Troy Matteson, Mark Calcavecchia. 12:50—Charlie Wi, Jarrod Lyle, Juvic Pagunsan. 1—Paul Gow, Tom Johnson, Brian Miller. 1:10—Darron Stiles, Jeff Quinney, Kaname Yokoo. 1:20—Scott Gutschewski, Chris Stroud, Yusaku Miyasato. 1:30—Ken Duke, Johnson Wagner, Scott Piercy. TOMORROW Second Round First Tee 7:10 a.m.—Chris Smith, Dudley Hart, Nathan Green. 7:20—Steve Flesch, J.P. Hayes, Harrison Frazar. 7:30—Glen Day, Joe Ogilvie, Mathew Goggin. 7:40—Rod Pampling, Chad Campbell, Ted Purdy. 7:50—Stephen Ames, David Toms, Wes Short Jr. 8—Chris Couch, Rory Sabbatini, Stewart Cink. 8:10—K.J. Choi, Troy Matteson, Mark Calcavecchia. 8:20—Charlie Wi, Jarrod Lyle, Juvic Pagunsan. 8:30—Paul Gow, Tom Johnson, Brian Miller. 8:40—Darron Stiles, Jeff Quinney, Kaname Yokoo. 8:50—Scott Gutschewski, Chris Stroud, Yusaku Miyasato. 9—Ken Duke, Johnson Wagner, Scott Piercy. 11:40—Tom Pernice Jr., Bubba Watson, Daisuke Maruyama. 11:50—Brian Gay, Mathias Gronberg, David Branshaw. Noon—Ryan Palmer, Robert Allenby, Jesper Parnevik. 12:10—Joe Durant, D.J. Trahan, Luke Donald. 12:20—Davis Love III, Tim Herron, Tom Lehman. 12:30—Dean Wilson, Geoff Ogilvy, Arron Oberholser. 12:40—John Senden, Robert Gamez, Rich Beem. 12:50—Paul Goydos, Dicky Pride, Craig Barlow. 1—Robert Garrigus, Jason Dufner, Azuma Yano. 1:10—Brandt Snedeker, George McNeill, Ryan Armour. 1:20—Parker McLachlin, Andrew Buckle, David Chin. 1:30—Boo Weekley, Steve Wheatcroft, Tadd Fujikawa. 10th Tee 7:10 a.m.—Jerry Kelly, Steve Stricker, Bill Haas. 7:20—John Daly, Briny Baird, Bo Van Pelt. 7:30—John Huston, Matt Kuchar, Brett Quigley. 7:40—Will MacKenzie, Jason Bohn, Kenny Perry. 7:50—Trevor Immelman, Jeff Maggert, Bart Bryant. 8—Vijay Singh, Corey Pavin, Brett Wetterich. 8:10—Jim Furyk, Stuart Appleby, Tim Petrovic. 8:20—Cameron Beckman, Richard S. Johnson, Ryuji Imada. 8:30—Bob Heintz, John Mallinger, Jim Rutledge. 8:40—Cliff Kresge, Rich Barcelo, Michael Putnam. 8:50—Bryce Molder, Craig Kanada, Hideto Tanihara. 9—Paul Sheehan, Craig Lile, Joe Daley. 11:40—Shigeki Maruyama, Billy Mayfair, Paul Stankowski. 11:50—Charles Howell III, Bob Estes, Steve Lowery. Noon—Daniel Chopra, Michael Allen, Shane Bertsch. 12:10—J.B. Holmes, Heath Slocum, Jeff Sluman. 12:20—Ben Curtis, Fred Funk, Shaun Micheel. 12:30—Eric Axley, John Rollins, Carl Pettersson. 12:40—J.J. Henry, Aaron Baddeley, Peter Lonard. 12:50—Mark Hensby, Paul Azinger, Pat Perez. 1—Gavin Coles, Stephen Marino, Michelle Wie. 1:10—Craig Bowden, Anthony Kim, John Merrick. 1:20—Tripp Isenhour, Chris Tidland, Kevin Hayashi. 1:30—Kevin Stadler, Doug LaBelle II, Abe Mariano. Alternates 1, Brendon de Jonge. 2, Michael Boyd. 3, D.J. Brigman. 4, Jonathan Kaye. 5, Bob Mav. 6, Michael Bradley. 7, Steve Allan. 8, Jason Schultz. 9, Kyle Reifers. 10, Matt Hendrix.
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Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com.
