In under a year, golf PR and marketing agency The Word Association has helped Scotland’s golf trade body to a remarkable haul of new members. In testing times, membership at Golf Tourism Scotland has jumped by 30%, with much of the uptake attributable to the Fife-based firm.
The growing awareness of GTS, and resulting upsurge in membership, has prompted the trade body to renew its contract with The Word Association in a move that Nick Hunter, GTS chairman, says was based on tangible and quantifiable results. “Working with The Word Association has been a particularly good investment for GTS. Through their PR initiatives, and the work of the GTS board members, we’ve managed to increase membership by 30% in under a year. Bearing in mind the challenging economic conditions, I think this is an incredible increase.”
He continued: “The work carried out by The Word Association has certainly raised awareness of GTS which was the main reason for commissioning a PR agency in the first place. With a new contract in place, we look forward to another fruitful year.”
The Word Association’s remit was to deliver coverage of GTS’s activities in local, regional and national media. This meant targeting specific markets, such as the hospitality sector and specialist golf titles, as well as reaching the general public and target markets for GTS members.
After a noteworthy year, Yvonne Alexander, senior partner at The Word Association, said she was delighted to renew the GTS contract. “It’s wonderful news” Alexander said. “Since we came on board with GTS last September, we’ve focussed on promoting their key messages to the golf trade and consumer press. The objective was to raise awareness of the work carried out by GTS and its board of directors. With that in mind, it’s been a great year.”
With clients throughout Europe, The Word Association will now concentrate on building on last year’s Golf Tourism Scotland Gold Standard Awards to be held at the Macdonald Marine Hotel and Spa in North Berwick on the 11th November. The event is the highlight of the golfing calendar for the golf industry as it brings together many of GTS’s 130 members who are involved in almost every area of Scotland’s golf tourism.
“We want to make it a night to remember”, continues Alexander. “It’s about the industry coming together to celebrate what they do best. Getting this message out to targeted outlets is what we will be striving to achieve.”
The Word Association www.thewordassociation.biz
Golf Tourism Scotland www.golftourismscotland.com