European PGA Tour
Turning 110,000 spectators of a world-famous event into marketing gold-dust.
The BMW PGA Championship is one of the top golfing competitions in the world, offering six days of high quality entertainment including Practice Day, Celebrity Pro-Am and four days of compelling competition. It’s the destination for over a hundred thousand sports fans so with that kind of footfall, the Tour’s member venue network – European Tour Properties saw tremendous value in capturing all that data. We designed a spectator engagement strategy to achieve exactly that.
The European Tour had achieved the first part of a successful marketing strategy – attracting people in their tens of thousands. But these golf enthusiasts were there for one thing only – the golf – so they understandably didn’t have much time for marketers distracting them from the main event. The client needed to capture information quickly, using a branded, technically advanced yet simple process, where the data could be used immediately.
The Championship village that led onto the course viewing galleries was the critical location for data capture, so that was the base for our iPad station.
We customised a bespoke iOS application for iPad that could collect all the data the client needed in just one minute. This timescale was critical, as it would be poor customer relations to make visitors feel like they were being unnecessarily delayed on their way to watch the golf. It needed to work smoothly, fast and efficiently.
Collaborating with the client’s marketing team, we went onsite for a set-up day to build the station and perform final testing. We then gave detailed training to event staff so they understood exactly how the system worked. This included demonstrating how to move the captured data off the devices and into a database format they could then use immediately for marketing.
On brand and on message
An essential part of the brief was that our solution had to be tailored specifically for European Tour Properties (ETP), within the constraints of European Tour guidelines. The client provided us with images of the flagship golf course, their partner Golfbreaks.com logos plus branding for their own division at the Tour.
Our marketing team worked to create the perfect background that reinforced the premier status of ETP and its member venue golf courses.
Our team then fused together the ETP and Golfbreak.com logos to show how the event was the product of a strong partnership. Both marketing teams worked together to get precisely the right message across in a simple and effective manner, while ensuring that the legal team was happy with the offering.
Consultancy, graphics and marketing support, iOS, iOS app customisation, installation, training, IT support for the duration of the event.
European Tour Properties
ETP is made up of a network of world class golf venues, located in key strategic golf markets. It is an integral part of The European Tour, which is recognised as a world class sporting organisation responsible for over 100 elite professional golf tournaments annually. These include The European Tour, The European Senior Tour and The European Challenge Tour. Many of the world’s most prestigious tournaments and best golfers make up the Tour, creating an exciting showcase of professional sport for players, venues, sponsors and fans.