Brands tee-off golf campaigns for the Open Championship

MasterCard, Mercedes-Benz, TaylorMade and Omega are among several brands launching tactical pushes to exploit the excitement around the start of this year’s British Open Championship golf tournament.

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Brands are looking to capitalise on the buzz around this year’s Open Championship.

The 142nd British Open gets under way today (18 July) and sees 156 players including Tiger Woods and Rory Mcllroy compete.

MasterCard is offering cardholders a series of golf experiences under its Priceless scheme to promote its sponsorship of the tournament. It is promoting the offers through an online hub and a social media push for fans to tweet five-time Open championship winner Tom Watson questions. The financial firm, which replaced the Royal Bank Scotland as a headline sponsor in 2011, is also working with fellow sponsor  Nikon to give fans the chance to play the  Championship course through a competition.

Elsewhere, Mercedes-Benz is driving its ties to the event through its global “The Origin of Passionate Golf” campaign. The car marque is running adverts featuring its new E-Class and brand ambassador, Australian golfer Adam Scott. South African golfer Louis Oosthuizen, who was signed by Mercedes-Benz in April, will front some tactical activity with the car brand looking to capitalise on the player’s home nation during the competition to grow its appeal in emerging markets. It will also serve as the official shuttle service for the event.

Golf equipment maker TaylorMade is rolling out print, Twitter and Facebook activity to promote its status as the number one driver for the event for the thirteenth consecutive year.

Luxury watch brand Omega is looking to ambush rival Rolex’s sponsorship of the event with a print campaign featuring world number two golfer Mcllroy. The campaign uses the strapline “Rory Mcllroy’s Choice”. It is one of the first major campaigns to feature the star since he signed a multi-million contract with the brand in April.

Nikon, Ralph Lauren and HSBC are also running campaigns to promote their deals with the British Open.

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