First playoff model for professional golf and new brand platform introduced

HAVRE DE GRACE, Md., June 7, 2005 – Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Commissioner Ty M. Votaw today unveiled the next major initiatives in the LPGA's Fans First strategic plan, the most significant for the LPGA and professional golf in recent history: LPGA Playoffs at The ADT, a new year-long competitive structure featuring the largest first-place prize in the history of women's golf; and These Girls Rock, a brand platform that will further contemporize the LPGA. Both programs are designed to fortify the LPGA's competitiveness in the sports entertainment marketplace, energize the brand and benefit all of the organization's stakeholders.

“I am very pleased to present LPGA Playoffs at The ADT and our new brand platform, These Girls Rock,” said Votaw from the McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola, the LPGA's second major of the season. “Three years ago, we announced Fans First and the Five Points of Celebrity, which laid the foundation for a long-term, fan-focused strategy. That foundation is working and, combined with our presentation of the very best of women's professional golf, has significantly raised the LPGA brand profile.

“But even with that success, business-as-usual is not part of the LPGA's game plan. LPGA Playoffs at The ADT and These Girls Rock are perfect ways to elevate our organization and give fans and sponsors more reasons to connect with the LPGA, our players and our teachers.”

LPGA Playoffs at The ADT

The LPGA has re-engineered its tournament schedule to create LPGA Playoffs at The ADT beginning in 2006. Modeled after playoff structures that have been so successful in other major sports, the new competitive format will include a “regular season” that splits the LPGA schedule into two halves, with 15 players from each half and two wild card players qualifying for LPGA Playoffs at The ADT and the season-ending final event, the ADT Championship, using a performance-based point system throughout the year.

LPGA Playoffs at The ADT will take place over the first three days of the ADT Championship, which will now feature 32 players, up from 30 in previous years. At the conclusion of LPGA Playoffs at The ADT, the finalists will compete on Sunday in a dramatic 18-hole, final-round shootout, serving as an exciting and entertaining capstone to the LPGA Tour season. The 2006 winner of the ADT Championship will earn $1 million, the largest first-place prize in the history of women's golf.

“ The environment in which the LPGA competes will only intensify over the next five years, demanding the constant pursuit of entertainment innovations which remain true to the values of the game, our fans and our brand ,” said Votaw. “LPGA Playoffs at The ADT is an innovation that will energize our year-long schedule and generate significant fan and media attention throughout the year as players compete for playoff spots and the speculation about who's in and who's out builds throughout the season.”

“ADT has been a proud sponsor of the LPGA for the past five years, and with the unveiling of LPGA Playoffs at The ADT, we are thrilled to extend that commitment and participate in the changing face of women's golf,” said Mike Snyder, president of ADT Security Services, Inc. “ADT is proud to support the playoff system and the unprecedented $1 million first-place paycheck, which will create an element of interest in the LPGA and the ADT Championship unlike anything we have ever seen.”

“We are excited about LPGA Playoffs at The ADT,” said Heather Daly-Donofrio, president of the LPGA Tour Executive Committee. “The LPGA is thrilled to be the first in golf to have a playoff system that leads to a season finale championship. This is a great fan-focused initiative that should ignite increased excitement at every Tour stop.”

In this new structure, LPGA tournaments will be categorized as follows:

• Major Events – consist of the four major championships on the LPGA Tour schedule. Winners of these four events automatically qualify for LPGA Playoffs at The ADT, adding more drama to the season's highest profile events. Top finishers in these events gain points toward the relevant half of the season, using a points system similar to the Rolex Player of the Year points system. Points will be doubled in the Major Events:the Kraft Nabisco Championship; McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola; U.S. Women's Open conducted by the USGA; and the Weetabix Women's British Open.
• Points Events – consist of most full-field events, which will serve as the backbone of the playoffs qualification system. Top finishers earn points toward each relevant half of the season, but winners do not automatically qualify.

• Winner Events – consist of most limited-field events and select full-field events. Winners of these events automatically qualify for LPGA Playoffs at The ADT, but no additional points are earned, setting up potential all-or-nothing scenarios in the final holes of these tournaments.
• Asia Swing – consists of events played in Asia (currently Korea and Japan). The player who achieves the best combined performance in the Asia tournaments will qualify for LPGA Playoffs at The ADT. The best combined performance in the Asia events will be based on the total aggregate points earned.

The new format will add greater relevance to tournaments early in each half of the season and give full-field events near the close of each half a greater profile. Throughout the year, LPGA Tour players will qualify for LPGA Playoffs at The ADT by earning points in either half of the season. These are the fundamental principles of the LPGA's new playoff system and more specific details of this new format will be finalized in advance of the release of the LPGA's 2006 Tour schedule.

These Girls Rock brand communications platform

Breaking this week with print advertising in USA Today, the Baltimore Sun and on LPGA.com, These Girls Rock is the tagline for LPGA's new brand communications platform, an outgrowth of the LPGA's five-year strategic business plan and the culmination of a multi-year fan study to identify the most compelling brand positioning for the LPGA. This new LPGA brand platform, which will drive all LPGA communications channels, is designed to strengthen the emotional connection for fans with the LPGA and celebrate the LPGA's great performances, passion and personalities.

“These Girls Rock is all about showcasing LPGA players as great golfers—not only the best women golfers in the world, but some of the best golfers in the world,” said Karen Durkin, LPGA executive vice president and chief marketing officer. “P erformance is the cornerstone of our new brand platform, and we will be spotlighting in very fun ways exactly what makes the LPGA players such extraordinary athletes and exactly what makes the LPGA teaching professionals the best women golf professionals in the world.”

