The Demo Day. Play Day. Day Party. Same Day concept was all we had, but we already knew people were going to wonder what on earth we were trying to accomplish by cramming all these events into a single day.
It was a valid concern. The answer was absolutely and positively yes, that was the intention.
The goal of our brand Going Golfing under ClubHouse Sessions was to show that golf, products, music, and business could be intertwined in a single day, rather than stretched across four. We also wanted to truly embody what the game is about and give people a real experience of a day at the golf club for those who may not know.
We decided to put our theory to the test on September 19th, when we hosted a multi-activation event at Pembroke Lakes Golf Club.
Why We Soft Launched On Purpose.
We chose the friends and family launch route to test proof of concept with a smaller and more intimate group first, just to get our footing.
There’s a reason for that, and it’s not just modesty. A first event is a test of operations, not a test of marketing. It is a time to discover when the day breaks in front of an audience of truth tellers. You learn more from your mistakes with a room of friendly faces than you do with a room of strangers.
Event planning is a misnomer; an event is learned by being done.
So, we created the full thing, but controlled its size. We used a real partner, real setup, and a real schedule. And to make sure everyone would be honest with us, we created the event for friends and family.
The Format We Were Testing
The Clubhouse Cup was a real stroke-play and skins competition; not a scramble for people to have false pride about their play, but also so they can feel what real golf pressure is about and embrace it. The condition of the course, the golf was indeed golf.
Here’s the lineup for the day:
11:00 AM — Tee time. Set up was done for tournament play with the money on the table for anyone who wanted the money.
Between 12:00 PM and 2:00 PM, pop-up TaylorMade x ClubHouse Sessions.Pop-up TaylorMade x ClubHouse Sessions between 12:00 PM and 2:00 PM. New releases and demos on site. Our presenting partner gave product to people not a banner.
A Cool Golf Clinic will be held at 1:00 PM. There was a lot of fun and laughter, just as there was every minute of the clinic, and I believe it was a great success thanks to Angello Collins, Class A PGA Professional and my partner in this, who was miked up so that everyone could hear the instruction. Prizes, gift bags, and giveaways in TaylorMade bags.
4:00 PM — ClubHouse Social. The day party enters the club house. Velvet Velour introduced the artists, creatives and the talent.
Look at that schedule again and watch what it’s doing! Each hour gives the guest to the next hour. The golfer turns into a demo consumer. The demo customer remains for the clinic. The clinic crowd is already inside the building when the party starts.
A well run event does not use four time slots. Passes one person through them.
The Partnership That Validated It
TaylorMade is a major sponsor for us. They’re embedded into what we’re doing with the ClubHouse brand..
I want to be specific about this, since it’s an easy read as a logo placement. It is not. That level of brand is not connected to an unproven event for reach. It wasn’t the reach that was the pitch.
We provided them with access to the room they desire to be in, that golfers with the gear in their budget, creatives with the audience, and an afternoon of product getting into their hands, not a step-and-repeat. A demonstration day within a party in a tournament.
They agreed to this format before we had evidence that the format was effective. This is the one thing I don’t take lightly.
It established the groundwork for all that followed. The first partner you sign decides which partners the second conversation is with.
The Sponsorship Structure
We’re really keen on building partnerships through our sponsorship relations. We don’t work in a one and done sort of way; as a lifestyle and media brand, we at least look at sponsorships as a campaign opportunity and that’s what we designed when we created the sponsorship packages for our events.
Who Was In The Room
Angello Collins is the Co-Founder of ClubHouse Sessions and the ClubHouse Brand along with myself.
We expanded the cast beyond golf and sport and culture to people like Lawrence Taylor, Daunte Culpepper, Otto Porter Jr., Chris Childs, Clint Johnson, Andre “Pastry Warden” Ward, Dominic Colletta, and Rashad Weaver.
It’s a deliberate combination. If you limit golfers to a golf day, then you’ve made a golf day. Take athletes, creatives and operators in the same foursome and you’ve got something people will talk about Monday!
What Are We Taking In The Next One?
If it’s a soft launch you get to make changes. Three good things I am taking with me:
Makes the four-part day work. There was no need for anyone to be persuaded to remain. The format does not rely on transitions, that’s what did the work. It is the product.
Capacity is not a revenue decision, it’s a positioning decision. 72 players is a small number on a spreadsheet, and it’s the right number for a gathering that’s supposed to be like a room, not a crowd. We will cultivate with great care, or not at all.
Content capture must be integrated, it is not an add-on. All the things we said we would do for sponsors (photos, highlight videos, podcast placement) rely on the crew being at the right place at the right time. That is a production plan, not a vendor called the week before.
What It Was Really About
I have made the planning of events my marketing. This one wasn’t that.
Going Golfing is a brand of ClubHouse and ClubHouse’s mission is to bring Three Things together: The Love of God, The Game of Golf, and The Business of Golf. All three were at the same time in that clubhouse one day in September, in Pembroke Pines.
This was a discussion 6 months ago. It was teed off, partnered, had a clinic, a party and guest list in September.
This is what soft launch is all about. You cease to tell people what you’re making and allow them to enter it.
It will not be friends and family.
