For Immediate Release, Vol. 9,812

Another in the priceless press release division:

Peter Thomson, five-time British Open Champion and principal of Thomson Perrett and Lobb Golf Course Architects, has signed an agreement in St Andrews with UAE based Al Qudra Real Estate, to design the company's first signature golf course in the Middle East.
 
Thomson Perrett & Lobb will design a traditional, classic style championship golf course at Ain Al Emarat, an award-winning residential and leisure development being built near Al Ain, the second city of the Abu Dhabi Emirate and known as 'The Garden City of the Gulf.'
 
Peter Thomson, said: "The growth of golf in the Middle East has been phenomenal and TPL is honoured to contribute to the growth of the sport in the region by creating a unique, traditional style course in a groundbreaking city, that will set international benchmarks for sustainability, healthy living and sporting opportunity."

You know, somehow I don't see Peter Thomson talking about international benchmarks for sustainability and healthy living. But I could be wrong. 

In a ceremony held at The Old Course Hotel in St Andrews overlooking the world famous 'Road Hole,'

Wouldn't Old Tom be proud...

Peter Thomson signed an agreement with Mr Victor E.J. Orth Jr, CEO and General Manager of Al Qudra Real Estate – a subsidiary of Al Qudra Holding – for the design of the golf course, which is set to be a major attraction for residents and visitors at Ain Al Emarat.

I wonder if The Old Course Hotel is as close to the site as Peter will get?

Victor E.J. Orth Jr, said: "TPL has a commitment to excellence in golf course design that mirrors our corporate ethos and we look forward to creating a golf course that will thrill the residents of the UAE and its international golfing visitors."
 
TPL has joined forces with global architectural practice HOK, creators of the new Wembley and Emirates stadia in London, to design the golf course as part of this groundbreaking city.

Plans for the residential and sporting development have already won a prestigious award. HOK won the award for 'Best Masterplan' at the recent Building Exchange Awards 2007, held in Valencia, Spain in June. The award recognised HOK's success in creating a sustainable, innovative design in collaboration with key partners, in particular Thomson Perrett & Lobb.

 They do love their awards over there.

The TPL golf course will act as a centrepiece for the development alongside a landmark 40,000-seat indoor sports and entertainment arena, which will be built to the same standard as HOK's acclaimed Emirates Stadium, home of Arsenal Football Club.
 
The championship golf course will harness natural topography, including rolling sand hills and views to the nearby mountains, as well as benefiting from TPL's expertise in sustainable golf course design. The use of recycled effluent will reduce water requirements and will be offset by minimal use of excess turf to keep the golf course in harmony with its natural desert environment.
 
Al Qudra Real Estate is the successful real estate division of Al Qudra Holding, an important strategic partner for organisations looking for investment opportunities in the UAE. The development at Ain Al Emarat is set to redefine 21st century living through its appreciation for the balance between work and leisure.

Sign me up! 

Tiger Spared Of Future Fake Impromptu AmEx-USGA Outings

Yes, I know dark days ahead here. How to cope with the news that there will be no more Tiger Woods led American Express ads like the Caddyshack spot, just those embarrassing spots where he calls OnStar to unlock one of those ugly Buicks.

But mercifully for Tiger, no more of those outings where he has to interrupt his major championship preparation to plug AmEx and the USGA.

But much better was the spin by Amex suit Rich Lehrfeld buried in this AP piece (presumably by Doug Ferguson), who was explaining the decision to sign with the PGA of America while dumping Woods.

"He brought a lot of value to Amex. He's an incredible athlete with an incredible work ethic, and that runs well with what our brand is all about," Lehrfeld said.

And here I thought the brand was about justifying how us suckers pay an annual fee all to get a discount at Kinko's?  

"Sometimes strategies change. We wanted to move our dollars to build a broader base of consumer experiences."

Ah, right. That clears it up.

"It was a good 10-year run," Mark Steinberg, his agent at IMG, said Friday while following Woods at Firestone. He said Woods and American Express mutually agreed not to negotiate another contract.

"I know that sounds like a cop-out," Steinberg said. "But this was one of those deals that had run its course. If they wanted to be more consumer-driver, that might require more of Tiger's time. And it still might not hit the right demographics for them. We talked about doing something smaller, but why downsize?"

That's right baby, Tiger doesn't take pay cuts. And he can't get cardholders Ryder Cup tickets either. Sounds like a win-win! 

