The Grant Thornton Invitational – Two Tours. One Competition.

ABOUT THIS ENTRY

At Grant Thornton, we understand barriers are part of the golf course but believe they shouldn’t be part of the game, and that’s why we developed the Grant Thornton Invitational. Going beyond the expectations of sports sponsorship and creating a more equal playing field for golf, we wanted the world to clearly see the gap in visibility, reward and esteem between male and female golfers—and, more importantly, to close it.

How does this represent "Excellence in Engagement"?

For the second consecutive year, Grant Thornton united the PGA TOUR and LPGA with a barrier-breaking, mixed team, co-sanctioned event highlighting an equitable playing format, we captured the attention of the golf world and engaged fans in an innovative way. By prioritizing gender parity across the event’s coverage, promotion, marketing representation and payout structure, we continued to set a standard for representation, parity, and inclusivity in golf that turned our branding into an unforgettable experience and achieved measurable impact on growing the game of golf.

Objective

In the second annual Grant Thornton Invitational, Grant Thornton capitalized on the success of year one and continued to challenge expectations, walk our talk on DE&I in golf and take a tangible step to build a future for golf that is more equal, inclusive and representative for all golfers.

We distinguished our innovative event from expected diversity-driven sponsorship activations by:   

* Uniting the PGA TOUR and LPGA with a mixed team event highlighting an equitable playing format that captured the attention of the golf world. 

* Prioritizing gender parity across the event’s coverage, promotion, marketing representation and payout structure. 

* Delivering our equality message and achieving tangible proof that we’re growing the game.

In year two, we continued to take steps toward putting both male and female players on an equal playing field and moving the needle for gender parity and representation for the game at large.

Strategy & Execution

The Grant Thornton Invitational is our opportunity to make an impactful statement about our commitment to equity in sports through our unique and innovative event.

* We collaborated with players to create our format, ensuring parity and equality were at the heart of play. No other professional golf event incorporates players’ voices like this.

* A notable $4M purse, split equally between the male and female winning team.

* Our six brand ambassadors represent diversity in age, gender and culture and were featured equally in all event content and promotion. From client entertainment to PR to charitable initiatives, they lent their platforms to promote our shared mission.

* Our visual brand embodied our mission, including a “pair of tees” secondary logo (playing on the word “parity”) and a re-imagined trophy symbolizing the best of golf coming together for equality.

Organizations

• Grant Thornton
• Grant Thornton Invitational
• Wasserman
• Weber Shandwick
• Sugar Shack
• PGA TOUR
• LPGA
• NBC/Golf Channel

Links

•   Website

Featured

• Tony Finau
• Rickie Fowler
• Nelly Korda
• Jessica Korda
• Michael Wilbon
• Cameron Champ
• Mel Reid
• Lexi Thompson
• Jason Day
• Lydia Ko

Credits

Chris Smith
Former Chief Strategy Officer
Grant Thornton

Allison Kelly
Head of Sponsorship Marketing
Grant Thornton

Libby Erker
Associate Director, Sponsorship Marketing
Grant Thornton

Reedy Foster
Associate Director, Sponsorship Marketing
Grant Thornton

Todd Saunders
Associate Director, Sponsorship Marketing
Grant Thornton

Kelly Bodi
Senior Associate, Sponsorship Marketing
Grant Thornton

Amanda Hopkins
Associate Director, Sponsorship Marketing
Grant Thornton

Anna Gentile
Senior Associate, Sponsorship Marketing
Grant Thornton

Jon Rucket
Senior Director, External Communications
Grant Thornton

Adam Bond
Associate Director, External Communications
Grant Thornton

Chris Castleberry
VP, Golf
Wasserman

Rob Hartman
Tournament Director (Grant Thornton Invitational)
Wasserman

Jake Haas
Operations Manager (Grant Thornton Invitational)
Wasserman

Alex Graf
Manager, Golf
Wasserman

Andrew Culp
Director, Golf
Wasserman

Kate Roundy
Senior Manager, Golf
Wasserman

Brian Gabriel
SVP, Sports
Weber Shandwick

Ben Paradossi
VP, Sports
Weber Shandwick

Eddie Kopp
Founder
Sugar Shack