advertising in a golf course guide question

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Sunshine

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Hi everyone. I got a call today from someone who wants to sell me advertising space in a golf course guide. Has anyone ever done this before? Does it make any difference?
We have a local golf course and they have asked us to advertise on the score cards before and I said no, but this time they said they could do it in a "golf course guide" in one of the "upper class communities" that we have gotten guests from before. These are the kind of guests we want to attract (upper class).
The terms seem do able for us (I think, I still have to run it by DH).
What do you think?
 
...and advertise as a gold or platinum sponsor for their next tournie for $3000
Ask them, if they have a website to swap links online.
 
i would have to know how popular the golf course is for people from away. and how convenient you are to the course.
do people come from far enough away to golf there so that they would stay with you?
how many other lodging places would be advertising? and what kinds of places are they?
where do far away guests ordinarily stay and would they stay with you instead?... this is very very important.
we sponsored a museum and each year they had a couple different big events.
a large HOTEL a comparable distance away from us, also a sponsor (same amount of $$, same coverage by the museum) got booked up ... dozens of rooms ... by people attending the events. every time. we got no bookings. every time. i had our brochures prominently displayed at the museum, at the chamber of commerce, all around. i checked back links to see where the hotel showed up ... well, it was everywhere! and how do you compete with a big place? i spoke personally with the local marketing person at the hotel who was so very proud of their sponsorship ... how great a value it was to sponsor the museum in return for all those bookings. i was so very frustrated.
comparably, in terms of money, it was a big deal for me, a tiny one for the hotel.
i studied the hotel promos that i could find, studied their website ... and what i saw was that the people likely wanted to swim in a pool and use the gym (we didn't have either one). maybe they didn't want to take a chance on a little b&b. the hotel rates were higher but we offered much of what they did and such personal service. it made me crazy. the hotel offered a complimentary breakfast, too, so i had no edge there. i was not able to figure out how to snag some of those guests.
if you can do it for a small amount, maybe? would the golf course be willing to offer your guests some kind of package to entice the guests to play and stay with you?
 
I have tried a lot of different things on print advertising... so take it from someone that has emptied her pockets more times than I care to admit. NINE out of TEN print marketing does NOT work for our industry!!!
Sunshine, do you remember reading today's paper - or even Sunday's? How many ads did you read? What caught your eye? Usually it is the word SALE or CLEARENCE or it it something that you are in the market for right now that will get your attention. You see a sofa in the box, not in the market, flip the page.....
That is how we look at papers and that is how the Golf guide will be looked at as well. You are right on target on the type of client you want to attract but unless you can link it to golf - a golf package or something, I am afraid it will be a waste of time, in all likelihood. If this is cheap, give it a shot - but have something to make their eye do more than pass by... have something to attact them to read it & most importantly have something that you will use to track the calls/bookings that you get from it.
Had an idea
lightbulb.gif
- you could say something like "In the Dog house for playing too much golf? Treat her with a special weekend at Sunshine B&B" Or something along those lines.... in other words grab their attention - you will only have one brief shot before the page is turned & then it hiys the trash!
 
Unless you knew that the audience was exactly your target market; and that your conversion rate would be relatively high, then I would avoid it. Of course, I don't know your specific situation - maybe you have a lot of golfers stay with you; maybe you're close to a PGA course? If you are an attractive option for golfers, do a full court press on golf/travel writers who could cover you as part of a feature for a golf and/or travel magazine. In general, I don't like investing too heavily in print.
 
I watched a Fawlty Towers last night. Basil placed in ad in a newspaper for $40 pounds, Mrs Fawlty said, "Why did you do that! I know what works and what doesn't!" He then said "Oh here are our guests now from the ad! $15 pound stay!" She said "Good that will go toward paying OFF the $40 mistake!"
or something along those lines...
 
