First chocolate, now coffee.
Tennis star Caroline Wozniacki certainly has dessert covered.
After becoming Godiva’s first athlete endorser earlier this year, Wozniacki now holds the same designation for Lavazza, a 120-year-old Italian coffee brand.
“The Lavazza family loves tennis; they have tickets to the Monte Carlo event,” said John Tobias, Wozniacki’s agent with Lagardère Unlimited. “They just look at tennis, and the demographic is similar to those who drink rather expensive, higher-priced coffee.”
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Wozniacki’s contract with Lavazza includes a fan contest tied to the U.S. Open.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
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The deal was informally unveiled last week, when Wozniacki made a surprise visit to a Lavazza 120th anniversary party in Paris.
Representatives of Lavazza did not reply for comment. The company, however, has been making a big push into tennis, with sponsorships of the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
As part of the deal, Wozniacki will have coffee with winners of a contest tied to the U.S. Open. Even if she loses early in the tournament, she is committed to staying in New York for the promotion.
That contest serves as the core of Lavazza’s activation around the Danish tennis player. Last week, she shot an ad that features her sipping coffee and chatting, Tobias said. The ad is set to be released through social media platforms, with a link to the U.S. Open contest.
The deal is for one year and includes no logos on Wozniacki’s clothes or racket bags.
The Wall Street Journal last year quoted Wozniacki as saying she would do a chocolate deal for no money, just product. Tobias, speaking last week from the French Open, chuckled at that reference and said assuredly that Wozniacki is getting paid — by Godiva, and by Lavazza too.
Wozniacki joins rare company in tennis with her chocolate and coffee deals. Roger Federer is the only other player with such a combo: he endorses Lindt and Jura, which manufactures coffee machines. In fact, each category is relatively rare in its own right in the sport.
“There are not a whole lot of coffee deals in tennis,” Tobias said.
