Curating a Branded Event Experience for Elite Athletes

The Solution 

Before we could start on any visual work, we knew the first step was crafting a brand idea that was going to resonate with our audiences: golf fans, players, and the current Pelican members and staff. Through industry research and our unique creative approach, the brand idea, “A New Season for Women’s Golf” was born. This was more than a tagline; it was something to rally around – a belief that the Pelican Women’s Championship would be an experience unlike any other on the LPGA tour. 

The Guest Experience

With our idea in tow, we quickly began building out the tournament's visual brand. Utilizing Pelican’s existing logo assets, we created an event logo that fit perfectly into their current brand. While introducing a Pink pelican head broke the brand standards of the club’s ‘Gold only’ policy for the pelican head, this intentional change in color sent the message to those familiar with the Pelican brand that this tournament held some weight. 

Like any event, our branding needed to complement event logistics and operations, especially because we were dealing with technical items such as the tournament’s credentials. We worked collaboratively with the tournament’s operations team to ensure the 20+ credentials had enough variety for essential purposes while remaining in line with the overall Pelican branding. The result — gorgeous and functional event credentials that patrons were sure to keep as a token of their experience.  

A New Season for Women’s Golf meant that players of the LPGA tour felt represented and cared for. Each athlete received a personalized gift package that included modern custom sweatsuits that brought our brand experience beyond the course.

The Member Experience

To introduce the Pelican Women’s Championship event to existing Pelican members, we created a ticket package that allowed members exclusive access to areas throughout the club as well as special access on the course. 

This ticket package needed a brand that represented the prestige value of the ticket. After some creative thinking, ‘The Champions Club’ was born. A name that spoke to the prestige and status of Pelican members and a visual logo that highlighted the prominent gold brand color. 

To continue the member experience, we created tournament programs with exclusive event logistics and key LPGA player information. We used the voice of The Pelican in all member communication surrounding the tournament and created personalized communication booklets for members only that provided details on their unique experience. 

We utilized our in-house studio and created custom photography sessions on the grounds of The Pelican. The images mobilized social media content, and the art direction and execution were unlike anything the golf industry had seen. With a highly editorial focus, the images were bold, bright, and told a story that tied back to A New Season for Women’s Golf.

As The Pelican Women’s Championship approached, the town of Belleair, Florida buzzed with travelers from all over who were preparing for the event ahead. Our team created banners that dressed the streets surrounding The Pelican to announce the event and to greet guests and players.

Throughout the project, it was our priority to ensure that the brand experience was all encompassing. We found a way to bring the brand beyond the course to resonate with event guests, tournament players, and Pelican members and staff. Every touchpoint was designed with intention and crafted with expertise – creating brand longevity for years to come.