i would have to know how popular the golf course is for people from away. and how convenient you are to the course.
do people come from far enough away to golf there so that they would stay with you?
how many other lodging places would be advertising? and what kinds of places are they?
where do far away guests ordinarily stay and would they stay with you instead?... this is very very important.
we sponsored a museum and each year they had a couple different big events.
a large HOTEL a comparable distance away from us, also a sponsor (same amount of $$, same coverage by the museum) got booked up ... dozens of rooms ... by people attending the events. every time. we got no bookings. every time. i had our brochures prominently displayed at the museum, at the chamber of commerce, all around. i checked back links to see where the hotel showed up ... well, it was everywhere! and how do you compete with a big place? i spoke personally with the local marketing person at the hotel who was so very proud of their sponsorship ... how great a value it was to sponsor the museum in return for all those bookings. i was so very frustrated.
comparably, in terms of money, it was a big deal for me, a tiny one for the hotel.
i studied the hotel promos that i could find, studied their website ... and what i saw was that the people likely wanted to swim in a pool and use the gym (we didn't have either one). maybe they didn't want to take a chance on a little b&b. the hotel rates were higher but we offered much of what they did and such personal service. it made me crazy. the hotel offered a complimentary breakfast, too, so i had no edge there. i was not able to figure out how to snag some of those guests.
if you can do it for a small amount, maybe? would the golf course be willing to offer your guests some kind of package to entice the guests to play and stay with you?.
If i remember correctly, the advertiser said they get 35,000. visitors there each year. the golf course is not in our neighborhood, but in a neighborhood that we consistently get most of our guests from (about 100 miles away). It is an upscale neighborhood. these are people seeking a get away experience.
We do have a golf course in our neighborhood too, its a really good golf course, but it doesn't get as much traffic. and our first year we did a promo with our local golf course and people did stay here just to golf there, but it wasn't enough to repeat the same promo.
I will ask if other hotels or B&B's are advertising in it.
 
I have tried a lot of different things on print advertising... so take it from someone that has emptied her pockets more times than I care to admit. NINE out of TEN print marketing does NOT work for our industry!!!
Sunshine, do you remember reading today's paper - or even Sunday's? How many ads did you read? What caught your eye? Usually it is the word SALE or CLEARENCE or it it something that you are in the market for right now that will get your attention. You see a sofa in the box, not in the market, flip the page.....
That is how we look at papers and that is how the Golf guide will be looked at as well. You are right on target on the type of client you want to attract but unless you can link it to golf - a golf package or something, I am afraid it will be a waste of time, in all likelihood. If this is cheap, give it a shot - but have something to make their eye do more than pass by... have something to attact them to read it & most importantly have something that you will use to track the calls/bookings that you get from it.
Had an idea
lightbulb.gif
- you could say something like "In the Dog house for playing too much golf? Treat her with a special weekend at Sunshine B&B" Or something along those lines.... in other words grab their attention - you will only have one brief shot before the page is turned & then it hiys the trash!.
copperhead said:
I have tried a lot of different things on print advertising... so take it from someone that has emptied her pockets more times than I care to admit. NINE out of TEN print marketing does NOT work for our industry!!!
Sunshine, do you remember reading today's paper - or even Sunday's? How many ads did you read? What caught your eye? Usually it is the word SALE or CLEARENCE or it it something that you are in the market for right now that will get your attention. You see a sofa in the box, not in the market, flip the page.....
That is how we look at papers and that is how the Golf guide will be looked at as well. You are right on target on the type of client you want to attract but unless you can link it to golf - a golf package or something, I am afraid it will be a waste of time, in all likelihood. If this is cheap, give it a shot - but have something to make their eye do more than pass by... have something to attact them to read it & most importantly have something that you will use to track the calls/bookings that you get from it.
Had an idea
lightbulb.gif
- you could say something like "In the Dog house for playing too much golf? Treat her with a special weekend at Sunshine B&B" Or something along those lines.... in other words grab their attention - you will only have one brief shot before the page is turned & then it hiys the trash!
Had an idea
lightbulb.gif
- you could say something like "In the Dog house for playing too much golf? Treat her with a special weekend at Sunshine B&B"
Love that!
 
Unless you knew that the audience was exactly your target market; and that your conversion rate would be relatively high, then I would avoid it. Of course, I don't know your specific situation - maybe you have a lot of golfers stay with you; maybe you're close to a PGA course? If you are an attractive option for golfers, do a full court press on golf/travel writers who could cover you as part of a feature for a golf and/or travel magazine. In general, I don't like investing too heavily in print..
rpwiki said:
If you are an attractive option for golfers, do a full court press on golf/travel writers who could cover you as part of a feature for a golf and/or travel magazine. In general, I don't like investing too heavily in print.
I never thought aobut doing press in a golf/travel writers magazine.
lightbulb.gif
That is a good idea! got me thinking about lots of other options!
See! Thats why I love this forum
heart.gif
.... it doesn't only give us answers, (or lets us vent etc.... ) it gives us the 'stuff' we need to continue to think creatively, to think outside the box!
Thanks guys!!! :)
cheers.gif

