Law Firms Drop Pricey Branding Sponsorships Such as PGA ‘Chalet’
Law firm Dorsey & Whitney decided it didn’t need the huge expense of a corporate hospitality tent this year at the PGA championship outside Minneapolis.
The firm had sponsored a tent, known as a chalet, the last time the tournament was in the area in 2002, the National Law Journal reports. But the firm felt it couldn’t justify the cost this year. To sponsor a tent, the firm would have to pay $150,000 to $375,000, depending on the hole, along with the cost of catering.
Instead, the law firm decided its money would be better spent by purchasing tournament tickets for key clients and partners.
The story says Dorsey & Whitney isn’t the only law firm turning down pricey “branding” sponsorships that are designed to get law firm names out in public. Jennifer Manton, president of the Legal Marketing Association, told the legal newspaper that law firms are opting instead for sponsorships that more specifically target potential clients.
Past LMA president agreed that it seems as if law firms are cutting back. “Firms have to strike a balance,” she told the NLJ. “I don’t know that clients want to see that a firm is doing so well that they can afford a large tent at a PGA event. Those types of elaborate events can send the wrong message.”
