How many of you remember Callaway Golf‘s creative event marketing project The Links at Petco Park from 2015? It was held at the San Diego Padres stadium.
I still believe it was a great idea to activate inactive/”armchair golfers”. This time Callaway Golf is trying to utilize the popularity of live video streaming.
Before I would talk about the event, let me show you when worth utilizing live video streaming:
- 42% of the general population in the US are watching live video streaming (in 2018, Source: Nielsen). In 2019 it reached 62%. (Source: Statista.com)
- 80% of the general population in the US are using an app or service to watch video content online in a typical.
- 47% of live streaming video viewers worldwide are streaming more live video compared with a year ago. (Source: IAB)
- In 2019, live streaming for Super Bowl LIII was up 19% in terms of minutes consumed, to 560 million.
- Live streaming is going to be a $70.5 billion industry by 2021.
- The Facebook Live video view count climbed to 2 billion viewers in 2017. In 2017, 1 out of every 5 Facebook videos was a live broadcast.
I believe the video consumption via live video streaming continued to grow in 2019 and will continue to grow in the coming years.
Live video streaming usage in golf club marketing
I strongly recommend using live video streaming usage (e.g. Facebook Live) for your golf club marketing. It is a great way to show and make visible what kind of experiences are available in your golf club.
TEST THIS before you try to implement Facebook Live or other live video streaming solution. Pay attention to the quality of the video (sound, lights) and the script of the video to be able to achieve higher engagement with the viewers.
Callaway Golf Next-Gen 2020 Challenge
Now let me show you why I am so excited about the Callaway Golf Next-Gen 2020 Challenge.
The inaugural Callaway Golf Next-Gen 2020 Challenge, scheduled for Saturday, March 21st at Rolling Hills Country Club in Rolling Hills Estates, California.
Callaway developed the concept and will produce the live stream broadcast for this one-of-a-kind competition, which pits the defending NCAA champion Stanford Cardinal against the Illinois Fighting Illini in a unique format.
Both teams will bring seven players. Five head-to-head matches will be played, and the remaining two players on each team will be available to come off the bench in certain situations to hit a shot for a teammate.
An additional wrinkle is the Coach’s Challenge: Each coach – Stanford’s Conrad Ray and Illinois’ Mike Small – can at any point during a match toss out a challenge flag, thereby challenging the opposing coach to step in and hit the shot his player is about to play.
All five matches will be live-streamed on callawaygolf.com and amateurgolf.com.
The opening match will also be live-streamed by golfweek.com. Each match will be captured by a single walking camera.
Both coaches will accompany the opening match, and all players and coaches will be mic’ed throughout the stream.
Callaway Golf Next-Gen 2020 Challenge – location
Established in 1965, Rolling Hills Country Club features a championship golf course designed by world-renowned golf course architect David McClay Kidd, best known for designing Bandon Dunes, the first course opened at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort; and a 70,000 sq. ft. clubhouse designed by celebrated clubhouse architect Robert Altevers.
Rolling Hills hosted the 2018 Men’s PAC-12 Men’s Golf Championships.