A real important agreement between the LET and LPGA has been reached recently that will see Dundonald Links (a Kyle Phillips-designed course) host both the 2017 men’s and ladies’ Scottish Opens whilst elevating the Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open to the highest prize fund event on the Ladies European Tour outside the Majors.
The prize fund will be US$1.5m. This is a 3-year deal between the LPGA and the LET in partnership with title sponsor, Aberdeen Asset Management and key partner, VisitScotland. As a result of this deal, the event will transform from a Pro-Am format to an individual stroke-play event.
With a full 156-strong player field, the enhanced 72-hole Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open will sit on both the LET and LPGA schedules.
My only concern is that the Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open will take place the week before the Ricoh Women’s British Open at Kingsbarns in 2017. How will such leading golfers like Lydia Ko or Catriona Matthew decide where to play or which one to skip? This reminds me this summer when the US Open, the Olympic Games, and the Ryder Cup were so close to each other in time.
Both the Golf Channel and Sky Sports will broadcast the Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open live.
Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open’s audience
Personally, I would not rely 100% on the capabilities and reach of these television channels. I am saying this since smartphones and tablets are slowly overtaking TVs. The change will come when mobiles and tablets will have bigger and better displays.
Millward Brown’s recent AdReaction Video study found that multiscreen users spent over half (52%) of their screen time on mobile devices. Therefore, it would be great if the Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open would be available in Golf Channel’s Golf Live Extra mobile application and on Sky Sports Mobile TV as well.
Deloitte’s 10th “Digital Democracy Survey” has some interesting findings of our TV watching habits:
- 33% of all consumers typically browse the web while watching TV;
- Fewer than 25% of consumers’ multitasking activities are directly related to the program being watched, indicating that second screen activities have yet to realize their full potential
- Of millennials aged 19-25, 71% indicated that their buying decisions are influenced by online reviews from people they do not know, which is higher than the number who are influenced by TV ads.
At the same time, I would suggest to the organizers to develop a solid content strategy to connect with and engage their audience. I believe that relevant and engaging content can go further than other forms of advertising.
A very nice challenge will be to engage consumers in real time (e.g. via chat bots).