Great Golf, Big Business

6/7/2010

Whilst major international sporting events such as the Volvo Masters and now the Volvo World Match Play Championship are primarily viewed as sporting spectaculars, there is a clear economic impact driving the investment by global brands such as Volvo.

With 122 title sponsorships in global golf, more than half of them in Europe, Volvo will soon be hosting its 25^th major golf championship in Andalucia; include the Volvo Masters Amateur World Final and that figure rises to 30 in all.

 And, whilst the Volvo brand and the game of golf are inexorably linked, there has to be a clear commercial and enduring economic argument to sustain those levels of investment.

 “Golf has worked, and research proves golf continues to be beneficial to the Volvo brand,” explains Per Ericsson, President, Volvo Event Management (Golf) explaining, “It is all about visibility, brand recognition, passion and integrity, setting out Volvo’s offer through golf and sharing in common core values.

 “But,” he adds, “In the final analysis, golf sponsorship must either sell more cars, trucks, construction machines and buses and create the environment where business can be developed through activation with clients and customers.”
 
He continues, “Volvo has invested over a quarter-of-a-billion euros in golf in Andalucía alone since 1988, which has generated over a billion euros into the local economy, so it is a win-win relationship between Volvo and those areas where we choose to stage our high-profile events. 

“That is why venues and increasingly economic development agencies are investing with us,” he continues, adding, “As with the Volvo Masters, and now the Volvo World Match Play Championship, staging these events in the off-peak season is especially important as they extend the tourist season and create additional service sector jobs.” 

Iain Barnett, Managing Director of Comperio Research which specializes in economic impact studies of sport agrees, saying, “There are three types of economic impacts; benefits associated with hosting golf events, including new money entering the economy, increased orders to [local] suppliers and additional domestic demand due to additional wages paid to local residents. “ 

He adds, “The media value of the event drives additional, albeit less tangible benefits to the host market in terms of awareness and legacy effects of the exposure and media value of a golf tournament.” 

Concludes Barnett, “Ultra premium resort brands, such as the Finca Cortesin are able to sustain high levels of demand even whilst charging premium prices for green fees, memberships, food and beverage and benefiting from the additional expenditure and brand exposure associated with such events.”

 Meanwhile, official market research undertaken at the 2009 Volvo World Match Play Championship showed that the event delivered value for Volvo, added value for Andalucía and was suitable for Spain.
 
Awareness of the Volvo World Match Play Championship was at its highest in the host country of Spain with 71% of respondents compared to 62% in the UK and 44% in Sweden, whilst more than 80% of those polled in Spain and the UK had watched some of the coverage of the Volvo World Match Play Championship on TV whilst in Sweden the figure was 75%.
 
And, across the three markets polled, Volvo’s recognition as title sponsor was the highest amongst those who are regular viewers of TV golf and watched more of the 2009 Volvo World Match Play Championship on TV.
 
www.volvocars.com / www.volvo.com / www.comperioresearch.com

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