Two of the keys to success in any short term marketing exercise are timing and relevance.
Hats off then to Ryanair who have halved the cost of taking golf clubs on flights booked between today and October 13th in celebration of Europe’s Ryder Cup win.
Maybe it’s a maturing market but this is another well timed dismantling of what would always previously been a point of principle for the low fare, everything else is extra approach that has worked so brilliantly.
Indeed the cost of transporting clubs led to the formation of Clubs to Hire, the Irish business whose founder Tony Judge is currently a finalist in the EY Young Entrepreneur of the Year.
It’s unlikely to make much of a dent in the profits of the airline and may just prompt additional sales to a group that might have previously felt that Ryanair was not for them.
It also secures the required column inches and online words that keeps Ryanair front and centre stage. And of course there was no question of their becoming a sponsor of the tournament.
Never say never though. The Irish Open has Emirates as its official airline partner but if Ryanair was to offer to take on the headline sponsorship it may be well received.
If it then offered half price golf club carriage to anyone attending the tournament who then booked a flight where the value of the ticket was more than €50, it could quickly recoup the direct cost of the sponsorship in part through incremental traffic from an audience likely to be among the heaviest travellers.
With Rory McIlroy entering a relationship with the Open through his Rory Foundation it would also provide Michael O’Leary with a chance to don a curly wig and swing into action as a vibrant new force in Irish golf.
Just a thought…
