Frequently Asked Questions
When do most club’s consider pursuing a branding initiative?
Club transitions represent one of the biggest opportunities a club has to refresh its brand. Our client’s have found tremendous success in redesigning the visual and verbal aspects of their club’s presence in tandem with a course or clubhouse renovation. Another opportunity to analyze the club’s brand is when the membership is transitioning from one generation to the next. Some other indicators that a club is in need of a refreshed brand are when branded member merchandise sales are sinking or when a club no longer has a healthy waitlist of desirable members.
What kind of support do you offer during the implementation phase of a brand refresh initiative?
Our team works hand-in-hand with your club to ensure that you have everything you need to have a successful brand launch. We provide the creative partnership that can write and design the full spectrum of marketing and membership touchpoints. The specialized nature of our firm allows us to have an understanding of what your club will need ahead of time, so we will provide you with a roadmap and recommended list of options, and then we work together from there.
How do you measure the success of the branding initiative once it is launched?
We always create specific project objectives for each client. However, for every project, we take the time to survey the committee and leadership staff that we worked with throughout the process, as well as a survey to the membership 6 months after the brand launch to gauge satisfaction. An example of a more tangible KPI we use to understand our success in a branding initiative for private clubs is the percentage of increase of merchandise in the pro shop year over year.
What services do you offer beyond the initial branding or rebranding project?
After the initial brand strategy and development phases of your rebranding project, we offer creative services to help you determine what assets you need to have a successful brand launch. These include any signage, stationary systems, or other physical elements of your brand.
Once your rebrand has been officially launched, we offer brand management services that include brand governance, brand training, club advertising, ongoing membership communications, and content development.
How do you approach long-term relationships with your clients beyond the initial branding project?
After the initial branding project, we offer ongoing client services to all of the clubs that we work with. Whether it’s managing the club’s brand and assisting in marketing efforts or the occasional signage project, we maintain long-term relationships with our clients to act as a resource as they continue to evolve their brand for members.
How do you help clubs maintain and evolve their brand over time?
At Sussner, we offer a brand management service that allows your club the opportunity to keep us on as consultants to ensure your brand maintains consistency and strength over the test of time.
What is the typical timeline for a rebranding project?
In a perfect world, the strategy and the development phases of a rebranding project each take 8 weeks, with any implementation to follow. Our rule of thumb is to expect 6 months from the initial kick-off meeting until your new golf flags are in their respective holes.
How long have you been specializing in branding for private country clubs?
Over the last three years, we have been slowly narrowing our focus to only include golf clubs to become the private club branding specialists we are today. Before that, our team spent 20 years working on brands in the professional sports and sports retail industries.
How do you balance maintaining a club’s tradition and history with modernizing its brand for future growth?
Private clubs typically possess histories that are rich with centuries worth of memories and traditions. We work tirelessly with our club clients to not only understand this history but develop a plan to seamlessly integrate it into its new, modern brand.
Are you active in any industry associations or organizations related to private clubs or branding?
We work closely with many industry associations and organizations to ensure that the work we do is current with trends and innovations in the private club space. For more information, check out our affiliations.
Why should I work with Sussner over other branding, creative, or marketing agencies?
While we respect our competitors and what they do, our expertise is in the branding process, specifically for private clubs. With over 25 years of experience, we have fine-tuned our process to be both comprehensive and collaborative and have a proven track record of success. To read what our past clients have to say, check out our work.
20+ years in branding comes with a POV.
Branding can be confusing. What is a brand? How does it help me get the most out of my company? Why does everyone seem to build brands now? What’s the big deal?
We’ve taken the branding journey ourselves and lived to tell the tale. These are our insights.
