Back to News Main

New Marketing Strategy Drives Golfers to the Course Cost Effectively By Appealing to Their Emotional Side

ATLANTA, GA (June 26, 2007) - Golf course owners and operators hoping to fill tee sheets in a competitive market need to pay attention to golfers' "aspirational drivers" to make the most of their advertising dollars. That's according to the principals of a new marketing firm that says its "personalized, emotionally branded and targeted" approach is a first for the golf industry.

"Golfers have incredibly strong emotional connections to the game. These connections influence every purchase decision they make, from what kind of clubs they buy to where they play," says Tom Meyers, chief strategy officer for DRIVE Marketing. "Most golf courses are missing this emotional connection in their marketing; as a result, they're wasting a lot of their advertising dollars."

DRIVE Marketing harnesses the power of emotional branding through what it considers the most cost-effective marketing format available - personalized direct mail. "Our breakthrough creative designs put potential customers' names in the most coveted position in golf - inside the ropes," Meyers says.

The firm designs, produces and mails oversized printed pieces to golfers in a specific geographic area, usually within 30 miles of a course, which it says is as far as most golfers will travel to play. The two-sided piece might feature the recipient’s name on top of a leaderboard, on the back of a caddie’s bib or in a bold newspaper headline. Course-specific copy and images elsewhere on the piece encourage the golfer to choose the client’s course for his or her next round or to act on a promotional offer presented in the piece.

A former marketing executive with Russell Athletic who has worked for some of the top brands in the golf industry, Meyers says his company delivers emotional branding through the one-to-one medium of direct mail, something that's never been done before in the golf industry. Until now, emotional branding was available only through TV and print advertising. The DRIVE Marketing program is also more cost effective because it's highly targeted and easy to execute.

"We’re taking the latest technologies available through variable data and digital printing and combining them with emotional branding to create a program that delivers a much higher return on investment than traditional media," Meyers says.

The same technology that enables precise personalization and customization also provides for quick turnarounds - usually within one week - and low costs. The company says it can produce and distribute any quantity of mail pieces for 99 cents per piece, plus postage.  "It’s totally turnkey - we do all the work," Meyers adds.

Compared to print, billboards or radio, which he calls "shotgun approaches," Meyers says this is a "laser beam. Every piece we send is guaranteed to reach its intended target - the avid golfer - and deliver an emotionally compelling message."

The firm has access to the industry's largest, most accurate and robust list of golfers and can manipulate key demographic and psychographic data to target different types of customers. This ability allows the program to support membership drives for private clubs,
promote special programs such as charity events and target specific golfer profiles, such as value-conscious customers.

Among the early adopters of the program are several courses managed by American Golf Corp. "We believe the DRIVE Marketing approach is targeted, personalized and creative," said James Reynolds, field marketing manager for the nation's largest golf course management group. "We're looking forward to evaluating response rates with this program compared to our other marketing efforts."