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PGA Sponsorships Are “Unjustified Expense”

The PGA’s business model is being called into question in this piece appearing in Business Week under the title “Tiger Woods Can’t Fix PGA as Sponsors Flee Lesser Tournaments” with some fairly condemning offerings from the likes of Verizon and GMR Marketing.

For years the PGA has been a bastion for a specific demographic and selling sponsors on their economically attractive fan base. Recent times, however, have seen a number of events lose title sponsorships and major stars being more selective of the events they participate in. Even those that do sponsor events, such as Wells Fargo’s sponsorship of this weekend’s Quail Hollow tournament are afraid to put their name on a tournament for fear of public backlash.

Despite the story and the growing evidence of sponsors falling away from the tour, there is very little to suggest that PGA’s sponsorships don’t deliver. There are plenty of quotes offering conjecture, such as those from GMR and Verizon, however none of them cite any tangible numbers for such business decisions. In the end, however, being called an “unjustified expense” by a prominent business magazine is one of the worst PR nightmares any sports property could imagine.

To sum the article up: The PGA has fallen victim to a sagging economy. The real question is: Is there anything the PGA could have done to protect against such a sag? Companies being irresponsible with their sports sponsorships and sports tickets will always be a risk. However, tools exist in the marketplace that, if adopted by the PGA as they’ve been by so many teams and leagues, could help the PGA in pointing out the major benefits of these deals. Spotlight Ticket Management for on-site experiences is an easy first step.

Are PGA sponsorships an “unjustified expense”? Or are firms like Farmers Insurance and Waste Management jumping into sponsorship deals at just the right time? Time will tell…and hopefully that time comes with a hefty serving of data.