Sugarpova wins even without Sharapova changing names

We were almost on the brink of witnessing the most novel product placement ever.

“Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova has planned to change her last name to Sugarpova temporarily to promote her candy brand. Sharapova has applied to the Supreme Court of Florida, in the United States, for the two-week name change during the upcoming US Open tournament as a way to draw more attention to her sweets line,” Firstpost reported earlier today.

[caption id=“attachment_1048885” align=“aligncenter” width=“380”] Maria Sharapova has earned plenty of publicity for her brand. Sugarpova.com[/caption]

“Besides necessary legal procedures, the top athlete should also get approval of the US Open organisers to make her new name displayed during the tournament,” the report adds.

But changing a name is not without a new set of problems. What about her passport? Her bank accounts, her credit cards, her legal documents? They would all neeed to change as well.

Perhaps that’s why Sharapova isn’t changing her name. “Her agent, Max Eisenbud, told ESPN on Tuesday that “we ultimately decided against it. ““Maria has pushed her team to do fun, out-of-the-box-type things to get the word out about Sugarpova,” Eisenbud said. “In Miami, we’re going to fill a glass truck full of candy and drive it around town. This was an idea that fell along those lines. But, at the end of the day, we would have to change all her identification, she has to travel to Japan and China right after the tournament and it was going to be very difficult.”.

The mere announcement of her intent to change the name has reaped the brand benefits. How many had heard of the brand before this morning?

So Sharapova suggests that she will change her name to Sugarpova and that’s enough to get the world media, including news products like us, to give the unheard of brand free play.

That’s terrific marketing - and begs the question: did Sharapova ever intend to change her name?