THE CANADIAN PRESS
RBC has decided to put an even bigger stamp on Canadian golf — signing deals to get its logo on the tour bags of Mike Weir and Stephen Ames while also announcing initiatives to start helping less-established players.
After serving as title sponsor of the Canadian Open for the last two-plus years, the bank is getting significantly more involved in the sport.
In addition to the deals with Weir and Ames, RBC announced Thursday that it will now sponsor the Royal Canadian Golf Association’s high-performance amateur team as well as providing support for the country’s national amateur championships. It has also created a program to help young Canadian pros with financial planning and private banking services.
RBC is clearly seeing a good return on its investment in golf.
"Over the past two years, supporting the RBC Canadian Open has increased our brand profile and given us an opportunity to engage so many of our clients, employees and community partners in an event that they enjoy," said Jim Little, RBC’s chief brand and communications officer. "We’re very pleased to take the next step and invest further in the long-term future of golf in Canada by playing a greater role in nurturing the next generation of national golfing heroes and further developing the game."
The total value of the deals was not announced.
RBC’s logo will be seen on a number of PGA Tour golf bags in 2010. The agreements with Weir and Ames are less significant than the one the bank signed with Anthony Kim last year because both will continue to have some other advertising on their bags.
However, it does represent a growing relationship with the Canadian pros. RBC has previously supported the charitable initiatives of both players and now has endorsement deals with each of them as well.
"I have been fortunate to have had a very close partnership with RBC for a number of years now and I’m thankful to see that continue," Weir said in a statement.
Added Ames: "Their strong commitment to charity, both through the RBC Canadian Open and my own charitable foundation, is … something that I’ve appreciated."
Industry sources say that RBC will announce similar sponsorships with other golfers in the near future.
The company will also have its logo on the bag of PGA Tour rookies Graham DeLaet and Chris Baryla — and possibly first-year Canadian LPGA players Lisa Meldrum and Samantha Richdale. That’s because it has extended an offer to the four of them in exchange for advertising on their bags.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Meldrum or Richdale had formally accepted the offer. Representatives for DeLaet and Baryla confirmed that those golfers had.
Another major part of the bank’s new sponsorship plan is a commitment to helping the next generation of Canadian golfers. RBC will now partner with the RCGA’s high-performance amateur team, which currently includes up-and-comers like Nick Taylor, Matt Hill, Jennifer Kirby and others.
The new investment in Canadian golf is great news for the RCGA, which has come a long way in a relatively short amount of time.
Over the past five years, it has found enthusiastic title sponsors for its LPGA and PGA Tour events after facing potentially dire situations. CN has become a major supporter of women’s golf since taking the reigns of the Canadian Women’s Open in 2006 and RBC has quickly started doing the same thing on the men’s and amateur side.
"We applaud RBC for their long-term vision in supporting an environment that will build competitive golf excellence in Canada," said RCGA executive director Scott Simmons. "Programs that promote grassroots and amateur competition as well as those that help support training and high performance opportunities are critical to Canadian golfers developing their competitive potential."