Next year’s Ryder Cup in Minnesota will have a different look as the PGA of America rebrands one of golf’s biggest events while also adding a Ryder Cup fan festival in Minneapolis.
The PGA of America, the U.S. organizing body of the Ryder Cup, has hired New York-based Catalyst Branding, run by David Martin, to lead the rebranding.
PGA of America executives confirmed the rebranding but would not comment.
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The Ryder Cup won’t switch logos, a source said, but other changes are on the way.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
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An industry source said that the rebranding should be complete in the next six weeks and that details will be rolled out to current and potential sponsors at a year-out Ryder Cup event set for late September.
The 2016 Ryder Cup will be held Sept. 30 through Oct. 2 at the Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn., about 25 miles southwest of Minneapolis. The Ryder Cup pits teams of U.S. and European men’s golfers every two years, and the location alternates from one side of the Atlantic to the other.
PGA of America executives were set to discuss the rebranding effort with the PGA of America board of directors and with U.S. Ryder Cup captain Davis Love during last week’s PGA Championship at Whistling Straits.
While rebranding specifics are not complete, a source said the changes would not include a new Ryder Cup logo. Instead, organizers are looking to create more unified messaging and marketing activation around the 2016 event with an eye toward attracting more worldwide Ryder Cup partners and patron-level PGA of America sponsors.
One proposed change would allow on-site marketing activation at Hazeltine, similar to what the PGA of America allowed its top-level patron sponsors — Omega, Samsung and Mercedes-Benz — at last week’s PGA Championship at Whistling Straits.
The PGA of America is in charge of the Ryder Cup when it is played in the United States. The European Tour and the PGA of Great Britain and Ireland run the tournament when it is played in Europe.
The Ryder Cup counts one worldwide sponsor in Standard Life Investments, a deal that was signed for the 2014 Ryder Cup in Gleneagles, Scotland, and runs through the 2016 event.
PGA of America officials have said they would like to add more Ryder Cup worldwide deals along with up to three additional PGA of America patron sponsors, which would likely include some involvement in the U.S. Ryder Cup.
The latest rebranding around the Ryder Cup comes after the PGA of America and Ryder Cup Europe introduced the current logo at the 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah Country Club near Chicago.
Martin also led that rebranding, which for the first time created a unified Ryder Cup logo. In the past, the U.S. and the Europe teams had separate logos around the biennial event.
As the PGA of America looks to add more marketing assets around the Ryder Cup, the other major change is the addition of a fan festival for the first time.
Last month, the PGA of America issued a request for proposal to run the fan festival, which probably will be held in downtown Minneapolis.
“It is an opportunity to connect in Minneapolis to a downtown audience that wants to be a part of one of golf’s big events,” said Jeff Price, chief commercial officer of the PGA of America.
The USGA has for the past two years held a fan festival around the U.S. Open. This year’s was in downtown Seattle, 30 miles from the Chambers Bay course.
The PGA of America is looking to wrap up the RFP process by next month.
