Reston, VA-based golf PR shop Buffalo Brand Invigoration Group has rebranded as a new agency, Buffalo.Agency. The new, full-service digital marketing firm will focus on the golf, sports and lifestyle sectors.
The new agency name and rebrand essentially reflects a merger of three entities: it follows Buffalo BIG’s recent acquisition of advertising and branding shop Sparky’s Garage, and comes on the heels of Buffalo’s merger with the digital and direct marketing assets of agency client Billy Casper Golf.
Former Qorvis Communications unit Sparky’s Garage maintains offices in New York, Washington D.C., and PA. Clients have included AAMCO, Harley-Davidson, Icelandair, National Geographic, Virginia Lottery and Whole Foods. Bill Replogle, who co-founded the agency in 2001, has now been appointed Buffalo.Agency chief creative officer.
Billy Casper Golf is one of the largest golf course operators in the country, managing more than 150 courses in 29 states. Buffalo’s merger with the golf operator’s data and marketing assets follows a two-year, multimillion dollar investment by Billy Casper into building a digital and direct marketing platform for the game.
Buffalo’s transition from a golf PR firm to a full-service agency effectively amounts to a doubling in size, from a staff of about two dozen to an employee roster of more than 50. Buffalo now holds more than 60 clients with operations in 40 countries.
Sparky’s will now be based in Buffalo.Agency’s Reston, VA headquarters.
“The formation of Buffalo.Agency marks the beginning of a new era,” Buffalo.Agency co-managing director Rich Katz told O’Dwyer’s. “With the addition of next-level ideas from creative powerhouse Sparky’s Garage and the marketing assets of Billy Casper Golf, we now offer the first full-service, integrated marketing solution dedicated to the golf, sport and lifestyle segments.”
Buffalo.Agency maintains additional offices in New York, Denver, Raleigh, Richmond and Minneapolis. Clients include Fila, Galvin Green, GolfBoard, Hydrapak, Kauai Visitors Bureau, LPGA, PGA Golf Club, Sea Pines Resort, US Club Soccer and World Golf Foundation.
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