The Open Championship – USB Flash Drivers At The Ready
Today sees the return of The Open Championship to St Andrews, which is recognised the world over as the home of golf. With all of the fun and games off the course over the past few months and with the Ryder Cup looming large on the horizon the tournament this year will be as interesting as ever no doubt helped a little by the challenging conditions that seem likely to greet the players. Hopefully golf will be the winner and we’ll be in for a cracking contest.
With a global TV audience of millions and an on-course crowd that will run into the hundreds of thousands the pressure is not just on the players but the event organisers, its sponsors and the companies that use the event to provide hospitality to its key clients, customers and prospects.
Of course for the fans it’s all about the golf and just being at St Andrews to soak up the history, the spectacle and the atmosphere and for following your favourite player(s) around the course. But for the on-course concessions, and for major brands that are a participant in the golfing industry like Nike, Ping, Titelist, TaylorMade, Adidas it’s an important event to connect with and sell to the fans and the legion of amateur players that turn up or tune in.
One of the more innovative options open to companies to engage with their customers at The Open is to use a branded USB flash drive. These can be customised in the shape of golfing equipment or golf balls and branded up with
the company’s logo or, more simply, a standard USB flash drive can be printed or engraved with the company’s logo.
Flash drives of this type are then typically given away as a “keepsake” or “memento” for clients attending hospitality days or by vendors who want to promote their products or services to the fans (customers) on the course. When you’re spending all day walking around a golf course the last thing you want is a bag full of brochures to weigh you down but a USB flash drive weighs next to nothing and can be pre-loaded to contain tons of information including sales brochures, video clips, media files, and web links. But, unlike just handing out a business card with a website address on you can pretty much guarantee a USB memory stick is going to get used and therefore your content is going to be viewed and your branded remembered.