“By [definition], a brand may be something desired and wonderful, or a label of ill-repute and shame. Either way, your brand is something you want to have firmly in your grasp.”
I recently created two new folders on my computer desktop, and both have been filling up rapidly.
The first has reports that we now find almost daily in our search for industry news, about another club where an employee or member/guest (and in some cases, more than one from each group) has tested positive for COVID-19.
The second was started after the Small Business Administration (SBA) released the list in early June of companies and organizations that applied for, and received, Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans of more than $150,000 as part of pandemic relief efforts (the low-interest loans can be used for payroll or interest on mortgages, rent and utilities, and are fully forgiven if at least 60% of the forgiven amount has been used for payroll expenses).
The release of that list set off a feeding frenzy among local newspapers and business publications, resulting in reports on entities that were shown to have received the loans and that probably wouldn’t be considered as needy or deserving by the general public (or at least the general media). As you might guess, clubs were portrayed as among the biggest “offenders” in the coverage that ensued (more on that in a bit).
All that I’ve collected in both folders has great relevance to our Special Report in our August issue on the subject of branding and how it needs to be reexamined by every club in the wake of the pandemic (https://clubandresortbusiness.com/reinforcing-clubs-brands-for-the-post-pandemic-era/).
The articles I’ve collected repeatedly reflect bias and ignorance about the club industry that’s clearly rooted in perceptions that it’s elitist and overly privileged. Many of the reports on the positive COVID tests carry a distinct tone that questions why the affected club was even open and operating, when it shouldn’t be deemed “essential.”
The headlines of the articles that came out after the release of the SBA list (which was only done after news organizations sued the SBA to make the information public) were even more blatant. Here’s just a sampling: “Exclusive Country Club Gets Millions in COVID Relief”; and “Are the Million-Dollar PPP Loans Many Palm Beach County [Fla.] Golf Communities Collected Justified?”
In all cases, reporters contacted club managers and/or Board members for comment—and when they couldn’t, or didn’t, get any response, they were often quick to report that fact in a tone that further suggested the club was either choosing to hide, or silently admitting it got away with something.
But other reports were more balanced, because club managers or other spokespersons outlined the steps they were taking after there had been a positive COVID test, or explained how the loan they had obtained was being used.
“We took PPP money because we care deeply about our team and wanted to make sure that we had the ability to provide them with a regular paycheck,” one Florida GM said after his club received sharp criticism. “Following the legal parameters, we only requested and received enough to cover our payroll needs and did not use our loan in any way to disadvantage other companies. We are thankful that we qualified to receive money so that our employees and their families could make ends meet during these challenging times.”
Some of the reports also contacted managers at clubs that weren’t on the SBA list, and included quotes where they said their clubs had decided against applying for a PPP loan, because they didn’t like the optics that would go with applying for or taking one.
Either way, that’s fine—in all cases, what was important was that all of these clubs had a firm idea of how they wanted their brand to be conveyed.
As Robert Sereci, General Manager of Medinah (Ill.) Country Club—and someone who has brought about one of the most dramatic brand changes in the industry’s history—says in our article, “By [definition], a brand may be something desired and wonderful, or a label of ill-repute and shame. Either way, your brand is something you want to have firmly in your grasp, coupled with a grand sense of ownership, as you want to be the one identifying and positioning your brand, rather than allowing others, whether insiders or outsiders, to define who and what you are.”
Joe Barks,
Editor
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