PROBLEM:
Stonebriar asked MarketGarden to bid on a 24-page picturebook, based on suggestions from a design firm that the club needed an upscale brochure. After an exploratory interview incorporating MarketCasting methodologies, MarketGarden uncovered the real need. Stonebriar’s new 18-hole golf course created overhead for the club, requiring that 120 new members be recruited in 18 months. Stonebriar needed new members, not an expensive brochure.

SOLUTION:
MarketGarden surveyed the competition, revealing that the top three closest competitors distributed picturebooks as part of their recruitment efforts. To differentiate Stonebriar from the old-line clubs, MarketGarden recommended an interactive CD, along with an invitation to golf the new course for free. After prospects played the course, they received a tastefully produced club summary. Serious prospects received the CD to take home and share with their spouses.

RESULTS:
Partnering with local realtors, Stonebriar distributed invitations to new residents buying upscale homes in the area. Visits to the club spiked, and within two months of launching the program, 80 letters of intent to join were secured. The club reached its 120-member goal well ahead of schedule, spending the exact same amount of money it would have cost to create a 24-page brochure.