How to Market Your Tournament Launch

So you’re planning a tournament, but you need a marketing plan. It’s the only surefire way to recruit players and sponsors. How you launch your campaign will determine the tournament’s success, so you don’t want to get it wrong. Here is a solid, 5-part step-by-step guideline for people who are new to the process.

1.       Organize Committees

You may need only a couple committees or a few depending on the size of your event, but general duties include coming up with event day activities, food and beverage, auction items, logistics and parking, and finance. The committee should be made up of people who both know and care about the cause, and tournament. People on the board, volunteers, employees and suppliers may be good places to search. Assign each individual specific roles that apply to their skill sets.

2.       Determine Financial Goals

Try to keep your costs and expenses low during the process so you aren’t unpleasantly surprised when your net earnings come out to peanuts. Charging players a registration fee for the event, silent auctions, a fundraising dinner, and selling advertising space are a few ways to raise additional funds. If you’ve never comprised an event budget, research some examples and seek advice from financial experts who are part of your organization.

3.       Develop Sponsorship Packages

Sponsors is where the main chunk of your revenue will come from, so it’s important to spend a considerable amount of time on your pitches. Sponsors can be businesses, organizations or even individuals, and it isn’t a bad idea to pitch to a mixed bag for maximum exposure for your event. Make sure you stress what they will get out of the partnership more than anything. Remember, they want visibility with your clients, and want their brand out there, so keep this in mind when coordinating.

4.       Player Costs

The cost per player is ideally meant to accumulate into the cost of the golf course, food and beverage and a ‘welcome gift’ for each competitor. Events generally take the cost and multiply by 1.25 to get a per player rate. Events tend to budget 20 percent of the golf course cost for the player gift.

5.       Event Website

Everything is digital these days, so an attractive and user-friendly website is a must. Make sure you include the essentials, like the event’s mission statement, event info, directions, online registration, description of the event and sponsor logos. Embeds to social media pages are a plus!