The LPGA's new brand platform was developed by Chicago-based Element 79 Partners. Element 79 conducted an in-depth brand positioning study on the LPGA, incorporating both quantitative and qualitative consumer and market research on the LPGA fan and the sports entertainment industry. This research included interviews with all key LPGA stakeholders.

These Girls Rock will be integrated into LPGA telecasts, advertising, public relations, LPGA tournament promotions and LPGA.com. Additionally, the LPGA will be working with its sponsors and tournaments to identify ways to integrate These Girls Rock as a key activation vehicle for new fan promotions and increased sponsorship value.

The initial print creative features Tour players Paula Creamer, Natalie Gulbis, Juli Inkster, Cristie Kerr, Meg Mallon, Lorena Ochoa, Se Ri Pak, Grace Park, Jennifer Rosales, Annika Sorenstam and Karrie Webb. Following are the featured print ads for 2005:

• Performing Their Smash Hits on the Biggest Stage - an illustration featuring Kerr, Ochoa, Park, Sorenstam and Webb in a confident “rock group” pose, which captures the celebration of the great performances on the LPGA Tour, a showcase for unique and electric personalities. The LPGA commissioned illustrator Michael Koelsch for this print ad. Koelsch has done extensive work for a diverse group of clients including Gatorade, Animal Planet, NBA and Disney.
• Annika Sorenstam's Greatest Hits – a mock record album, photographed by Joe Pelligrini, that displays Sorenstam's extraordinary performance achievements in a fun way through the analogy of song names, which include: “Me and the Boys” – first woman to play the PGA Tour in 58 years; “So Far Away” – driving average: 273 yards; “Something Special” – world's most dominant golfer. Pelligrini's roster of clients include Quaker, Procter & Gamble, Bob Evans, Dial, McDonald's, Taco Bell, Sunbeam and Volvo.

• It's a Greatest Hits Tour and the Encores Last Three Days – features Pak and Gulbis competing before a group of fans who are celebrating Pak and Gulbis' performances by holding lighters in the air, again, drawing a parallel to the same fan celebrations witnessed at rock concerts. The photographer, Tom Feiler, has an extensive list of awards including the Cannes International Advertising Festival, and his clients include Procter and Gamble, Virgin, Microsoft, Toyota, KraftFoods, Home Depot and Hewlett-Packard.
• They May Not Trash Hotel Rooms But They Can Sure Tear Up a Golf Course – features Rosales teeing off before a group of “rocker” fans in awe of Rosales' extraordinary play. Feiler was also the photographer for this print ad.
• Rock World – a mock music industry magazine cover featuring Mallon and a second cover featuring Creamer with the following headlines, respectively: “19 years on Tour and Meg Mallon's Still Cranking Out the Hits: Four Majors, Seven Solheim Cups and Career-Low Round of 60 –” and “The LPGA Tour, 275-Yard Drives on a Weekly Basis – So Much for One Hit Wonders.”

In addition to USA Today, the Baltimore Sun and LPGA.com, These Girls Rock will appear in Sports Business Journal, Golf for Women magazine, Golf Digest, Golf World and the following LPGA tournament market newspapers: Los Angeles Times; Newark Star Ledger; Denver Post; Baltimore Sun; Oregonian; Palm Beach Post; and Sacramento Bee during the initial media plan. Broadcast media will include radio for LPGA tournament customization beginning in 2006.

About Ladies Professional Golf Association

Featuring the world's best women golfers, the LPGA's membership includes touring, teaching and club professionals. The LPGA Tour in 2005 features 34 events and total prize money of $45.1 million. Since 1981, the LPGA and its tournaments have raised more than $160 million for charity. From the dreams of its 13 founders in 1950, the LPGA has evolved into the world's preeminent women's professional sports organization. The LPGA has grown from its roots as a playing tour into a non-profit organization involved in every facet of golf. The LPGA Teaching and Club Professional (T&CP) membership boasts a total of nearly 1,200 women golf professionals who serve as teachers, golf professionals, club managers and coaches. Through the LPGA T&CP membership, the LPGA is working to increase the involvement of women and youth in golf, as well as contribute to the growth of the sport overall. The LPGA is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Fla. For more information on the LPGA, log on to www.LPGA.com.

About ADT

Celebrating its 130 th anniversary, ADT Security Services, Inc., a business unit of Tyco Fire & Security, is the largest provider of electronic security services to nearly six million commercial, government and residential customers throughout North America. ADT's total security solutions include intrusion, fire protection, closed circuit television, access control, critical condition monitoring, electronic article surveillance, radio frequency identification (RFID) and integrated systems. ADT's Web site address is www.adt.com.

Tyco International Ltd. is a global, diversified company that provides vital products and services to customers in five business segments: Fire & Security, Electronics, Healthcare, Engineered Products & Services and Plastics & Adhesives. With 2004 revenue of $40 billion, Tyco employees 260,000 people worldwide. More information on Tyco can be found at www.tyco.com.

About Element 79 Partners

Founded in 2001, Element 79 Partners is part of Omnicom Group, Inc. A full-service agency, Element 79 is fully committed to helping its clients win by providing better creative solutions in a simpler, faster fashion. Some of the businesses it handles include Alberto Culver, Capital One, Children's Memorial Hospital, Dole juice, Frito-Lay Snacks, Gatorade, Hillshire Farm, Hoover Company, Long John Silver's, Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouses, Ladies Professional Golf Association, Propel Fitness Water, Quaker, Supercuts and Tropicana. With headquarters in Chicago, Element 79 also has an office in New York, through which it handles global assignments for PepsiCo. For more information please visit www.element79.com.