The following is a contribution by Douglas Spencer.
As reported by several sources, including Michael Smith of the Sports Business Journal, the PGA Tour has severed its 20-year trademark licensing relationship with IMG. The global leader in sports, media, and fashion representation is being replaced by Atlanta-based Fermata Partners. CAA Sports, a division of the larger Creative Artists Agency, acquired Fermata in 2015. Mindful that IMG’s contract with the PGA Tour was slated to terminate at the end of 2015, Fermata was one of a select group of inquirers seeking to overtake IMG for an opportunity to manage the tour’s trademark licensing growth.
According to the Fermata’s website, the company is focused on facilitating “transformational brand stewardship” for its clients. Officials of the PGA Tour are confident that Fermata can improve on the brand development that occurred under IMGs supervision. In 2015, the tour’s licensing business achieved gross sales of $1.6 billion, which is nearly double the 2013 sales figure of $850 million. The decision to grant Fermata exclusive trademark licensing rights despite the tremendous surge in recent sales directly speaks to the PGA Tour’s confidence in Fermata’s acumen. In addition to managing the PGA Tour, Fermata will oversee subsidiaries such as the FedEx Cup, Presidents Cup, Championship Tour, and Players Championship. Fermata’s management responsibilities also include PGA Tour shops, apparel, and video game and simulation representation.
Fermata’s four founders cut their teeth in the sports business industry as professionals with The College Licensing Company (CLC), which is owned by IMG. They left CLC in 2011, and the following year established Fermata Partners. The company boasts a robust college licensing division, which manages trademarks controlled by the University of Georgia, the University of Kentucky, the University of Miami, the University of Oregon, the University Notre Dame and the University of Wisconsin. Fermata’s F.C. division represents and advises Premier League football clubs like Manchester City and Liverpool on brand management in their emerging North American markets. Fermata also manages iconic sports brands such as Church Hill Downs and Little League.
Although the financial details of Fermata’s deal with the PGA Tour were not released, the contract is undoubtedly a lucrative one. As the relatively young four-year-old company continues to carve out its identity in the sports trademark licensing field, its future looks promising. Fermata is destined for more long-term partnerships with colossal sports brands that constantly feed our insatiable appetite for entertainment.