AGENDA ITEM NO 9 REPORT NO 299/12
ANGUS COUNCIL
INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES COMMITTEE – 14 JUNE 2012
CARNOUSTIE COUNTRY DESTINATION BRAND AMBASSADOR PACKAGE – OUTCOMES AND FUTURE PROPOSALS
REPORT BY DIRECTOR OF INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES
ABSTRACT: The council is asked to note the outcomes from the Carnoustie Country brand ambassadorial package over 2011/12 and to approve, due to increasing budget constraints, the recommendation not to extend the brand ambassador package for a further year over 2012/2013.
1. RECOMMENDATION(S)
It is recommended that the Committee
(i) note the outcomes of the Carnoustie Country brand ambassador package over 2011/12 and the valuable legacy this provides for ongoing marketing and promotion of Angus as a golf tourism destination; and
(ii) determine whether it wishes to extend the agreement with IMG for the Carnoustie Country brand ambassador package for a further year from 28 April 2012 to 27 April 2013
2. BACKGROUND
2.1 The Committee is referred to Article 5 of the minute of meeting of Angus Council held on 24 March 2011and to Report No189/11 (as amended) submitted by the Director of Infrastructure Services. The Report sought Council approval to sponsor the RICOH Women’s British Open Championship 2011 at Carnoustie and separately to conclude an agreement for the proposed Carnoustie Country brand Ambassador Package
2.2 Reference is also made to Report No 223/12 submitted by the Director of Infrastructure Services and referred to in article 10 of the minute of the meeting of Angus Council held on 22 March 2012.
2.3 This report summarised the economic impact to Angus from the 2011 Ricoh Women’s British Open and noted that the first year of the Carnoustie Country brand ambassadorial package would be completed by 26 April 2012. It specified that a further Report would be brought back to the June cycle of meetings summarising the full year assessment of outcomes from the ambassadorial package with Catriona Matthew. It would also allow an assessment to be made of the outcomes from the two service days from 12 and 13 April, as detailed in Appendix 1 to the Report.
3. CARNOUSTIE COUNTRY BRAND AMBASSADOR PACKAGE - OVERVIEW
3.1 Members are reminded that the original proposal to appoint Catriona Matthew as the Carnoustie Country destination Brand Ambassador was recommended for two years from 2011 – 2013 in order to allow a robust and meaningful evaluation of the outcomes she would bring to Carnoustie Country marketing. However, in accordance with the decision made by the Council on 24 March 2011 a contract for 1 year was signed on 27 April 2011.
3.2 The contract provided for two “service days” when Catriona Matthew would participate in person. These were arranged for 12 and 13 April 2012 when Catriona Matthew led a two day programme to promote golf tourism throughout the Carnoustie Country destination.
3.3 In addition, the Ambassadorial package provided for:-
a) Branding exposure – Catriona Matthew has had the Carnoustie Country logo displayed on the chest position for all her worldwide tournaments and corporate events from April 2011, including the Ricoh Women’s British Open at Carnoustie;
b) Name and likeness – Carnoustie Country has used Catriona’s name, image, fame and endorsement in all on-line and offline Carnoustie Country promotional and marketing activity;
c) PR programme – interviews were arranged with key media and TV publications and broadcasts to raise the profile of Carnoustie Country golf destination, especially during the Ricoh Women’s British Open;
d) Exclusivity – Catriona has not endorsed any competing destination brand anywhere else in the world; and
e) Event appearances - Catriona undertook hospitality walk throughs and a visit to the Carnoustie Country exhibition tent at the Ricoh Women’s British Open event in July 2011.
3.4 The fee required for this package was £25,000 annually. Please note that for 2011/12 a contribution of £4,000 was received from the Carnoustie Golf Links Management Committee Ltd, who recognised the benefit specifically for the Championship course, of Catriona’s endorsement in the year of the Ricoh Women’s British Open at Carnoustie for the first time. This gave a net cost to the Council of £21,000 for the 2011/12 financial year.
