When organizing a facility's grand opening event, very often
planners must work around scheduling and construction constraints that
may force the event to be postponed. In other cases, the show goes on
anyway -- but with some improvisation and extensive last-minute
preparations.
The latter case is exemplified by an impressive grand opening
event at a prestigious new golf club near Knoxville, Tenn.
In December 1994 planning began for the opening of the Gettysvue
Polo, Gold & Country Club in Knox County. But the clubhouse, where
planners wanted to hold the event, wasn't scheduled to be completed
until several months after the October 1995 grand opening.
Upgrading a Barn
Because of the clubhouse dilemma, plans called for holding the
event off site. But the developer, Gettysvue Partners LP, and the
Knoxville PR and marketing firm Ackermann Public Relations and
Marketing concluded, nonetheless, that holding the event on site would
be a much better approach to build excitement for the club.
Eventually, the team developed the idea of converting a large old barn
on the site into an event hall.
Working with the developer's construction crew, event planners
were able to add temporary and permanent remodeling touches to the
barn to make it suitable for the gala. This included everything from
rewiring and plumbing to adding lighting and building a moveable
floor. A complete kitchen also had to be constructed on site, large
enough to allow the club's chef and his staff to prepare a gourmet
meal for the 250 to 350 guests expected.
Signing a Golf Pro
Since the focal point of the facility and of the membership drive
was the golf course, Gettysvue logically planned to showcase the
course during grand opening celebrations.
To excite potential members and draw media attention, plans were
made to have a famous professional golfer participate in the opening
events. For a fee of about $20,000, former champion golfer Tom
Weiskopf was retained. First, he was used as the focal point of a
nine-hole golf exhibition on the new course. Guests and those who
already had become members of the club were invited to participate in
this round of golf, held the morning of the grand opening.
Weiskopf also was asked to lead a golf clinic in the afternoon,
to appear at a black-tie dinner that evening, and at a small, private
reception during the event for employees of the club and development
company.
News Conference Luncheon
To encourage media coverage of the facility's opening, local
print and broadcast media were invited to a news conference and
luncheon, which followed the morning round of golf. While intended
primarily for the media, club members and guests were allowed to
attend.
Evening Reception
Perhaps the largest undertaking of the grand opening was the
black-tie reception and dinner.
The first priority was attracting a sufficient number of the
target audience of prospective members to the $100 a head event.
Invitations were mailed to members and prospective members culled from
Gettysvue Partners' database. Ackermann staff ensured that local
VIPs, such as business and political leaders, also were invited.
Event Scored Results
The Oct. 21 event proceeded smoothly, despite rainy weather--for
which tents had been erected in anticipation of the possibility. All
tee times were booked that day for the new course, and the Tom
Weiskopf golf clinic drew several hundred golfers. The gala dinner
also met the expectations, drawing 300 people. Most important,
traffic at the club's sales office jumped 20 percent in the weeks
following the grand opening, and at least 20 club memberships and
three home site sales at the club resulted directly from the events,
Gettysvue executives believe. (Ackermann, 423/584-0550)
Short-term Flexibility, Long-term View Keep Costs Down
Keeping costs under control is a major priority for any public
relations program today. In planning a gala reception for the opening
of an exclusive new country club near Knoxville, Tenn., Gettysue
Partners LP and its PR firm, Ackermann Public Relations and Marketing
worked to execute a classy event without exceeding the $100,000 budget
for planning and managing the October 1995 event.
When a change in plans called for remodeling an old barn for use
as a reception hall, the event team found ways to minimize costs. One
huge help was the availability of construction crews from the
developer, who were able to perform the remodeling without the need to
pay for outside crews. Also, ornamental plantings planned for use in
various parts of the club were "borrowed" temporarily to add a
finished look to the barn--saving landscaping and floral costs.
The remodeling of the barn--originally planned only as temporary-
-made the developer realize that the building could become a permanent
event facility for the club. Once that determination was made, the
developer was willing to spend money on permanent upgrades that also
made it more suitable for the reception and dinner. Today, the barn
is used as an event hall and indoor polo arena for the club.