Five Steps to Branding a Global Sporting Event

One of my greatest passions is coming up with big ideas. Whether it’s wrapping a building, bringing a DeLorean to New York City for Back to the Future Day or making a stadium glow purple, in my career as 3M’s Senior Experience Manager, I’ve loved working hand-in-hand with graphics manufacturers to figure out how to bring those ideas to life.

Last summer, I had the chance to put that passion – and 3M graphic films – to the test at the inaugural 3M Open. As the title sponsor of this PGA TOUR stop, held in a suburb of Minneapolis, the 3M brand would find itself in front of 18 million television viewers. It was a huge opportunity to showcase 3M Science in creative and imaginative ways across every corner of the golf course.

From the very beginning, we teamed up with Brand Ink, a graphics manufacturer based in Minneapolis. They were willing to do things that weren’t typical or traditional, like building frameworks that we could then wrap. Brand Ink was not only integral in bringing ideas to life, but also figuring out ways to make installations reusable and using materials that were not going to be wasteful or harmful.

With our team assembled and our mission confirmed … now what?

We started by asking ourselves, “What do we represent? Why are we having this tournament? What good can we do with this global moment?” We also wanted fans to feel the power of community and be inspired by the idea that when we come together to support a greater cause, our impact can reach far beyond ourselves. We created the 3M Open Fund to benefit several local charities using proceeds from the tournament. As part of that, our slogan “Golf That Matters” became a compass to help guide our efforts.

Next, we had to figure out how to showcase a company that is made up of 91,000 people and sells 55,000 products, all under the umbrella of “3M Science. Applied to Life™” -- AND do it in a way that means something to people who are coming to a golf tournament, first and foremost, to see golf. We didn’t want to get in the way of that, so we focused on how we could elevate and enhance their experience.

Finally, as the most northern stop on the PGA tour, we knew in some form or fashion we were going to play up the Minnesota summer life. That’s why you saw things like the big swings and Adirondack chairs. We also wanted to take advantage of water on the course, because we knew the cameras would pick it up, so we decided to make something that would float.

We went to a number of different PGA TOUR tournaments and asked other title sponsors: What’s worked? What would you repeat? What would you not do? Getting a broader understanding of the PGA TOUR landscape and how events not only showcase their respective brands, but cater to their audiences, was vital. The PGA is also really great to work with because they work hand-in-hand with title sponsors to ensure the brand is reflected well and the event is run smoothly.