3.5 Members should also be aware that the monetary value of the two service days equating to £10,000 was allowed for in the current European Regional Development Fund Rural Tourism Business Support Project 2011 -2013 and thus yielded a contribution of £4,000 which reduced the net cost to the council (the whole ambassadorial package) to a total of £17,000.
3.6 It was further agreed in Report No 223/12 that the return on investment would be measured by the following:-
1. Television coverage of the Carnoustie Country Brand. Direct TV exposure where this can be measured and the equivalent advertising Value. 2. International (country) coverage of this exposure and estimated total audience 3. Media coverage which reflects Catriona’s Ambassadorial role by number of articles and circulation areas by Country and/or region. 4. On line and offline Carnoustie Country promotional marketing – Catriona’s carnoustiecountry.com: - measure of visits, pages viewed etc, visits to Catriona’s blog page, Facebook/Twitter. 5. Service Days:- Direct appearance at selected events/exhibitions for 2 days
3.7 It was also noted that 1 – 3 above would be collected and supplied through IMG while 4 and 5 would be collected by Angus Council Economic Development Unit.
3.8 An agreement was reached with IMG that a decision on whether to extend the agreement would be delayed until 14 June without prejudice to the ongoing ambassadorial promotion. If a decision is made to extend the agreement for a second year, this would run from 28 April 2012 until 27 April 2013.
4. CARNOUSTIE COUNTRY BRAND AMBASSADOR PACKAGE – 2011/12 OUTCOMES
4.1 The employment of Catriona Matthew as an Ambassador for Carnoustie Country is geared towards utilising her success as one of the top world female golfers (ranked 18th in the world) and top UK women golfer to raise the profile of Carnoustie Country nationally and internationally. She was placed fifth at the Ricoh Women’s British Open at Carnoustie in 2011
4.1.2 It has been possible to assess some specific performance indicators, which show an increased profile for Catriona and thus an increased profile for the Carnoustie Country brand in the context of the agreed criteria (para 3.6 refers). However it has been difficult to fully evaluate outcomes from the Brand Ambassador Package. The contract period covered eight months of Catriona Matthew’s 2011 tournament schedule and two months of her 2012 schedule.
4.1.3 Catriona has worn the Carnoustie Country logo on the chest position on her golf wear at 24 major tournaments across the world since April 2011 when she was appointed Carnoustie Country Brand Ambassador.
4.2 Outcome 1 & 2 -Television Coverage
4.2.1 During the period of her contract, Catriona, as the top Scot in women’s golf, increasingly performed well in her tournaments throughout the world and attracted increased media coverage. IMG, organisers of the Ricoh Women’s British Open 2011, reported that the Carnoustie Country logo on Catriona’s shirt received 2,040 seconds of direct TV exposure around the world during the event. The direct equalivalent advertising value of this speficic exposure was £24,500. The top markets for the TV value were US, UK, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan and Canada.
4.2.2 During her various TV interviews by UK and overseas stations at the Ricoh Women’s British Open, she was specifically asked by the commentators on her role as Carnoustie Country brand ambassador which assisted in promoting our destination.
4.2.3 Catriona’s win at The Lorena Ochoa Invitational held on November 10-13, 2011 at Guadalajara Country Club, Mexico was viewed by approximately 124,482,395 households in over 162 different territories worldwide. The main countries were Australia, China, Czech Republic, France, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Middle East, Portugal, Scandinavia, Singapore, South Africa, South America, Spain, Taiwan and Thailand. IMG have not been able to supply a value for this exposure.
4.2.4 Catriona has also been interviewed by ESPN aired on 13 May 2012 in the USA and the Golf Channel – aired as part of their Sybase Match Play Championship coverage in New Jersey, USA the week commencing 14th May 2012. Again IMG do not have a specific monetary value for this exposure.