 
So.....you're hoping golfers will stay at your place......drive 100 miles each way to the golf course ?
 
i would have to know how popular the golf course is for people from away. and how convenient you are to the course.
do people come from far enough away to golf there so that they would stay with you?
how many other lodging places would be advertising? and what kinds of places are they?
where do far away guests ordinarily stay and would they stay with you instead?... this is very very important.
we sponsored a museum and each year they had a couple different big events.
a large HOTEL a comparable distance away from us, also a sponsor (same amount of $$, same coverage by the museum) got booked up ... dozens of rooms ... by people attending the events. every time. we got no bookings. every time. i had our brochures prominently displayed at the museum, at the chamber of commerce, all around. i checked back links to see where the hotel showed up ... well, it was everywhere! and how do you compete with a big place? i spoke personally with the local marketing person at the hotel who was so very proud of their sponsorship ... how great a value it was to sponsor the museum in return for all those bookings. i was so very frustrated.
comparably, in terms of money, it was a big deal for me, a tiny one for the hotel.
i studied the hotel promos that i could find, studied their website ... and what i saw was that the people likely wanted to swim in a pool and use the gym (we didn't have either one). maybe they didn't want to take a chance on a little b&b. the hotel rates were higher but we offered much of what they did and such personal service. it made me crazy. the hotel offered a complimentary breakfast, too, so i had no edge there. i was not able to figure out how to snag some of those guests.
if you can do it for a small amount, maybe? would the golf course be willing to offer your guests some kind of package to entice the guests to play and stay with you?.
If i remember correctly, the advertiser said they get 35,000. visitors there each year. the golf course is not in our neighborhood, but in a neighborhood that we consistently get most of our guests from (about 100 miles away). It is an upscale neighborhood. these are people seeking a get away experience.
We do have a golf course in our neighborhood too, its a really good golf course, but it doesn't get as much traffic. and our first year we did a promo with our local golf course and people did stay here just to golf there, but it wasn't enough to repeat the same promo.
I will ask if other hotels or B&B's are advertising in it.
.
it seems weird to promote in something that isn't even close to you but now that you said many of your guests come from that area...hmmmm. How much does it cost? LIke others here have said and I tend to agree..PRINT ads get you much of nothing these days.
 
So.....you're hoping golfers will stay at your place......drive 100 miles each way to the golf course ?.
One Day said:
So.....you're hoping golfers will stay at your place......drive 100 miles each way to the golf course ?
Golfers do stay here. I just would like more to, as they are the best guests.
And yes, guests have driven 100 (some times more) miles to stay here, just for a relaxing get away. Almost all our guests do that ( I thought that was normal).
The majority of our guests already come from the targeted area. It's more the "type" or social economic group I am trying to target.
 
I would rather put my money into an online golf vacation site. Are they not already there when they would be using these cards? That's like the wine limos here putting their rack cards all over. Most of my wine tours book way before coming to the area.
RIki
 
I would take advantage of having a good golf course close to you. Blog about the course, do an adword campaign, use the key words on your website. Your money would be more wisely spent trying to make your local course a benefit for those looking to stay in your area. I bet many avid golfers would choose you if they were aware of the course nearby and even better if you could combine a package with the local golf course for your guests.
 
sunshine can you please clarify?
i thought you were saying that guests drive 100 miles to come to your AREA ... where both you and the golf course are. not that guests staying with you have to drive 100 miles to the golf course and then drive 100 miles to get back to you as one day says.
?
 
sunshine can you please clarify?
i thought you were saying that guests drive 100 miles to come to your AREA ... where both you and the golf course are. not that guests staying with you have to drive 100 miles to the golf course and then drive 100 miles to get back to you as one day says.
?.
seashanty said:
sunshine can you please clarify?
i thought you were saying that guests drive 100 miles to come to your AREA ... where both you and the golf course are. not that guests staying with you have to drive 100 miles to the golf course and then drive 100 miles to get back to you as one day says.
?
SS...what she said was "And yes, guests have driven 100 (some times more) miles to stay here, just for a relaxing getaway"
 
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