LPGA "Cross Cultural Professional Development Program"

Exactly as it was sent out...and, yes, the simple answer is, the LPGA has a sponsor for their program to teach players how to speak English.

KOLON signs as title sponsor of

KOLON-LPGA Cross-Cultural Professional Development Program

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., April 11, 2007 – KOLON has been named the title sponsor of the Ladies Professional Golf Association’s (LPGA) professional development program that offers educational and cross-cultural communication training for all members and will now be called the KOLON-LPGA Cross-Cultural Professional Development Program.
           “We are excited with our partnership with KOLON, which emphasizes the importance of communication among all individuals, regardless of where they call home,” said LPGA Commissioner Carolyn F. Bivens.  “We successfully test-piloted the cross-cultural program in 2006, and we are eager to expand the program in 2007.”
KOLON has led the way in the development of golf in Korea since 1985, when the honorary chairman of KOLON Group, Dong Chan Lee, was appointed as the chairman of Korea Golf Association

“We are delighted to embark on this new partnership program with the LPGA. Our participation in this program is a tangible reflection of our enhanced contribution to golf,” said Hwan S. Jae, CEO and president of FnC KOLON.  “We believe this program will assist not only Koreans, but all international players to learn the English language and acquire a better understanding and appreciation of the cultural diversity within the LPGA.”

The KOLON-LPGA Cross-Cultural Professional Development Program was designed to assist all LPGA members in developing core skills that will help them be successful as an LPGA professional.  The LPGA showcases an international membership and a global business footprint that establishes the LPGA as the premier women’s professional golf organization in the world.  It boasts a Tour membership exceeding 450, including 117 international players representing 26 countries, while the LPGA Teaching and Club Professionals includes nearly 1,200 golf professionals who are teachers, coaches, managers and entrepreneurs.
            In 2006, Phase I of the program focused on the importance of effective English language communication skills including conversational, survival and golf “speak.”  The program was successful in its inaugural season integrating onsite tutoring sessions into real-life situations, such as weekly pro-ams, media interviews, practice rounds, informal settings with other players and LPGA staff.
Moving forward, the KOLON-LPGA Cross-Cultural Professional Development Program will focus on building social and professional skills with an emphasis on bridging cultural differences; growing awareness of, and sensitivity to, cultural differences exemplified by differing values, assumptions, and communication styles.  The program also emphasizes the skills espoused by the LPGA’s Five Points of Celebrity – Appearance, Relevance, Approachability, Joy/Passion, and Performance; as well as establishing the ability to respond to demands of global golf sport entertainment business.

Wouldn't most other leagues keep something like this a secret?

And an entire press release went by without mentioning the brand. The times they are a...
           
  

It’s Girls Gone Wild for Girls (and Marketing)

Melena Ryzik will probably be getting some mail from The Brand Lady or one of her lieutenants after this NY Times piece on lesbian spring break, better known as Kraft Nabisco week. Wait, I mean, Dinah Shore weekend. Got to get my brands straight.

Welcome to Dinah Shore Weekend, or, as it’s better known, lesbian spring break, which concludes today. An annual pilgrimage for more than three decades, it has attracted thousands of adult women to this mountain-ringed Southern California desert town, which becomes a destination for lesbians looking to party, socialize and hook up.

The name comes from the Kraft Nabisco Championship (formerly the Dinah Shore Golf Championship), the first stop on the Ladies Professional Golfers Association tour, which happens concurrently a few miles away.

In the years B.E. (Before Ellen DeGeneres), the Dinah was the province of mostly polo-shirted women seeking a low-key weekend getaway. Now, in the years A.L. (After “The L Word”), it has been transformed into a fashionable bacchanal, nearly a week long, with celebrity guests like Carmen Electra and Joan Jett, large pool parties and dozens of corporate sponsors, who vie for the attention of a community that is suddenly much more visible, and visibly wealthy. It’s Girls Gone Wild for Girls (and Marketing)

"You've got to have technique and balance to pull off the long shots"

The Brand Lady did a wonderful job with those softballs lobbed by those 18-to-34-year-old demo drawers Verne Lundquist and Judy Rankin during today's Dinah Shore final round. Me thinks the LPGA Commish has been working overtime with her brand coach, but she did stray into foreign territory this week and thanks to LPGA Fan, we get some juicy insights from Ms. Bivens.