4.3 Outcome 3 - Media Coverage
4.3.1 A press release announcing her appointment as Carnoustie Country brand Ambassor was issued to 356 national news and golf publications in June 2011 in order to capitalise on the interest in Carnoustie Championship as the host to the Ricoh Women’s British Open
4.3.2 Since March 2011 Catriona has generated 9,320 press articles in a variety of news publications in at least 50 countries across the world – see TABLE 1 & 2 . Examples of the coverage is given in Appendix 1 attached. IMG were not able to provide an advertising monetary equivalent value for this coverage without adding to the contract with their contractor and thus increasing costs.
TABLE 1 TABLE 2
By Total Month Total Articles Top 20 Countries Articles Mar-11 339 Australia 256
Apr-11 145 Canada 724
May-11 566 China 129 Denmark 65 Jun-11 1,148 Jul-11 1,281 Finland 76 Aug-11 863 France 67 Sep-11 2,082 Germany 81 Oct-11 318 India 58
Nov-11 2,395 Ireland 94 Malaysia 122 Dec-11 62 Mexico 102 Jan-12 30 Feb-12 91 Norway 205 Total 9,320 Philippines 71 Singapore 93 South Africa 82 Spain 126 Sweden 227 Taiwan 391 United Kingdom 873
United States 5,127
4.4 Outcome 4 - Offline/On-line Marketing
4.4.1 The fact that Catriona Matthew is the Carnoustie Country brand ambassador was heavily promoted on the Carnoustie Country exhibition stand at the Ricoh Women’s British Open 2011 with her image used in print and exhibition material. This message was further enhanced when she visited the exhibition stand for a filmed interview by the Council’s media team, which now features on www.carnoustiecountry.com/films and on the YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/carnoustiecountry
4.4.2 To ensure extended value to our post Ricoh Women’s British Open marketing, Catriona was asked to provide a weekly blog as she travelled to compete in various tournaments around the world. This was profiled on the www.carnoustiecountry.com:
Extract from Catriona’s blog on 20th October 2011:
Yesterday it was the pro-am and it was a 36 team, 11am shotgun. As you can imagine 2 teams on every hole made for a long day - it was 6 hrs 15 minutes to play. Luckily I had a really nice group of businessmen who were very good golfers. They had travelled all over the world and had been to Scotland many times and in fact recognised my Carnoustie Country logo from a clothing line they were familiar with in China, so that was nice! We then had a pro- am dinner afterwards so it was a long day by the time I got to bed!
4.4.3 Catriona Matthew pages on www.carnoustiecountry.com were viewed 450 times from launch in June 2011 to 31 March 2012, and 330 times between 1st April – 10 May 2012 corresponding to increased profile both pre- and post the two service days
4.4.4 In 2011/12, carnoustiecountry.com visits increased by over 17% on the previous year (TABLE 3) as a result of increased content and promotion, although it would be difficult to attribute this solely to the prominence we have given Catriona Matthew in any Carnoustie Country marketing material.
TABLE 3
4.4.5 Carnoustie Country Facebook & Twitter were used to promote the events during Catriona’s Service Days and also for post-event promotion (including images, winners of competition etc) -all signposting to www.carnoustiecountry.com.
4.4.6 Catriona’s Twitter page with almost 2,500 followers, highlights the fact that she is Carnoustie Country brand ambassador and has covered a number of related topics promoting our destination.
4.5 Outcome 5 - Service Days
4.5.1 As part of the agreement Catriona provided two service days for use by Carnoustie Country which took place on Thursday 12 and Friday 13 April 2012.
4.5.2 This offered an opportunity for Carnoustie Country, Carnoustie Golf Links and three other Carnoustie Country courses (Forbes of Kingennie, Kirriemuir and Montrose) to work in partnership to maximise the potential return on investment of this sponsorship opportunity and to use these service days as a platform to raise the profile of their courses specifically, and Carnoustie Country in general, at local, national and international level.
4.5.3 To ensure integration with the golf tourism projects currently being undertaken as part of the European Regional Development Fund Rural Tourism project, and to offer a legacy to the Ricoh Women’s British Open, the service days focused on showcasing Carnoustie Country as a new destination for women golfers, and on the area’s junior golf development programme.
