Ford Gave LPGA Rookies Broncos. The Bigger Gift Was Mentors.

On stage: Rob Johnston, manager of sponsorships and brand activations, Ford · Moderator: Monica Fee, chief sales and partnerships officer, LPGA

Ford fields sponsorship pitches constantly, Johnston said, so it has to be choosy about who it works with and how it can do something different.

Protecting the oval

Ford is "very protective of the Ford oval," Johnston said. Putting it on a title sponsorship, the Ford Championship in Arizona, was a big deal that took trust and collaboration with the LPGA. This year Ford deepened the relationship and became the tour's official vehicle.

The easy move, he said, would have been to simply sponsor the whole tour. Ford wanted something more authentic. Conversations with the LPGA kept coming back to how hard it is for rookies to break in, and how many challenges they face once they do.

What Power Her Drive does

The result was Power Her Drive. Players in the program get a Ford for the season (they're all driving Broncos, Johnston said) and a calendar of mentorship events built around them.

• Personal brand. Ford's director of social media showed players how the company evaluates ambassadors, since their profiles grow as their results do.
• Connections. Ford brought in six women alumni of Princeton University who now work in business to talk about the power of connection. LPGA players spend pro-am rounds with business leaders, and those relationships can turn into careers, friendships or sponsors.
• Long-term partners. At the FM Championship, Vaughn Gittin Jr. joined Michelle Wie West, the program's celebrity ambassador. Gittin started with Ford as a drifter more than 20 years ago and now has his own RTR vehicles sold through Ford dealers. Wie West talked about her long relationship with Nike. Then everyone drove Mustangs on a track.
• Off-road. Ford took the players through the off-road training it offers Bronco buyers. Some were intimidated at first, Johnston said, and left more confident. That night they had dinner with Wie West, with no Ford or agency staff at the table.

A different scorecard

Ford still tracks the usual tournament metrics: vehicle displays, data capture, social engagement. But for this program, Johnston said, the measures of player growth and satisfaction "really have risen to the top." Ford surveys players after every event, and the clearest finding is that they want more time with Wie West.

The LPGA has up to 30 rookies a year and Ford is working with six, Johnston said. The goal is more players and more venues, possibly extending to the developmental Epson Tour.

Stories that build fans

Fee said the LPGA's Drive On storytelling platform, presented by Ford, is meant to bridge golf and lifestyle. If fans get invested in a player's story, she said, they get invested in the sport.

Her favorite story is Lindy Duncan's. In the last round of qualifying for the 2023 season, Duncan made an 8 on the final hole and thought it had cost her her job. In a Drive On video played in the room, Duncan said she chose to change instead of walking away. "I chose to stop measuring my self-worth with my results," she said. In September she played in the Solheim Cup in the Netherlands as a 35-year-old rookie. The event comes to Valhalla in 2028.

Johnston, at Ford for more than 33 years, said the LPGA is unusually open to ideas. At this year's Ford Championship, a Bronco picked up fans at the 15th tee, a par 3, and drove them to the back of the green to watch players finish the hole.

The Coach's Board take

Ford's best idea here wasn't the trucks. It was judging the sponsorship by whether the athletes grew. Clubs pitching local sponsors can use the same test: what does the partnership do for the players, and how will you both know?