From Janet Cromley's LA Times story on women hitting the ball longer (or not):

But they can get closer with improved mechanics and technique, says LPGA Commissioner Carolyn Bivens. "Frankly," says Bivens, "the women have to be more fit than the men and their mechanics have to be better. A guy can mis-hit a ball and mis-hit it farther."

To hit the ball farther, the women are focusing not only on upper body strength but also leg and core strength, with balance as the ultimate goal. "You've got to have technique and balance to pull off the long shots," says Bivens.

Lost In Translation

Jim Achenbach at the Dinah Shore, or, well you know what I mean, writing about the language issue for many foreign players:

Language barrier would be an understatement. I was lost in the labyrinth of rising and falling inflections that inhabit the Korean language.

Of course, Ahn had a translator, who happened to be her agent, Vicki Lee.

Ahn was asked about changes in her attitude on the golf course. She fought for two minutes to explain herself.

Then came the predictable five-second translation: "She has fun. She is a little more lighthearted."

The Brand Lady...

...I'm sad to say, chose not to give a "state of the LPGA Tour" press conference at this week's Dinah Shore (or whatever it's called).

A sad, sad day. At least there's last year's classic to relive.

Update on 2007-03-30 13:53 by Geoff

A reader chimed in that this is the first time since at least 1990 that the LPGA Commissioner did not use the Dinah Shore to do a "State of the Tour" press conference.

PGA Tour v. LPGA Tour?

Ron Sirak suggests that the maneuvering between the LPGA and PGA Tour is unnecessary, but I say it's downright entertaining.

The LPGA may lack the star power of the PGA Tour (although, arguably, the latter's star power only goes as deep as Tiger Woods), but it presents a more compelling product than the Champions or Nationwide Tours. Determined to increase its exposure, the feisty LPGA has fought back by out-maneuvering the PGA Tour on a couple of fronts that have largely gone unnoticed.

The LPGA created the ADT Championship playoff model, and its $1 million first prize, last year before the FedEx Cup became the subtitle for the PGA Tour. And LPGA officials were clearly upset at the Golf 20/20 conference last October when the meeting to discuss ways to grow the game of golf morphed into a pep rally for the FedEx Cup, at the direction of the PGA Tour. LPGA commissioner Carolyn Bivens (pictured) was so angry she left and had to be talked into coming back for the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies.

Hearing something like that makes it tough to make fun of The Brand Lady. Oh wait, she gives her annual press conference today at the Nabisco Championship. I spoke too soon!

Annika Looking Forward To Learning About Steroids...

...because the LPGA releases their banned substances list. Annika comments:

``I'm not very familiar with any of those substances, and I don't really know what they are other than caffeine (which is not banned) and cocaine, I think,'' she said. ``I have a lot of learning to do. But I think it's an important statement that we're making.

``It's a new era for the LPGA,'' Sorenstam said. ``We're standing behind it.''

"Snubbing the greatest player ever in women’s golf"

Bill Huffman on the brand lady's latest marketing move:

Bivens’ latest gaffe in her 18 months at the top came via the 2007 LPGA media guide. This is a book for which Annika Sorenstam had been the annual cover girl for the past 10 years.

Guess what? No Annika out front in 2007, as Lorena Ochoa, Seon Hwa Lee and Julieta Granada adorn the book’s cover. Granted, Ochoa belongs, but Hwa and Granada over Sorenstam?

The Sorenstam snafu is the equivalent of the PGA Tour leaving Tiger off its media guide. And, you can bet that will never happen.

Apparently snubbing the greatest player ever in women’s golf, the same player who doesn’t necessarily see right down the middle with the commish, was the point. And trust me, this latest LPGA media guide cover fiasco didn’t just roll out of the marketing department without Bivens’ blessing.

The same can be said for every other detail involving the LPGA these days. They are Bivens driven, and if an employee dares disagree — “You’re fired!’’ It’s happened so many times since she took over late in 2005 — 13 “resignations,’’ including her top three assistants — you have to wonder: Who’s next?

Certainly Bivens’ dissing of Sorenstam isn’t enough to break her reign of terror. But apparently Sorenstam’s 69 career wins don’t carry much weight these days. That is especially true for those who dare question Bivens’ iron rule.

