April 14, 2010

Planning & Promoting Your Golf Outing

Building relationships in business often translates into new business for your company or additional support for your organization. Now that spring has arrived, it’s time to plan your warm-weather outings for your employees and existing and prospective clients. Given the popularity of company golf tournaments, a well-organized event may be just the ticket for generating new business or raising funds. Here are a few tips to help you get started:

Planning Committee—We recommend you form a strong planning committee, including members who are able and willing to commit the time, energy, and enthusiasm that will make your event a success.

Timeline & Budget—For planning purposes, establish a timeline as early as possible outlining target dates for the completion of key tasks for your event. In addition, develop an itemized budget so you can keep tabs on your expenses as they accrue.

Select a Venue—After you determine a timeframe for your event, you will need to contact the golf pro or business manager at the golf course of your choice to find available dates and times. In addition to selecting a golf course, you will need to determine a tournament format that will best suit the level of players who will be participating.

Save the Date—Six to eight weeks prior to your golf outing, send a letter, invitation, postcard, brochure, or E-vite, pending your budget for distribution, so the people on your invite list can save the date. You can follow up with a formal invite that includes an RSVP mechanism in the form of a telephone contact number, bounceback card, or E-mail response. About one week prior to the event, make contact again to send a final reminder for registrations and to offer last-minute event details. You will also need to provide a final count to the golf club or caterer for food and beverages.

Brand Your Event—Developing a logo is an excellent way to build brand recognition for your event. Your event logo should be present on all marketing materials, including invitations, brochures, Web site, giveaway items, and signage, to name a few. You may also want to consider developing a dedicated Web site page or independent splash page promoting your special event.

Publicize Your Event—An event that involves members of the community or benefits a non-profit organization is a prime candidate for additional exposure in your local media. Launching a coordinated public relations campaign before and after your event will generate additional recognition for your company or organization and help build momentum for the following year’s event.

Food & Beverage—Golf tournaments generally last anywhere from a few hours to an entire day, so you’ll want to have plenty of good food and beverages on hand to keep your guests full and hydrated!

Course Signage—If you have event sponsors, you will want to develop a variety of signs, banners, and posters for placement inside the club house and on the golf course the day of your event. You may have sponsors for specific holes on the course that can be promoted with a vinyl sign, for example.

Gifts/Prizes/Awards—You will likely declare a champion of your golf tournament; therefore, you will want to present an award or trophy to commemorate the winning team’s performance. In addition, why not present all participants with a token of appreciation in the form of a custom imprinted golf towel, golf balls, tees, or a shirt featuring your event’s logo?

Follow Up—This is an important part of your event planning for next year! Be sure to send a letter or card to each participant thanking him or her for being a part of your event, whether it be on the sponsorship or participant level. This also provides you with an opportunity to solicit feedback to improve the following year’s event.

Keep It Fun—Most important, keep your golf outing fun so that participants will spread positive word-of-mouth and will want to return to participate in your event year after year!

For assistance with planning, marketing, and publicizing your next golf outing, contact the experts at Sire Advertising at info@sireadvertising.com or call (570) 743-3900.

Click here to download a printable PDF.