A soggy Sunday evening in the north end of Toronto. A snaking 72-foot putt on the fourth playoff hole. Thousands of fans going nuts around the 18th green alongside PGA Tour players — including a meme-worthy champagne shower attempt — and millions more in Canada and around the world witnessing history. That’s how the 2023 RBC Canadian Open ended when B.C.’s Nick Taylor became the first Canuck to win Canada’s men’s national championship in 69 years.
To say Taylor went from an obscure athlete only the hardest of hardcore golf fans knew to a national celebrity/treasure with one putt is an understatement. But while he was making history over four days and 76 holes, there was something else going on as well: lead collection and ROI measurement by Limelight Platform software.
PGA tournaments are great experiential marketing opportunities. Tens-of-thousands of like-minded people are on site for hours a day. It’s a captured audience. Those people need amenities like pop-up food and beverage stations, merch stores and more, and they don’t mind a good distraction if it makes them feel like a VIP or to win something. Many of the biggest brands in financial services, automotive, equipment and apparel, shipping, insurance, and a host of other sectors activate at PGA events.
At this year’s Canadian Open, Limelight made sure title sponsor RBC had all the leads and ROI proof it wanted from its experiences and connected with the people it engaged.
The first activation was a crowd-pleasing putting challenge. Think you can putt like a pro under pressure? Sink this one for a chance to win a Florida golf vacation! Everyone who entered did so via a Limelight-powered tablet and received follow-up communications with CTAs to learn more about property in Florida.
The VIP treatment came in the form of the Avion Collection, exclusive to RBC Avion VISA cardholders. The Sky Lounge provided a premium viewing experience of the golf and Chef Michael Smith hosted post-round receptions with his famous East Cost hospitality and fare. Limelight sent personalized RBC-branded surveys out to all the attendees.
Between the putting challenge and Sky Lounge, thousands of first-party data points and leads were collected. Those were analyzed and reported in real time and flowed elegantly from Limelight’s single source directly into RBC marketing CRMs. Every stakeholder had the information needed to prove ROI, improve future experiences and create touch points with current and potential customers.
Not only was the RBC Canadian Open a success on the course, it was also a marketing success.
No matter the scale of your event or series, Limelight software is easy to deploy and seamless for brands and their agencies. It allows marketers to sell more by doing less. They can focus on big ideas and what they do best, by leaving the back end to us.
Limelight Platform. Work smarter, not harder.