4.5.4 To add value to these service days a specially-selected group of journalists specialising in writing about ladies golf were invited to spend two days in Carnoustie Country and experience playing golf on two Carnoustie Country courses (a round on Carnoustie Championship as part of the Ladies Day, and a game using hickory shafted clubs on Montrose Links). In addition, the selected journalists were also offered an exclusive 30-minute interview with Carnoustie Country Ambassador Catriona Matthew, the chance to find out how junior golf is being supported in Carnoustie Country and, via Montrose 450, the fascinating golfing history and heritage of this part of Scotland.
4.5.6 They were:
Madeleine Winnett, Features Writer, Lady Golfer, Britain’s leading women’s golf magazine with 40,00 readers monthly. Helena Woodcock, Freelance Golf Writer and PR Carly Frost, Editor, Ladies Golf Today, Europe’s leading on-line golf resource with 8 million readers worldwide
Programme
Day 1 Thursday 12 April - Ladies Golf Day, Carnoustie Championship
64 ladies participated in a competition on the Championship course which consisted of representatives of 27 ladies clubs within the Carnoustie Country area, as well as two journalists from national Ladies Golf publications and senior representatives from the Ladies Golf Union and Scottish Ladies Golf Association
The day had five outcomes: using Catriona’s name and reputation to bring into the area leading golf journalists with a view to writing about their experiences raising the profile of ladies golf within Carnoustie which is in keeping with the legacy of the Ricoh Women’s British Open being held at Carnoustie in 2011 raising the profile of the Women’s British Amateur taking place at Carnoustie in June, promote links golf to women and promote membership of the links courses. the event was used as a pilot with a view to running an annual ladies tournament in Carnoustie creating awareness of the Carnoustie Country campaign and knowledge about this brand being used to promote the whole destination and just Carnoustie
The day included two Masterclass with Catriona Matthew for all participants, a “beat the pro” competition as well as scheduled interviews with journalists. Catriona Matthew also formally opened the new Carnoustie Golf Pro Centre.
Day 2 Friday 13 April- Junior Golf Day
In partnership with three courses – Forbes of Kingennie, Kirriemuir and Montrose – and the Angus Council Sports Development Team, Catriona hosted junior clinics for 64 young golfers across variety of skill levels and ages.
This was followed by the official opening of the new 450 yard hole as part of Montrose Medal’s 450th anniversary celebrations, and a masterclass for 70 club members and guests.
The event had four outcomes: raising the profile of junior golf programmes in Carnoustie Country Clubs and promoting club membership for young people raising the profile locally of the Council’s junior golf developments programme with Angus primary school pupils. raising the profile locally and nationally, of the heritage of golf in Carnoustie Country specifically the year of celebrations to mark the 450th anniversary of the Montrose Medal course promoting awareness about the Carnoustie Country brand representing the whole destination, not just Carnoustie.
4.6 Media Coverage
4.6.1 To evaluate return on investment, it is normal practice to calculate approximate advertising spend of the coverage secured. This allows a monetary value to be expressed in accordance with commercial practice. TABLES 4 & 5 in Appendix 2 highlights the quantity, geographical spread and value of the published articles from the attending journalists and subsequent news releases issued.
4.6.2 In addition the opening of the Carnoustie Pro Centre was broadcast by STV to both lunch time and evening news bulletins, with interviews from Catriona Matthew wearing her Carnoustie Country branding. In order to also maximise media coverage, a press release was issued on Catriona Matthew’s visit to Carnoustie Country and sent out to 17 other national and European golfing publications and golf writers. (TABLE 5)
4.6.3 In summary the service days achieved regional television coverage, published articles in national golf publications and regional news papers to at least an equivalent advertising value of £9,712.
5. PROPOSALS FOR SPONSORSHIP OVER 2012/13
5.1 As indicated above, while there are significant outcomes, it is difficult to fully evaluate the monetary return on investment of the brand ambassador package as a stand alone marketing activity over only one year. All research shows that it takes time to build up brand awareness associated with a celebrity – hence the initial proposal was for a two year agreement. Ideally a much longer long term commitment should be given to such sponsorship but given increasing financial constraints such commitment is very unlikely to be sustained beyond this initial contract. However, in light of the outcomes outlined in this report the council may wish to extend the agreement by another year as originally envisaged.
