Golf Outing Sponsorship Demystified

Is your golf outing veering off course?  We’ve gathered expert advice to get you moving in the right direction.  In the first of our two part series you’ll learn how to leverage sponsorship opportunities to lower your costs and increase the funds you raise.

Spot light on Sponsorship
Golf outings offer endless opportunities for sponsorships which keep your costs down, increase the money you raise, and often enhance the value of the outing for your participants.

The businesses you target to sponsor your outing want two things from you when they write their check for your cause.  The first is charitable giving, supporting their community and giving back.  The second is the advertising and brand recognition that being part of your outing will garner them.  Essentially each sponsor is purchasing a marketing campaign packaged in your outing.  This means visibility is highly important to them so added perks such as placing their logo on your website, on print materials, and prominent signage at the event itself are a must.

Here are some ideas on where to concentrate your sponsorship efforts:

• Hole Sponsors – the bread and butter of your outing.  Keep these at a lower cost and offer a package of participant entries in return.  Your goal should be to have one sponsor on every hole – two is even better!  

• Beverage Cart – The mobile beverage cart will carry your sponsor’s sign to every hole!  This can be a money maker because of its high perceived value. 

• Golf Cart GPS – Many courses now offer GPS right in the carts.  Often, the course can add a sponsor’s logo right to the screen.  This is gigantic in exposure.  However, turning the GPS on can add cost to your participant price tag, so be sure to get a sponsor before you turn it on!

• Contests – No golf outing is complete without contests, so take advantage of them and sell the rights to each one.  Don’t buy the insurance for your Hole-in-One contest yourself – get a local dealership to sponsor the contest.  Course contests, like closest to the pin, are also great opportunities for sponsors, you can even have your sponsors provide the prize.   And don’t overlook the putting contest – the green is usually in a prime position.

• Meals – Primary visibility is available at lunch, dinner and cocktail receptions where participants gather together.  Get a lunch sponsor on board, and be sure to offer signage to advertise their contribution.  A lunch sponsor may want to give away a gift such as a logoed insulated tumbler another way to add value for your participants without adding to your costs!  At dinner, you can expand the opportunities by offering bar or reception sponsorships in addition to the main dinner sponsor.  If you have more than one bar be sure to sell more than one sponsorship!  Keep increasing the value of the sponsorship and the participant price tag by allowing your sponsors give away promotional merchandise at every place setting. Increase the fun by asking if your bar sponsors would like to provide flashing ice cubes with their logo for the bars.

• Event Sponsor – The biggest fish of all!  Find your biggest fan and get them on board with the event sponsorship.  Benefits to the sponsor start with linking their name to your charity – make it clear that their name will appear on every promotional piece and in signage at the event.  Be sure there are plenty of visibility perks as well as opportunities to network with your participants. 

Once you’ve got a slate of sponsors lined up it’s time to turn your attention to your participants.  In the second installment of our series, you’ll find a wealth of information to help you steer your efforts.

In the meantime, take advantage of our downloadable tournament timeline checklist. Sky High Marketing is ready to help you put your golf event on the map and raise more cash than ever before.