Creating a World-First Challenge
This is a story about how spending a bit of money, on the right creative strategy, can more than double its return.
GolfSpace is a state-of-the-art indoor golfing facility based in Sydney. Together, Founder Dean Dewhirst, and Head Coach Emma Ash, devised a world-first virtual golf challenge.
The PlayMaker 6 Challenge runs over 12 weeks, and provides golfers the opportunity to better their game, with the coveted prize being the chance to play at Royal Melbourne Golf Club.
‘There is a really effective way to improve your on-course performance, by playing virtual golf and tracking your data. We aren’t replacing outdoor practice, we are complimenting it.’ - Dean Dewhirst, Founder
The challenge is driven by technology, and led by PGA-certified coaches, giving participants tailored help to improve their game at a fraction of the cost of private lessons.
With such an incredible product, but minimal marketing, GolfSpace was missing an opportunity to maximise its exposure.
So, what did GolfSpace need help with?
Earlier in 2022, they ran their first PM6 Challenge. There were no marketing efforts to get sign-ups, it was generated purely by word of mouth.
Regardless of the above, they were still able to get 36 participants registered, which is a solid effort for a high-value product with zero marketing. Keep in mind that they are only one location.
But there was still so much more opportunity.
Dean has the goal to run 3x a year, and make this one of the strongest products offered at GolfSpace.
So for the next one, they needed to get the message out that this was a revolutionary approach to evolving a golfers game.
What was created?
After interviewing Dean & Emma, I devised a lead-up campaign that would help scale the challenge out in the market.
They had a lot in their minds that hadn’t been articulated. This was a missed opportunity, so I worked to extract all the gold nuggets from their minds.
The key assets were:
Teaser video
Hero video
‘The Coaching Perspective’ video
Organic & paid social campaign
Registration page
See the teaser and hero video below:
What were the results?
Creating the lead-up campaign involved content production, member email communication, and a small paid advertising spend across FB & IG.
With less than 4k spend, we achieved:
67% increase in challenge registrations (Series 1 vs Series 2)
81% of leads converted into a challenge participant
57% increase in ‘Perform’ membership (their highest paying membership)
What did the client say?
‘The quality of the PM6 Challenge campaign from start to finish was executed with exceptional precision. Prior to Alessia working with GolfSpace, we attempted many campaigns, however we have never achieved the results that we knew the brand would be capable of. The creative for the video campaigns were first class, and Alessia project directed everything from initial concept, to script writing to creative direction on the day of the shoot. Our results speak for themselves and we are excited for all future campaigns moving forward with the leadership of Alessia. Could not recommend her highly enough…’
- Dean Dewhirst, Founder
What is important to take away?
Never assume that people understand the strength of what you offer
Centre the experience around the member
Use this as an opportunity to tell a great story: What is the problem? How are you addressing it? Why should they care?
The theme of your creative is important: Is it aspirational? Is it emotive? How do you want the viewer to feel?
Use the people at your disposal, tap into their minds, interview them, question them, and extract everything you can
Interested in seeing how you can elevate your next campaign? Reach out, let’s make some magic.
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Brand: GolfSpace Australia
Creative & Art Direction: Alessia Murer
Videography: Chris Ramirez