5.2 It is clear that during the first period of the contract, the image and brand messages were aligned and integrated into all product marketing activity, both online and offline and the outcomes given above show a good return on the first year’s investment.
5.3 This report specifically measured the breadth and amount of the media coverage of Catriona, the equivalent advertising cost to secure that coverage and the impact on www.carnoustiecountry.com.visitor numbers. Taking into account the TV exposure gained by Catriona during the Ricoh Women’s British Open 2011 and the media exposure of the two service days, the total equivalent advertising value of the Carnoustie Country brand ambassador package resulted in a total of at least £34,212. This does not include any values attributed to the global media coverage secured during her 2011 international tournaments, which would be significant. On that basis there can be little doubt that the Councils net contribution to the sponsorship of Catriona in 2011/12 (£17,000 see paragraph 3.4) represents good value for money. There were however specific events/circumstances which occurred during that financial year that added value to the sponsorship, i.e. the Ricoh Women’s British Open 2011, Montrose Links 450th and the considerable ranking success enjoyed by Catriona. The British Amateur Golf Open being staged in Carnoustie in June 2012, will not have the same opportunity to highlight Catriona’s involvement, but will allow some added marketing impetus should the council wish to extend the agreement for another year.
5.4 The golf ambition for the Carnoustie Country brand is to become a must visit destination for golfers across the UK, Europe, north America and the emerging markets in China and Taiwan. To align its name with an affordable top golfer, gives brand exposure well outwith any budget available. In this context it is clear that the continued use of Catriona Matthew would allow Carnoustie Country to specifically associate with, and target, the ladies golf market - a potential growth sector. Catriona is competing in 24 tournaments from March – November 2012 in USA, Canada, Singapore, France, Malaysia, Taiwan and Mexico, as well as the Ricoh Women’s British Open at Royal Liverpool and the Scottish Ladies Open. The extension of this contract for a second year is therefore certainly justified if funding is available.
5.5 The ambassadorial package was funded in 2011/12 from marketing and other income in the Economic Development Service. Budget savings implemented in 2012/13 have reduced the availability of income and other budget pressures stemming from a drop in both property income and modern apprentice income have resulted in it not being possible to identify a source of funding to continue the ambassadorial package from the Economic Development revenue budget.
5.6 It should be recognised that Catriona Matthews has to date carried out the role expected of her with great diligence and comments received from people meeting her during the Service Days in particular, praised the way she conducted herself. On that basis in the event that the Council decides not to proceed with the years extension of the Ambassador package it is considered appropriate that the council recognise her contribution by writing to confirm that she carried out the role of Carnoustie Country Ambassador excellently and to thank her for her considerable input into the promotion of Carnoustie Country during 2011/12. .
6. RISKS
6.1 Catriona Matthew is ranked as the top in UK women’s golf and 18th in the Rolex Women’s World Rankings. Risks identified would be a fall in Catriona’s current world rankings resulting in decreased media interest and coverage for her and thus less profile for Carnoustie Country nationally and internationally.
7. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
7.1 There are no financial implications arising unless the council decides to extend the agreement. If the extension of the brand ambassador role is approved for 2012/13 the £25,000 cost will need to be prioritised within the context of resources available within the Infrastructure Department revenue budget 2012/13. Contributions would also be sought, as for the first year, from Carnoustie Golf Links Management Committee and the European Regional Development Fund.
8. HUMAN RIGHTS IMPLICATIONS
8.1 There are no Human Rights Implications in this report.
9. EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS
9.1 The issues dealt with in this report have been the subject of consideration from an equalities perspective. An equalities impact assessment is not required.
