Long-time sponsor of golfing events all over the world, Buick, has signed an endorsement deal with professional golfer Shanshan Feng. Feng, who is currently ranked sixth in the Women’s World Golf rankings, will serve as a brand ambassador for golf events the automaker sponsors in China.
Feng is the first player from mainland China to become a member of the American LPGA Tour and the first to win a major championship. She is also the only Chinese player to play on the three most prominent women’s golf tours, the LPGA Tour, the LPGA of Japan Tour and the Ladies European tour.
“Shanshan Feng is a role model for the younger generation who are pursuing their dreams,” GM China President Matt Tsien said in a statement. “She exemplifies Buick’s passionate and progressive brand philosophy.”
Feng has won 10 tournaments as well as the Chinese National Games Championship since first becoming professional in 2007. She has been in the top 10 of the Women World Golf rankings for 90 consecutive weeks, peaking in third position.
Comments
I love that new LaCrosse!
I’m pretty sure that if you want to lower the age of your average buyer, the last type of endorsement GM and Buick would want is one from a golf player, sorry but golf does scream young and energetic to me.
Who?
Sorry but I hope she came cheap as there are areas they could have put this money to reach more potential buyers.
GM and their sports sponsorships to me never really made much headway outside of NASCAR and the Corvette program. The rest of it never gets much press or interest outside core group of fans.
I would rather see GM take Buick in a direction to improve their image as a cool hip car company and bring in non conventional buyers.
Pontiac did it in the past with their great print ads of the 60’s and even today Kia has made a cult car out of the Soul with just some weird but popular Hamster commercials. There are many ways to build an image with good advertising and that is where they need to be. Putting your name on a golfer or some sports team to me has little influence on what car people buy.
I mean right here in Akron we have been host to a major PGA tournament for years and I see the cars for the series come and go here and the only real bonus I see for GM is people buy a lot of discounted slightly used Buicks or Cadillac one a year in this area.
If the marketing people at GM are like where I and my wife work they are some of the most clueless people you will find when it comes to our customers. Too often they read their surveys and thing they have it pegged but we who deal with the customers and know what and who they and we too often see how far off they can be.
I really feel too many marketing people just get jobs with companies they have no interest in the product, I have seen some great auto advertising people who have made their mark and often they are real car people who love cars as much as their job. Some even have seen showing or racing the products they are selling on their own time.
Now I am not saying Buick needs to go racing or to the X games but they do need someone who really understands and loves the product and knows how to cultivate a cool hip image for the brand. With so many new models just on the verge to appear it is important to get them in now so they can transform the brand.