British Open

First of all, Congratulations to Darren Clarke on his first Major title!

The weather is beautiful here in the states, well I know Boston has been quite enjoyable. The same can not be said for Royal St George's in Sandwich, Kent, England. I woke up yesterday morning, and tuned in for a while, and I couldn't help but feel cold myself to see the wind and rain pouring down, watching inspired me to head to the beach for the afternoon. Got to enjoy it while we have it!

Before I headed north to catch some rays, I watched the tournament one to see the sponsorship usage, but also in hopes of picking up some pointers for my own golf game (I'm in desperate need of some help). I sometimes think of golf as a less cluttered version of NASCAR, from a sponsorship perspective. Each golfer has their own sponsor and they sport a polo and hat of that sponsor. The brand then hopes that you as a consumer will in turn choose their golf gear above the plethora of other options. If that is the case, then congratulations to Dunlop as well as Mr. Clarke because your brand will be featured on every sports page and update show over the next couple of days. That type of exposure is extremely valuable because you are connected to a proven winner and the amount of eyeballs on the logo is exponetially increased.

• One side note, I did notice that one golfer was slightly "edgy" and was sporting Puma. Very interesting to see Puma represented in this context.

I thought there were some great partnerships between brands and the tournament as well. When you think about the fans that are interested in the British Open, you think of middle to older aged men that have excess income to spend on golf and all the investments that go into it. Because of these factors, brands that partner with golf tournaments tend to be more upscale that know their products are about value and perceived high quality. Through my time watching and the research these are the brands that really stuck out to me:

• Rolex -very high end watches so perfect match for British Open
•  Pacific Life- investment company, and presumably those that are watching the British Open have extra money they would like to invest efficiently and effectively
• Southwest Airlines- I thought this was a slightly interesting choice for a partnership because to me Southwest has a low cost and great service promotional theme, which is not in line with the group of brands that support the British Open.
• Nikon- I liked this one because they were especially creative with how they activated the partnership. You saw their logo around the course like others, but when I wen to get a better look at the winner Darren Clarke they sponsored the photo of him on the British Open site. That is what I'm talking about! Making your sponsorship work for you as a brand! Don't just settle for signage ask for a visibility where it makes sense for what your product is.

The last brand that stuck out to me was mostly because I had never heard of them before, and  I was seeing a lot them. The company is Doosan, and the only explanation I got while watching was a Bobcat (construction equipment) commercial that involved the Bobcat Equipment helped one golfer get the ball in the hole through bouncing off the equipment. I did some further research to see that they have some involvement in car racing and Asian baseball, but does this make sense for them as a parent brand that has smaller brands like Bobcat, KFC, and Burger King to sponsor a tournament...

I don't think so. I believe the worth of the sponsor is best allocated to brands or products that consumers themselves can purchase or interact with. The goal with sponsoring a game or an event is create a competitive advantage by connecting with consumers when they are connecting with their favorite athlete, artist, sport, or performance, but as a consumer I'm left wondering how do I interact with this brand. This isn't a time to educate fans about the brand it is a time to make them aware of the presence of the brand at the fan's favorite event or game. I wasn't at the tournament, but to me sponsoring a hospitality area where potential or current business sponsors could come and enjoy the tournament would have been a much better usage of this partnership. This would allow for more education, which is what they need.

As I stated in my intro, I don't assume that I'm always right so please let me know your thoughts. Were there other sponsors that stuck out to you or you thought did a great job or a not so great job?

I apologize if my sentences don't make complete sense. Watching the Women's World Cup Final! Go USA! More on this game and its sponsorship later. Almost there!

Go fourth...