Copenhagen, 6 June 2011: Sony Ericsson today announced that world number one tennis player, Caroline Wozniacki has renewed and extended her role as a global Sony Ericsson brand ambassador to support its Xperia(TM) smartphone portfolio. The Danish tennis star has signed a deal that will extend her partnership with Sony Ericsson to 2013.
The exclusive off-court agreement expands the Wozniacki sponsorship from Danish-only to a worldwide contract. The endorsement renewal and extension will build on Sony Ericsson's long-term sponsorship of Wozniacki which began in 2007.
Sony Ericsson plans to leverage its partnership with Caroline Wozniacki across all of its tennis programmes, integrating her into marketing initiatives for its Xperia smartphone portfolio. This includes television advertising in select international markets, and expands her reach in digital and social media platforms. Caroline's image will be used in advertising and general promotional material and she will be involved in events for Sony Ericsson.
Caroline will wear the official Sony Ericsson WTA logo on her on-court attire and will also be involved in Sony Ericsson's new web-based TV show Xperia Hot Shots, which began in March this year.
Sony Ericsson Xperia Hot Shots follows the lives of six tennis players from the WTA as they travel the world on tour, helping them to realize their dreams by giving them exclusive access to the worlds of music, film, gaming and fashion. At the end of the year, the player that has generated the most support on Facebook will win a Sony Ericsson support deal. Wozniacki will be incorporated into video content with the Xperia Hot Shots as one of the big stars on the WTA.
Sony Ericsson has been a long-term sponsor of women's tennis as partner of the Women's Tennis Association since 2005 and as current sponsor of Grand Slam winner Maria Sharapova.
World tennis number one, Caroline Wozniacki commented:
"Sony Ericsson has supported me since 2007 and I'm pleased to continue my partnership with them. Sony Ericsson is doing exciting things for women's tennis, giving players opportunities to get involved in different and entertaining activities on and off court. It's also great for me to be able to have access to Sony Ericsson's Xperia smartphone portfolio so I can stay in touch with my family and fans and keep entertained when I'm on the road."
Commenting on the agreement, Vice President, Head of Global Marketing Partnerships for Sony Ericsson, Stephan Croix, said:
"As the established world number one, Caroline embodies all of the characteristics we look for in a brand ambassador - she is active, ambitious, optimistic and always connected. This renewed agreement will help Sony Ericsson reach new audiences and expand awareness of the Xperia smartphone portfolio, through a number of marketing activities, including her growing presence in social media and participation in off court initiatives like the Xperia Hot Shots programme."
To watch all the videos so far of the Xperia(TM) Hot Shots go to www.youtube.com/xperiahotshots (http://www.youtube.com/xperiahotshots)
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For further information, please contact:
Global: Lucy Mutch / lucy@itsprettygreen.com (mailto:lucy@itsprettygreen.com) / +44 (0) 7792 721859
Global: Graciela Pineda / graciela.pineda@sonyericsson.com (mailto:graciela.pineda@sonyericsson.com) / +44 (0) 7931 950433
Notes to Editors:
About Sony Ericsson:
Sony Ericsson celebrates its 10th year as a joint venture between Sony Corporation and Ericsson in October, 2011. Over the years the company has brought together the best communication technologies with superior entertainment user experiences to create its Xperia(TM)(TM) line of the 'most entertaining smartphones' in the mobile handset industry. With its global corporate functions in London, Sony Ericsson has sales and marketing operations in all major regions of the world, as well as manufacturing in China, and product development sites in China, Japan, Sweden and Silicon Valley, California. For more information, please visit: www.sonyericsson.com/press (http://www.sonyericsson.com/press).
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Source: Sony Ericsson via Thomson Reuters ONE
