Golf Promotions

I like golf because it’s a social game.  If you want to meet new people on a golf course, just pick-up the wrong ball.  I personally golf in the low 80s … any hotter than that, and I stay home.

It seems that the requests for sponsorship never end.  When I was at Diamori, we used to get invited to numerous golf tournaments every year.  While we were doing our part to support worthy causes, the charities wanted us to receive promotional value for our contribution.  At first I was happy to get out of the store, set-up a banner and golf.  The problem was that I only got to meet three other people; the ones I golfed with.

Then we began to sponsor hole-in-one prizes and rather than golfing, I hosted the “Beat the Diamori Duffer Contest.”  On our designated hole, I would take a shot at the green and every golfer who hit it closer to the hole would get their name into a draw for a prize basket which included a polishing cloth, jewellery cleaner, a Rolex wallet or similar swag, product brochures and a gift certificate for a free ring sizing.  They also had a chance to win a Rolex watch by getting a hole-in-one.  At the time, insurance against a hole-in-one was about $13/$1,000 in value, so it cost $130 to give the opportunity to win $10,000; which extends much higher if you only insure the wholesale value of a prize.

The big benefit to this promotion was that I met 144 golfers, rather than just 3.  I was there to demonstrate the product and answer questions about our store.  Because I enjoy golfing, I was also able to swing my club 36 times.  Most importantly, we offered the golfers a fun experience. 

When you are hit-up for sponsorship of a charity event, consider doing more than just sending product or a gift certificate.  Spend some time thinking about how you can stand-out in the minds of the wealthy patrons by adding fun and excitement to an event.