The Brand Guide of the Detroit Athletic Club (DAC) is an intricate tapestry covering mission statements and visions and typography and color selection and seemingly every possible permutation and scenario—except for a pandemic, which provoked a rewriting of the playbook here and there.
But what has remained intact throughout the past six months have been the connections—between member and member, between members and the DAC staff—and the desire to maintain those connections in the face of COVID-19 and the attendant precautions, isolation and uncertainty. In this unprecedented time, these connections were more than desirable. They seemed practically essential.
Among the varieties of events the DAC hosts within the walls of its Albert Kahn-designed clubhouse, the flagship is the annual Back to the Club—a weekend of celebration during which seemingly nothing is left to the imagination as all seven floors and the basement are transmogrified into one big party. And when it’s over, the DAC staff just sort of collapses in a heap of exhilaration.
The DAC brand is not about size and sizzle. It is about life-enriching experiences, bringing members together with other members and with their beloved DAC staff. You don’t need a big room for that. You just need a big heart and a good-size imagination and all hands on deck. “To take an important and traditional club event that would typically have more than 1,600 people and transform it to be a safe and welcoming environment that complies with state and local restrictions is daunting, and it is easy to question the purpose of attempting it,” said Charles Johnson, executive manager of the DAC. “But there is a desire by members, and all people, to have some semblance of normalcy, and clubs have the resources and the professional staff to make that happen.”
It’s a party with a purpose: To bring members together in limitless ways—only in 2020 there had to be limits, notably on the number of people who could gather in a single room or on the grounds of the clubhouse. The memories of previous Back to the Club events—of huge throngs, crowded ballrooms, over-the-top decorations and dizzying offerings of food and beverages—would not be possible if the club were to hew to its mission to be the safest place to socialize in Detroit.
The Back to the Club became more of a Welcome Back to the Club. And instead of a banquet table of temptations, members were served—and ate up—an a la carte selection of events.
The weekend began with a hump day of golf, followed on Thursday, Sept. 24, by the first of a weekend series of tastings encompassing premium gin, rum, tequila and whiskey—a spirited lineup. On the rooftop and the ground floor, DAC restaurants created special dinners, including the popular Seafood Frenzy in the club’s signature restaurant, The Gallery & The Fresco, and menus in The Stadium Club revolving around libations such as beer and whiskey.
Throughout the clubhouse itself, members had the opportunity to learn how to decorate cupcakes under the tutelage of a DAC sous chef, learn to dance the rumba or, for the kids of the club, TikTok (ask your children). There also was knitting and magic and the telling of fortunes—and who wouldn’t grasp an opportunity for a little clarity in an uncertain time?
All of it wrapped up on a warm Saturday evening, Sept. 26, with a cornhole competition and a “silent disco”—ostensibly a participant activity that for onlookers served as a pretty amusing spectator sport. Punctuating the event: fireworks over the outfield of the club’s next-door neighbor, Comerica Park, home of major league baseball’s Detroit Tigers.
No different from any other community, the community that is the Detroit Athletic Club needed an opportunity to get out and to get back.
“With a combination of creative programming and marketing, we were able to promote the camaraderie that members love, maintain a safe environment for members and staff, and provide something truly unique for these times—opportunities for social engagement and entertainment,” Johnson said.
“So while it was different than any Back to the Club weekend the DAC has had before, the purpose of the weekend was fulfilled. And even if, just for a moment, members enjoyed the club the way they’ve always known.”
No doubt, we all will remember the pandemic. What we want our members to remember is how we responded to the unprecedented challenge: With care and communication and determination and creativity. To be sure, the branding of the DAC is intricately codified in manuals and handouts, in standards and practices, metrics and dashboards. That allows us to articulate the brand. And from that, we convey the brand in our service to and relationships with our members. We know that they come here because it makes them feel better in a way they often cannot find in any other part of their lives.
Living up to that obligation is the DAC brand, certainly. But it is part of our institutional muscle memory. It is, in short, the DNA of the DAC.
Bob Allen is director of communications at the Detroit Athletic Club. He canbe reached at 313-442-1034 or [email protected].