Sorenstam, however, is one of those few who dared. Last year, after watching fiasco after fiasco that began with top media outlets boycotting the LPGA, was followed by world rankings that were a laughingstock (Sorenstam the exception), and then more resignations from within, Annika observed: “I am quite concerned about some of the decisions and changes I have seen lately. I just wonder where we are headed.’’

Invite The Women

Cameron Morfit says the match play is in need of a lift, so he recommends inviting the LPGA Tour to contest their own match play at the same time.

The Accenture is golf’s version of a tennis tournament: single-elimination, with most everything resting on the quality of the semifinal and final. One of the things tennis has going for it is that men and women play concurrently at the same venue. Right away you double your chances of having at least one star in a final, and of getting at least one compelling match in the prime viewing hours Saturday and Sunday.

Now I don't know about this next point, since I don't believe it's accurate. 

The LPGA, in fact, bettered the PGA Tour with its most recent match play event, the season-ending ADT Championship, won by Paraguayan pixie Julieta Granada, who pocketed $1 million, the largest purse in women’s golf, and promptly bought herself a new Range Rover. (A million bucks still means something on the LPGA.)

It was stroke play wasn't it?

Anyhow, the concept seems interesting since even with a great final match, the WGC Match Play is a dud on television. As much as I love match play, if it's going to be played only at real estate developments willing to pay for the privilege, then they need more, uh, "product" to distract us.

Someone Thinks Wie Will Win Soon...

Got to love the LPGA, they still have confidence in Michelle Wie. Announcing eligibility changes for the season ending ADT Championship that the PGA Tour ought to emulate, note this little change...

For the first-time ever, a non-LPGA Tour member has the opportunity to compete in the ADT Championship. If a non-LPGA Tour member wins one of the four majors, she is eligible to compete in the season-ending ADT Championship and is not required to become a member to do so. Furthermore, if she needs a note to get out of her classes at Stanford, the LPGA Commissioner will personally write and sign it.

Oh there I go again adding on sentences to perfectly good press releases. Sorry.

“These partnerships will help bring to life the amazing feats that occur each week on the LPGA Tour, such as crushing 275 yard drives..."

Thanks to reader Tom for this release. As always, your vote on the most ridiculous of the requisite lame quotes is welcomed:

LPGA announces technology enhancements for telecasts SkyCaddie to provide real-time GPS information

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Jan. 26, 2007- The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) and the Golf Channel have each partnered with SkyGolf, makers of the SkyCaddie® GPS rangefinder, to provide enhanced, real-time information to viewers during live LPGA tournament broadcasts.  Analysts will be utilizing SkyCaddie® rangefinders to provide real-time information to viewers of LPGA telecasts on ESPN2 and the Golf Channel, beginning with the Golf Channel's broadcast of the SBS Open at Turtle Bay, Feb. 15-17.

Viewers will be given comprehensive information, including players’ driving distances and positioning, such as distances needed to clear or lay up in front of fairway hazards.  The inclusion of this cutting-edge technology and production enhancement represents the first time advanced GPS technology will play such an integral role during LPGA golf broadcasts.  The SkyCaddie® rangefinders use the same global positioning system used by the U.S. military, but in a highly portable handheld device about the size of a cell phone that can compute distances to any point on a golf course.

“We are very excited to be working with the LPGA and the Golf Channel to provide a unique perspective to viewers that will help showcase the remarkable talents of these highly skilled professional athletes,” said SkyGolf CEO Richard Edmonson.  “These partnerships will help bring to life the amazing feats that occur each week on the LPGA Tour, such as crushing 275 yard drives and pinpoint approach shots.”

Even Bivens in her prime can't top that...crushing 275 yard drives?

“Our research has shown that our viewers are looking for more statistics and information about the great play on the LPGA Tour,” said LPGA Commissioner Carolyn F. Bivens.  “We are pleased to team with SkyCaddie to bring enhanced information to our tournament broadcasts.  SkyCaddie’s portability and easy-to-use technology will make broadcast implementation seamless, allowing our broadcast partners to clearly illustrate why LPGA players are some of the best athletes in the world.”

MBA Points for use of portability, seamless and partners, but best athletes in the world? Boring...

