Buffalo Communications, one of the dominant public relations agencies in golf, will broaden its focus in 2015 to become more of a full-service sports marketing firm.
As part of moving into new disciplines, the agency has rebranded and will now be called Buffalo Brand Invigoration Group.
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STERANKA
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KATZ
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Joe Steranka, the former PGA of America CEO, and Rich Katz, who is Buffalo’s managing director, have overseen the rebranding and new strategic direction.
Steranka, who had a background in PR before his seven years running the PGA, came on board as the agency’s chief global strategist early in 2014. He was hired at first to evaluate Buffalo’s assets and work to determine, along with Katz, where the agency can grow. Steranka will move into more of a consulting role in the future, working with clients on marketing strategy and media.
Katz has been with Billy Casper Golf, Buffalo’s parent company, since 1992.
“Our strategy is to let people know we’re more than just golf and more than just PR, and to springboard off of our experience to deepen our service offerings,” Katz said. “We do those other things, but not many people know it because we’re branded as golf PR folks. We’re able to help companies figure out the best path for growth and to help them activate their plans.”
The new company name, formalized last month, is the start of Buffalo’s broader service plan, which also entails it moving beyond its golf roots. Buffalo, based in Vienna, Va., just outside of Washington, D.C., has 30 employees and 60 clients.
Among the sports that Buffalo will target are soccer and outdoor sports and activities.
“Golf is the core of the company and we don’t want to lose that, but we will get into other sports and other disciplines,” Steranka said. “There’s the thought that companies are looking to narrow their list of agencies and not many are able to do everything.”
Buffalo last month hired Kevin Payne, the former president and general manager of Toronto FC and D.C. United, to be the agency’s global soccer strategist. Payne is charged with developing soccer-specific strategies for brands looking to invest in the sport.
Live Breathe Futbol, a line of soccer apparel, is already on board as a client.
Steranka and Katz also have identified four specific disciplines that the company will promote: design, social media, strategy development and integrated marketing. The billing rates for those areas of sports marketing typically are higher than PR. Buffalo projects a 20 percent increase in year-over-year revenue in 2015.
Buffalo already is working with the U.S. Golf Association on its sustainability and environmental programs. Other clients tapping into Buffalo’s full-service approach include the Sports Turf Managers Association, Dollamur Sport Surfaces and mats, and Team Express, an e-commerce retailer.
Buffalo also is working on two other initiatives: Women on Course and the World’s Largest Golf Outing.
Women on Course conducts networking events, clinics and other functions to help bring women to the game. The World’s Largest Golf Outing, a cause marketing event run by Billy Casper Golf, is conducted on a single day across all of the 160 courses it manages. Since 2011, the outings have raised more than $2 million for charity.
“We see great upside in these events,” Steranka said.
Katz envisions Buffalo also brokering more deals like the one between Ecco and Fred Couples, while also building on the $7 million in media buying that the agency did last year on golf alone.