Building Some Equity...

Thankfully, my Saturday viewing priorities went like this: Spinal Tap reunion during the climate change concert, U.S. Senior Open at Whistling Straits, Angels-Yankees, and then maybe a few minutes of the AT&T National from Congressional if everyone else was taking a commercial break.

Therefore, according to reader Jon, I missed this from Tiger Woods, talking to Jim Nantz about the future prospects of the AT&T National:

"Hopefully, we can build some equity [in the new tournament.]"

That's why I'm not watching.

Warning To Network Executives: Brand Lady To Come Knocking While You're On Vacation

...but at least she's presenting at the time of year when so many executives are vacationing in the Hamptons excited to hear pitches: August. Alan Blondin of The Sun News reports:

Bivens inherited cable contracts with ESPN and Golf Channel, and larger events are on ABC, NBC and CBS. Broadcast times vary greatly.

The tour will begin making presentations to network and cable stations in August. "The most important thing for the LPGA is to have a consistent television schedule," Bivens said. "It's very difficult for our fans to find where we are from week to week."

Since events in international locations aren't generally televised in the U.S., Bivens will try to group those to include dates when the LPGA would normally be dark, such as the weeks of the Masters, U.S. Open and PGA Championship.

That should ensure they'll never make it on American airwaves too. 

The events are important for exposure and lucrative deals with international television stations in which the LPGA is paid for broadcast rights - similar to the PGA Tour TV agreements. Right now the LPGA buys time on ESPN and the three major networks and has to sell commercial spots itself. It has other agreements with the Golf Channel.

Bivens said for 2010 and beyond she'll either seek rights fees or develop an LPGA production company that would buy time and produce the programming itself. "If you have a brand that is still forming like the LPGA, being able to control your production is worth a lot of money," Bivens said.

Wait, the brand is still forming? Well, how is it a brand if it hasn't formed yet?

"Especially in terms of educating the audience as to the personalities behind the athletes. We're a society where fans develop behind personalities."

Ahh...translation: lots of fluff!

But I'm back on this brand formtion stuff. Branding experts, could you tell us how you know a forming brand officially becomes a brand? 

"The USGA is looking to expand its number of corporate partners to four"

Jon Show in the Sports Business Journal writes about Johnny Miller joining Lexus for several synergistic cross platforming upward product valuation and branding opportunities.

NBC golf analyst Johnny Miller will spend this week as a spokesman for Lexus, part of the company's activation of its new sponsorship with the U.S. Golf Association that includes rights to the U.S. Open.

There's that activation word again! 

Miller is scheduled to make appearances on behalf of Lexus through Sunday, including appearing via satellite on morning shows to promote a Lexus-sponsored survey asking golfers how they improve their game.

Good to know he's got his priorities straight. 

He also will appear in ads running in major golf publications and will be featured in TV spots running on NBC, which is televising the majority of the event.

Oh, but will he plug the product on the air as he did with Ford? Will he go easier on the USGA now that he's working with one of their sponsors?

This year also marks the first U.S. Open to have large-scale corporate backing. Lexus and American Express signed separate deals this winter with the USGA, which conducts the U.S. Open. Each is activating heavily in its first event.

Activating heavily! As opposed to merely activating.

And the story drops this little surprise.

The USGA is looking to expand its number of corporate partners to four, hoping to announce one in January 2008 and one for 2009. USGA CMO Barry Hyde said he expects efforts in that arena to ramp up this fall, after the organization¹s 13 national championships conclude.

Get Out Your MBASpeak Bingo Boards!

Actually, this Jon Show-Sports Business Journal interview with AmEx's Rick Lehrfield contains all sorts of new verbs, adverbs and nouns to add to the list.

Rich Lehrfeld is overseeing American Express first year under a new corporate partnership structure marketed by the USGA. He spoke recently with correspondent Jon Show about the allure of this week¹s U.S. Open. How much of your activation efforts are you pulling from your sponsorship of the U.S. Open of tennis?

Oh nice, activation efforts. And that was just setup!

LEHRFELD: We¹ve taken a good amount, between the fan and cardholder card-member experiences and the welcome pavilion. It¹s not a true takeoff but a lot of the engagement for the U.S. Open tennis we tried to use [for] the golf event.

Hmmm, anyone care to tell me what a true takeoff is vs. an engagement?

What attracted you to the USGA?

