Charity golf tournaments offer brands a unique opportunity to gain exposure to an engaged and affluent audience of golfers. The evolution of golf event-specific technology has elevated the game, making golf event sponsorships even more appealing to businesses looking for high ROI on their marketing or charitable dollars.
Tech Built for Golf
The importance of a platform built just for golf events can’t be overstated—most ticketing, event, or CRM platforms aren’t able to handle the level of specificity required for a golf event. To truly use tech to make golf tournaments attractive to sponsors, it needs to include tools to seamlessly manage sponsor hole assignments, build and sell custom sponsorship packages that include digital exposure, and include touchpoints across the platform.
Here are five key ways the right tech makes golf tournaments irresistible to sponsors:
1) It’s Easy to Commit
The actual process of becoming a sponsor for a golf tournament has been significantly streamlined, thanks to technology. Dedicated golf tournament websites make onboarding quick and easy—sponsors can browse available packages, see benefits for each sponsorship option, see examples of exposure, and purchase their package right on the site. There’s no need for time-consuming back and forth as sponsors can simply upload logos, messaging, and assets at the time of registration. The convenience removes barriers and makes it simple for sponsors to commit, allowing them to focus on maximizing their investment.
Pro Tip: Once you receive a notification that a sponsorship has sold, reach out to the sponsor to thank them for their support, review the sponsor benefits their chosen package includes, and share any promotional assets. This communication helps build a strong sponsor relationship.
2) Their Brand Gets Instant Exposure
With the right tech platform, the second a business signs on as a tournament sponsor, they start getting exposure. The golf tournament website should prominently feature sponsor logos that are easily viewable by site visitors—before the tournament even starts. This immediate visibility provides instant ROI that can be further enhanced by social media and email marketing campaigns.
Pro Tip: Emphasize to prospective sponsors that the sooner they become a sponsor, the broader their visibility will be. They’ll earn impressions before, during, and after the tournament. Highlight each sponsor on social media as soon as they sign on.
3) They Earn Impressions Across Multiple Touchpoints
One of the biggest advantages of using technology for your golf tournament is the addition of multiple touchpoints it provides for sponsors to connect with golfers. The event website is the hub of the tournament, getting eyeballs on the sponsor’s brand with every visit. This exposure snowballs with the addition of a complementary live scoring mobile app golfers use to track and submit their scores, live leaderboards where golfers can view current standings, and branded cart signs. This multi-faceted approach ensures the sponsor’s brand is seen repeatedly, reinforcing their presence and increasing brand recall among tournament participants.
Pro Tip: Your golf tournament management platform should include attractive, pre-formatted cart signs that include tournament and sponsor logos, team pairings, starting hole information, and live scoring details. You shouldn’t have to do more than click print, as the software should pull golfer and sponsor information into the formatted documents.
4) Premium, Professional Exposure
Above all, you want to make your tournament’s sponsors look good. Digital sponsor exposure provides a level of professionalism that other forms of exposure simply can’t match. It also adds significant value to any sponsorship package and doesn’t come with any additional overhead costs—a win-win for nonprofit tournament organizers. The professional digital leaderboards provided by golf event management tech offers an elevated, premium option to showcase sponsors. Live leaderboards enhance the spectator experience and engage golfers in a way traditional hand-written leaderboards simply can’t compete with.
Pro Tip: Don’t undervalue your sponsorship packages, especially when you factor in the added digital exposure afforded by your management tech. Golf events have a unique value proposition, so price your packages accordingly.
5) Their Support is Shareable
In the age of social media, shareability is crucial. Sponsors benefit from the ability to easily share their support for the tournament—and your cause—with their own audiences. When they can share a link directly to the tournament website, the sponsor’s followers learn about your organization and mission and may be compelled to register to play in the tournament or make a donation to your cause. This not only amplifies the tournament’s reach, but also aligns their business with the positive, community-focused image of the tournament and enhances their reputation.
Pro Tip: Provide sponsors with a media kit that includes tournament logos, videos, social media or email verbiage, and other promotional assets that helps them effectively share the tournament to their audiences across their channels.
Final Thoughts
Indeed, technology has transformed the sponsorship landscape for golf tournaments, making it easier and more attractive for brands to get involved. From streamlining sponsor onboarding to providing multiple exposure touchpoints and enhanced shareability, tech built for golf tournaments provides comprehensive benefits that make sponsoring a golf tournament an irresistible opportunity.
Golf for Good With GolfStatus
GolfStatus works with nonprofits and charities of all types and sizes to launch or level up their golf fundraisers. The robust platform streamlines the process from start to finish and is backed by an in-house support team available seven days a week.
Through the Golf for Good program, qualifying 501(c) organizations and others planning golf events that benefit a charity can use GolfStatus’ tournament management software at no cost, including an event website, online registration and secure payment processing, digital sponsor exposure, robust reporting, and more. Visit golfstatus.com/demo for more information or to get qualified.
