Izod is launching a new ad campaign, multiyear sponsorships of three golfers and several brand activations at The Masters in connection with its Izod Golf platform. The company will sponsor The Maxim Clubhouse at The Masters; maintain a social media presence; sponsor a launch party tomorrow; create a building wrap at Washington and Berckmans Roads in Augusta; and advertise on TV, print and digital. The Maxim Clubhouse sponsorship is a first for Izod. The back patio of the clubhouse will be made into the “Izod Social Media Hub,” with dedicated workstations for media and brand partners, including PGA Tour and SB Nation. Izod signed golfers Webb Simpson, Scott Piercy and Spencer Levin in ’12, and they will be featured in point-of-sale at retail partners nationwide (Izod). Phillips-Van Heusen Exec VP/Marketing Mike Kelly said of the brand, “We’re trying to take the golf world back.” SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL’s Michael Smith notes the Pinnacle building, a hospitality structure, will be “wrapped on two sides with images” of Piercy, Simpson and Levin. At the Maxim Clubhouse, PGATour.com “social media team members and reporters, the golf writer from SB Nation, radio shows and other bloggers will be working from and referencing the Izod social media studio throughout the week.” Kelly said that the social media outreach “will give Izod a stronger voice with the younger readers and fan base.” Matter and Edelman Digital are “working with Izod on its social media strategy.” Kelly said that the Maxim Clubhouse deal was “part of a large ad buy with the magazine.” Because advertising on CBS for The Masters telecasts is “limited to just three primary sponsors -- AT&T, Exxon Mobil and IBM -- brands have developed ways to activate away from the golf course in Augusta” (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 4/8 issue).
