Podesta Group

Challenge: Several major players from across the golf industry approached the Podesta Group to help them prove that golf is more than just a game and reduce a stigma that was leading to unfair treatment by federal legislators.

Strategy:  Form an industry-wide coalition that would represent the true faces of golf and begin to tell the stories of the more than 2 million Americans whose livelihoods depend on the game. Build a case for federal legislators and other officials that would illustrate the national and state-by-state economic, environment and human impact of the golf industry. Create an online presence and community that would help capture the broad appeal of the sport and enable enthusiasts to engage their federal officials. Recruit and train a diverse roster of story-tellers to speak directly to key members of Congress. Showcase the sport’s impact on Capitol Hill by flying in not only industry and sport leaders, but workers from all aspects of the industry to provide compelling narrative to high level lawmakers via scheduled meetings and an attention-grabbing event as part of National Golf Day.

Result: Positive news coverage of the coalition launch and Golf Day activities appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, CBS News, National Journal, CQ, Capital Golf Weekly and numerous industry publications. Favorable legislation was introduced last year by congressional leadership.