LPGA Seeks New Sponsors in NYC Summit

by Ryan Ballengee on Sep 13, 2010 1:25 PM EDT in Pro Golf

Get a hundred or so representatives of current & prospective LPGA Tour sponsors in a room, talk about the great value behind the product (compared to the PGA Tour), and hope for some conversion. That's the basic gist of what LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan and lead marketing officer Jon Podany will try to do this week in New York City.

Sports Business Journal's Michael Smith spoke with Podany about the sponsor summit - the Tour's first since Whan took over the helm from Carolyn Bivens. While Whan has worked hard to maintain the weakened schedule he inherited from Bivens, he has faced difficulty in expanding the number of tournaments for 2011. In particular, Whan continues to face challenges when making the LPGA sale for potential domestic events.

Near the birthplace of ABC - Always Be Closing - seems appropriate for Whan and a dozen players to try to rally some new opportunities for the Tour.

It's not that the LPGA Tour is an outlier in struggling with sponsorship. The PGA Tour has had a steady hand on the sponsorship front, albeit with some turnover and new faces. The pro beach volleyball circuit - largely propped up by Olympic goddesses Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh - has folded. Arena football died and came back.

Women's sports are typically a difficult sell, but scoring a seven figure sponsor commitment is tough anywhere in this environment. Whan and Podany are doing the right thing in taking an honest, open approach. Sponsors want to feel like they're making an investment in something that will go up in value, be presented at its true value, and have a pride in a sort-of ownership.

The backbone of the 20th century LPGA Tour was decades-long relationships like these. While many survive today, others were kicked to the curb by Bivens in hopes of taking the LPGA Tour to a new level of relevance and value. Unfortunately a lot of factors - not just Bivens, though a major part of it - contributed to the failure of that mission. Returning to square one and the Tour's relationship-building roots will serve his players well to get out of this economic hardship and propel it forward when the world gets out of its economic funk again.

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LPGA Sponsors

I think Whan is taking a creative and realistic approach towards building more sponsors and events, but agree he is facing a real tough challenge. The growth in women’s pro golf is occuring overseas now, especially in Asia. Somehow, the LPGA has to spark more interest here in the U.S. Even with the new international events, the U.S. will continue to be the economic base of the tour. In the tough economy, Whan will have to look towards smaller purses and less expensive sponsorship packages to add more domestic events to the upcoming schedules.

by Dave Andre on Sep 13, 2010 1:37 PM EDT reply actions

It’s a shame that there is less backing of the LPGA as the tournaments have been a lot of fun the last two years. Just this past weekend’s match came down to the last hole.

by keithmoon316 on Sep 13, 2010 2:08 PM EDT reply actions

I Disagree Dave

I don’t think the LPGA has to play for smaller purses to succeed. And as far as the tour’s economic base being here in the states, it isn’t true. The tour’s two single biggest revenue streams come from S. Korea and Japan.

by dbagley on Sep 13, 2010 2:10 PM EDT reply actions

I think it’s still shifting, but it is definitely almost tipped in favor of S. Korea and Japan. When the schedule has more international events than those in N. America, then it’s official.

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by Ryan Ballengee on Sep 13, 2010 3:01 PM EDT up reply actions

Hey Bag...when your talking revenue streams

are you alluding to sponsors, advertizers or what ? We have seen the large influx of oriental players,,,(Koreans, Japanese, etc) due to purses paid in the States….If we’re not talking economic base, what are we talking about ? STUB

by thinker on Sep 13, 2010 3:03 PM EDT up reply actions

I’m talking direct revenue streams straight to the LPGA. Since the vast majority of title and presenting sponsors of events on the LPGA are more or less global companies, i use television revenue as the best barometer of where the most money is coming from to the tour. And S. Korea and Japan are the two largest in terms of television dollars.

by dbagley on Sep 13, 2010 3:16 PM EDT up reply actions

RB

Bivens was alienating sponsors in 2006 (see the now defunct Wendy’s Championship for Children), before anyone knew the economy was built on worthless paper. A good commissioner would have found ways to keep as many of the sponsors in the fold as possible even when the full extent of the collapse became known.

The stock market is doing pretty well. The types of corporations that sponsor golf tournaments are sitting on trillions of dollars. Here’s hoping Mike Whan, et. al. can persuade a few of them to direct some of their advertising budget to the LPGA.

"(I)f you think you've got an inside track to absolute truth, you become doctrinaire, humorless and intellectually constipated." Saul Alinsky

by dianemarie on Sep 13, 2010 3:48 PM EDT reply actions