“The LPGA is extremely popular right now, featuring gifted players and intense competition each week,” said the Golf Channel’s Executive Vice President of Advertising Sales and New Media Gene Pizzolato.  “We’re proud to be expanding our production capabilities of LPGA telecasts by incorporating the proven performance of the SkyCaddie into our broadcasts to bring exciting real-time information to our viewers like never before.”

I wonder if they'll plug the SkyCaddie numbers into WinZone in order to make it, well, work? 

"To promote the pipeline of up-and-coming players."

It's been a while since LPGA Commish Carolyn Bivens made any noise, and while this may not get much attention, it's nonetheless shady.

LPGA modifies field criteria for select events

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) today announced a modification to field criteria for select events that will enable the LPGA to offer a sponsor exemption to the U.S. Women’s Amateur champion if an LPGA event is staged in her home state.  This exemption would be in addition to the event’s contracted sponsor exemptions and would only be enacted if the U.S. Women’s Amateur champion is still an amateur at the time of the LPGA event and, when offering an exemption, would not decrease the playing opportunities for LPGA players.

Did you get all of that? Gee, this comes up so rarely, I'm sure it won't be relevant anytime soon. It's just basic platform strengthening and...wait, oh there's more.

Next month’s SBS Open at Turtle Bay and Fields Open in Hawaii, the first two official events of the 2007 Tour season staged on the island of Oahu in Hawaii, will be the first events to benefit from this modification.  Reigning U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Kimberly Kim is from Hawaii.

“We are pleased to offer the SBS Open and Fields Open the opportunity to invite Kimberly Kim in addition to their traditional sponsor exemptions,” said LPGA Commissioner Carolyn F. Bivens.  “This is an opportunity to recognize the U.S. Women’s Amateur champion from Hawaii as well as to promote the pipeline of up-and-coming players.”

Get that? Pipeline. Hawaii. She's good!

"My goal for the next 10, 20 years is to build up the Annika brand name"

Annika Sorenstam is talking retirement...and building her brand.

"I'm pretty tired of golf," said the 36-year-old Sorenstam. "I want to have kids and if we decide to do that the time is now and I probably can't combine that with a golf career."

And...

"The question is whether I'm willing to make the effort, because it requires me to give all I've got," Sorenstam said. "It's all or nothing if I'm going to play."

"Last year I barely practiced and I still won six tournaments and finished third in the money rankings, but being sloppy like that doesn't hold up in the long run."

If she does retire, Sorenstam said she would still like to be involved in the business side of golf.

"My goal for the next 10, 20 years is to build up the Annika brand name, with my own golf school and golf course design and other things I want to develop."

Another CMO In Golf

Since the USGA's CMO has been so productive in his nearly two years of touring the nation's finest layouts, I mean, strengthening the USGA brand, the LPGA Tour has hired their own Chief Marketing Officer according to Golfweek. 

Commissioner Carolyn F. Bivens Nov. 29 named William F. Susetka as the LPGA's chief marketing officer (CMO). He will assume the role Jan. 2, 2007.

Poor bastard. Oh, sorry, here's the rest.

Susetka will be responsible for all LPGA marketing functions – and will oversee the marketing, creative services, corporate sponsorships, original programming, concept development and emerging media departments – while working to strengthen the LPGA brand image among consumers and sponsors and raise the awareness level of the LPGA and its members.

Emerging media departments? Is that a euphemism for the Internet?

Most recently, Susetka served as chief operating officer of Nice-Pak Products (2005-06). Prior to that, he was president of Global Marketing for Avon Products Inc. (2002-05), where he led double-digit beauty growth for three years and introduced the most successful new product launches for skin care and fragrance in Avon history with Anew Clinical, Cellu-Sculpt and the Today, Tomorrow, Always fragrance trilogy.

He led double-digit beauty growth? Wow, he's good. 

"And the list goes on."

Doug Ferguson puts Carolyn Bivens in her place for daring to call the PGA Tour an LPGA peer:

The total prize money on the LPGA Tour this year was about $54 million. Total prize money on the PGA Tour was $260 million.

The PGA Tour will get about $1 billion from its six-year contract with the television networks next year, along with a 15-year deal with The Golf Channel to broadcast weekday rounds. The LPGA Tour has to buy most of its television time, and some tournaments could not be found anywhere on TV.

There were a record 11 millionaires on the LPGA Tour this year. The PGA Tour had 93.

And the list goes on.