Hope Beckham Inc.

THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola

THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola

Situation

Hope-Beckham has worked with THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola for the past two years to secure local and regional exposure on and off the sports pages in order to raise awareness and ticket sales for the FedEx Cup Finale. The tournament, with its permanent home at historic East Lake Golf Club, has close community ties and was also in need of exposure surrounding its many philanthropic initiatives through the East Lake Foundation and First Tee program.

Approach
Hope-Beckham created and executed a multi-pronged PR plan highlighted by a media caravan with Tournament Executive Director Todd Rhinehart and PGA Tour media relations staff. The efforts created buzz at a time when college, high school and pro football awareness was at a fever pitch. HBI also utilized local speakers’ bureaus placing

Rhinehart in front of key business and civic organizations and leveraged ticket sales
opportunities. In addition, HBI was able to match an existing high-profile client with the tournament, which led to added sponsor and community support.

Results
The tournament experienced a significant increase in media coverage leading up to and surrounding the event. Rhinehart and PGA Tour officials took advantage of face-to-face meetings with key sports and business media as well as speaking opportunities with the Atlanta Business Roundtable and the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, among others. HBI facilitated a three-year partnership between its client Belk Inc. and the First Tee program, highlighted by a monetary donation and free golf shirts to the First Tee golf team on behalf of D.J. Trahan and his Belk Pro-Tour clothing line. During tournament week, local radio and TV stations were able to secure more interviews due to HBI’s on-site support. Following the event, HBI helped secure recognition for Rhinehart as one of Georgia Trend magazine’s “40 Under 40” in 2008.