Move Over, Tiger: Arnold Palmer's Personal Brand on the Upswing

Back in the day, you didn't need to hear a last name to know who "Arnie" was any more than you now need one to know who "Tiger" is.

But these days, nearly six decades after a young Pennsylvanian named Arnold Palmer stormed to his first major victory in the 1955 Canadian Open, arguably even more Americans know who he is and have some idea of his engaging, larger-than-life persona. Now, that's personal branding with longevity.

Even as the young-golfer phenom, Woods, begins to restore a brand that he badly tarnished — Palmer, at 82, remains not only relevant to consumers but about to embark on an overhaul of his brand and associated properties to make him even more relevant to today.

"We're at a crucial point in Mr. Palmer's career," Cori Britt, VP of Arnold Palmer Enterprises, told Ad Age. "We're looking forward to ensuring the Arnold Palmer brand is positioned for success 20, 30, 40, 50 years from now."

Among the significant projectds ahead of Arnold Palmer Enterprises is the creation of a new clothing line featuring styles that the popular golfing champ wore in the Mad Men era when enthusiastic galleries of "Arnie's Army" followed him around golf courses. There also are additional products planned under the umbrella of Arizona Beverages Arnold Palmer collection of "half and half" drinks, and many other things.

Palmer and his image meisters have always made it all about his style even when Palmer himself tried to make it seem that it wasn't about him. There's the classic ESPN advertisement from a few years ago (at top) in which a couple of the network's anchors watch Arnie in the ESPN cafeteria fixing himself the drink that became known as an "Arnold Palmer" — half iced tea, half lemonade.

The ESPN guys, clearly, are in awe of what they're seeing, but Palmer just goes on about his business like he's done it before. Maybe if more professional athletes took that approach in their own personal branding, they could still be a success living off their reputations from decades ago, the way Arnie is.