Background / Problem
Tour Edge Golf was a smaller club company known for dependable equipment at a reasonable price. They wanted to expand their awareness with the golfing public, increase sales and introduce their new higher-end Exotics product line. The company had a limited advertising budget and sold strictly through retail channels.
Solutions
- Advertorial Concepts came in and implemented a direct response ad/advertorial program in which one club could be sold directly to the public.
- A series of advertorials were created to deliver company information, extolling the benefits and differentiating both of the company’s product lines.
- Advertising deals were renegotiated by Advertorial Concepts with the company’s current media partners as well as establishing many new advertising relationships, including nontraditional golf outlets like USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, and Los Angeles Times etc.
Results
- The direct response program for the sale of one club, the #6 Iron-Wood fueled a campaign that generated $665k in direct response sales, generating almost $100,000 in profit. That overall ad budget also included the non-direct response branding ads and advertorials for the Exotics product line. Retail sales doubled to more than $10 million for the Tour Edge brand and turned their advertising budget from a cost to a profit center. The Exotics line also generated sales in the neighborhood of $10 million.
- There were some hard feelings initially with the renegotiated advertising rates at the magazines. But due to the success of the campaigns, the company’s total advertising budget increased dramatically multiple times during the first and second years. In each of the first three years, the entire advertising budget was paid for by the sales of the one SKU that was sold through direct response (out of hundreds of company club offerings). Tour Edge went from a small advertising buyer at publications like Golf Magazine and Golf Digest, to becoming a major player.
- Up to this point, the company had never been included in Sports Illustrated’s golf equipment preview issue. They are now annually featured with a double page spread in the publication’s equipment preview issue.
- With cooperation from of some of its other clients, Advertorial Concepts developed the Tour Edge multi-manufacturer media event in Orlando, built around the PGA merchandise show. The company will host its 11th annual event in 2016, which has become the premier media function of the entire week. The event has been instrumental in helping the company amass a great deal of editorial coverage. In 2008, the event received the ING award for the public relations/promotion category, beating the other finalists including Nike.
What the Client has to Say
“When it comes to advertising that generates return on investment, Advertorial Concepts is second to none! Leonard Finkel delivered above and beyond expectations with advertising buys that were 80-90% off rate card from the leading magazines and newspapers in the country. The result, our direct response advertising generated a net profit three years in a row and our gross sales nearly doubled. Leonard is the best negotiator I’ve ever seen!”
Jay Hubbard, Vice President of Marketing, Tour Edge Golf