10. ANGUS COMMUNITY PLAN AND SINGLE OUTCOME AGREEMENT
10.1 This report contributes to the following local outcome(s) contained within the Angus Community Plan and Single Outcome Agreement 2011-2014:
We have a sustainable economy with good employment opportunities Angus is a good place to live in, work in and visit
11. CONSULTATION
11.1 The Chief Executive, Head of Finance and Head of Law and have been consulted in the preparation of this report.
12. CONCLUSION
12.1 The brand Ambassadorial package has been successful in promoting the brand values for the whole of Carnoustie Country destination and reinforcing all brand promotions on an international stage through TV and other media in the year that Carnoustie hosted the Ricoh Women’s British Open.
12.2 The evaluation of outcomes summarised in Section 4 above demonstrate good value for money. This was achieved through an integrated marketing approach using all available media including social media and satellite TV, print etc. Extending the contract for a second year will help to increase brand awareness and is also likely to represent good value.
12.3 There will also be a continuing legacy from the one-year contract in that the Carnoustie Country archives and general estate holds a wealth of images and positive news stories and quotations etc. that can be used repeatedly in the future. The year ahead does not however give us quite the same level of opportunity to capitalise on an extension of the contract.
12.4 Increasing budget constraints on the department must also be taken into consideration and as an ongoing engagement is unlikely to be sustainable the Committee may feel that it is felt better to capitalise on achievements of the first year but not to extend the contract further.
12.5 The Committee is asked to decide whether it wishes to extend the Carnoustie Country destination Brand Ambassador package for a further year
ERIC S LOWSON DIRECTOR OF INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES
NOTE: No background papers, as defined by Section 50D of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (other than any containing confidential or exempt information) were relied on to a material extent in preparing the above report.
ECDEV/DV/MD/FM 16 May 2012
Appendix 2 Resulting Coverage from Journalist Visit 12/ 13 April 2012 TABLE 4 Publication / Website Article Issue Circulati Approx on advertising value Lady Golfer ¼ page re. Catriona Matthew July 2012 40,000 £300 visiting Carnoustie Country readers a month Lady Golfer Madeleine’s monthly column July 2012 (?) 40,000 £180 – Hickory golf at Montrose readers a month Lady Golfer 2 page Carnoustie Country August 40,000 £1600 feature 2012 readers a (based on month 2pp spread) Lady Golfer Catriona Matthew feature October 40,000 £1600 2012 readers a (based on month 2pp spread) www.golftoday.co.uk Carly Frost at Carnoustie From ‘8 million £1500 www.golftoday.co.uk/ladies travel feature/review April 20, readers’ 2012 _golf www.golftoday.co.uk/travel/f eatures/2012/Carnoustie.ht ml
Catriona Woodcock’s blog From N/A N/A www.golfcomms.com April 19 Cover mention and ¾ £900 14/4/12 The Courier page feature inc pic ½ page feature inc pic £312 approx Montrose Review 19/4/12
Resulting coverage for press release post Catriona Matthew Service days
TABLE 5 Publication / Website Article Issue Circulation Approx advertising value Ladies European Tour News item re. Catriona April 24 N/A Not Matthew (CM) visiting onwards available – www.ladieseuropeantour.com/main_arti Carnoustie Country advertising cle.php?id=58750&pid=1005 only available to Bethan Cutler, editor, also hopes to LET feature Catriona’s visit in Golf Chic sponsors magazine Golf Today News item re. CM visiting April 20 8 million £960 Carnoustie Country onwards readers www.golftoday.co.uk/news/yeartodate/2 012_news/carnoustie_country.html Scottish Golf News item re. CM opening April 24 N/A Not new 11th hole at Montrose onwards available www.scottishgolf.org during Carnoustie Country visit Amateur Golf News item re. CM visiting April 20 ‘4 million £960 Carnoustie Country onwards readers a year’ www.amateur- golf.com/2012/carnoustie_mathew.html Women & Golf Magazine ¼ page re. CM visiting July / ’14,000 £500 Carnoustie Country August dedicated 2012 issue female golfers across the UK’ Golf World website News item re. CM visiting From April 71,000 £900 www.todaysgolfer.co.uk/Golf/News/sear CC 20 registered approx users chresults/April-12/Open-champ-opens- new-Carnoustie-golf-centre