LEHRFELD: Who they are and what they represent in the game of golf. It¹s an organization that runs 365 days a year with multiple events. There are a lot of different platforms that we can build on with them. The USGA really wants to keep the event as special and pure as possible. We¹ve worked with them on where we should and shouldn¹t be branding, how we can deliver benefits and access.

Platforms and branding. Yawn. And I don't know about the pure part if they are taking on sponsors.

How do you measure success in year one?

LEHRFELD: First is trying to develop impactful programs and working to develop a comfort level with the USGA. That¹s hard to measure. Engaging consumers and building programs and experiences through content or on-site. Delivering real value through a brand perspective, which we determine through research and response. And then, the business perspective.

Impactful value through a brand perspective. Amen brother.

Any plans to expand your interests in golf?

LEHRFELD: We¹re definitely looking to grow our efforts in golf. Maybe in event sponsorship, maybe not.

Wow, stop teasing us like this!

Should anything be done to improve the World Golf Championships events, one of which is title-sponsored by AmEx?

LEHRFELD: They¹ve done a good job with the players. I think they probably have to do a little more rotation and make it more global, which is tough with the players¹ schedules. They¹re faced with a big challenge in trying to make it a global property.

Wow, that's a fancy way of saying the WGC's aren't working!
 

"When a smart person...sees what we've done"

I'm a bit behind on my reading, but yesterday's beach weather afforded the chance to finally power flip through the Golf Digest Hot List as a seal frollicked before me. I managed to weed through the Hot List spread in 7 seconds, but before I got to Belt and Gulag's must flip-through project, I did enjoy the laughs from Jaime Diaz's Golf Digest piece on the FedEx Cup.

First, here's a solid entry for the corporatespeak file...

The shortened schedule, says Sean McManus, president of CBS Sports and CBS News, "takes a fair amount of inventory out of the network marketplace, which is healthy for CBS and NBC.

Healthy for ABC too, apparently.

And this was nice from the Commissioner:

"When a smart person--whether it's a player, a sponsor, a television executive or a fan--sees what we've done," Finchem says, "they nod their head and say, ‘This makes sense.'"

Translation: only dumb people fail to get the FedEx Cup.

And less funny but quite astute was this from Larry Thiel, the International's director who was talking about the FedEx Cup overshadowing individual tournament sponsors.

Through just a few weeks, he's looking prophetic:

"The other thing is that when we sell a sponsor, that sponsor is to receive all the branding and all the positive reinforcement of being a part of the event," Thiel says. "I think that when it's all said and done, all we're ever going to hear about is the FedEx Cup. So I would be fearful if I were one of those three tournaments that my title sponsor would get lost in the shuffle."

"It's a very rare to find a cross- promotional partner that shares so many brand attributes"

It's official, with this latest bit, I'm starting a Corporatespeak category. I just can't keep up with the latest lingo and what better way to relive the doublespeak than with a its very own journal topic listing.

Greg Hardwig in the Naples News shares these gems from Ed Kiernan of Peter Jacobsen Productions, talking about engineering the USGA-Lexus partnership.

"It's a very rare to find a cross- promotional partner that shares so many brand attributes, but in this instance we have found it," said Ed Kiernan, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Peter Jacobsen Productions.

"The key factors to fostering this relationship stem from Lexus' ongoing commitment to the game and their unwavering support of golf at all levels. The four USGA championships provide Lexus with a one-of-a-kind marketing platform to reach multiple stakeholders through tailored events, select ticket and hospitality opportunities, dealer engagement, co-branded promotions and critically important premium experiences."

Here's the buried money quote on the real reason behind the USGA partnership...

"It's a sizable deal. It's a big deal," Kiernan said. "They bought a sizable NBC package as well. ...

And...

"It's really going to mirror what they've done with the USTA (United States Tennis Association) and the U.S. Tennis Open."

And we know what great shape the USTA is in. Love the corporate banners all over the place too. Hope we get the same interaction opportunities at golf's U.S. Open.

Last month, American Express became the USGA's first corporate partner in its 112-year history.

One of the byproducts of that deal was that American Express card members could purchase sold-out Trophy Club tickets to the 2007 U.S. Open at Oakmont.

"We are pleased to play a part in this historic union between golf's governing body and the top-selling luxury nameplate in the U.S.," Kiernan said.

Bet you are jotting that one down right now. Top selling luxury nameplate...priceless.