The U.S. Golf Association has signed Lexus as the first automotive sponsor in the league’s 112-year history.
The multi-year sponsorship, signed last week, extends Lexus’ golf portfolio, which already includes tie-ins with pro golfers Ray Floyd, Nick Watney and Peter Jacobsen as well as Annika Sorenstam, who will be featured in Lexus’ USGA-related marketing and was on hand to announce the deal last week.
Lexus is USGA’s second sponsorship deal. The association signed its first sponsor, American Express, in December (PROMO Xtra, Dec. 6, 2006). American Express has already begun a direct-mail campaign touting its tie-in with USGA, and will have a strong presence at the U.S. Open.
Lexus said it will use its USGA tie-in to offer its top customers “premium” golf-related experiences. The automaker already has a partnership deal with Pebble Beach Resorts as part of its hotel-marketing strategy that give Lexus owners special offers at 20 luxury hotels.
Lexus gets to showcase its cars at the USGA national championships; in exchange, USGA uses Lexus vehicles during the championships, a posh perk for players. The deal also makes Lexus the official car of the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open, U.S. Senior Open and U.S. Amateur tournaments.
Lexus said it will leverage the USGA sponsorship in ads, promotions, dealer events, direct marketing, online activities and p.r.
“Lexus has been involved with golf for many years, but we see how passionate our customers are about this sport and we wanted to step up our involvement,” said Deborah Meyer, Lexus vice president of marketing, in a statement. “This is a tremendous opportunity for us to partner at a very high level in the sport and engage our customers in unprecedented ways.”
Sports marketing shop Peter Jacobsen Productions brokered the deal; terms were not disclosed. Team One handles promotional activation of the sponsorship.
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