AusLeisure

The communication and marketing activities that promoted Eden Park’s innovative ASB G9 event have been recognised by Australasian Leisure Management with the announcement that the Auckland venue has won in the Business category in the 2018 Leisure Industry Communication and Marketing Awards.

New Zealand’s largest venue retained the Business Award, which it also secured at the 2017 Leisure Industry Communication and Marketing Awards, for the way in which it constantly considers new concepts to increase Eden Park’s utilisation.

In the creation of the ASB G9 event, the management and marketing teams at Eden Park took account of the changing sport and entertainment landscape, and, to showcase the diversity of the venue, created a golf event – combining New Zealand’s highest club participation sport with its national stadium.

From concept creation to implementation, Eden Park staff developed, implemented and hosted the inaugural ASB G9, a unique golf event, in a three-month window.

Eden Park’s Turf team, in collaboration with its Operations team, designed the course to deliver a unique experience while ensuring the safety of participants and officials, alongside its Commercial team who developed the collateral.

For eight days Eden Park’s famous turf was converted into a nine-hole golf course. Teams of four made their way around the carefully designed course and aimed for a hole-in-one from each tee.

The inaugural ASB G9 gave 2,880 lucky players the opportunity to tee off from nine different locations around Eden Park, with a bonus Longest Putt competition in the home team changing room used by the All Blacks and BLACKCAPS.

Originally due to be held for only five days, an unprecedented demand for tickets meant three extra days were added.

Eden Park Trust Chief Executive, Nick Sautner commented “one of the challenges for stadia around the globe is underutilisation of stadium assets and Eden Park is no different.

“A key driver behind the event was the fact that November is an underutilised period, in between the rugby and cricket seasons.

“It also presented an opportunity for Eden Park to utilise the stadium in a new form, proving a unique stadium experience for patrons. It was delivered on budget and created new revenue for the Park whilst giving fans the chance to experience the Park in a new way.”

The presentation of the Award took account Eden Park’s innovation in developing the ASB G9 concept and its promotion.

Announcing the Award, Nigel Benton, Publisher of Australasian Leisure Management, explained “the award also takes into account how Eden Park continues to innovate in the changing sports and entertainment landscape, introducing an all new sporting concept that has the potential to develop in parallel to other short form sports like T20, Rugby Sevens, and Fast4 Tennis.”

Commenting on the venue’s achievements, Sautner added “we are delighted to again be acknowledged for our commitment to continual improvement and industry excellence. Eden Park is focussed on a strategic approach for the next 10 years given the challenging economic outlook and the introduction of our annual ASB G9 golf experience is one example of how our team is now collaborating to create innovative events.”

“Auckland’s unprecedented growth in recent years demonstrates the city’s global appeal and diverse multicultural communities. Auckland is the largest Polynesian city in the world and along with its European, Asian and other diverse ethnic communities, there is now interest in all sporting codes, as well as recreational, musical, and cultural events.”

The Leisure Industry Communication and Marketing Awards acknowledge how the leisure industry - covering aquatics, attractions, entertainment, events, fitness, parks, recreation, sport, tourism and venues - communicates how it entertains, enriches and improves quality of life as well as how it engages with consumers to generate business success and deals with scrutiny.

Benton concluded “these awards recognise excellence among individuals, organisations, businesses and government.

“When done well, marketing and communications build a brands reputation and add to the bottom line of any business. At the same time, communications and marketing are also about dealing with crisis and standing up to scrutiny, something that several of our winners have had to face in the past year.”

Images: ASB G9 at Eden Park. Courtesy of Eden Park.

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