Delaire Country Club in Delray Beach, FL was facing challenges common to many South Florida residential country clubs these days: An aging membership, dated facilities and increased competition for real estate buyers due to a saturated country club market competing for a shrinking slice of the pie. To Delaire’s credit, club leadership recognized the need to take action.
GBR Associates was hired in 2007 to rebrand the club, recruit a limited number of outside members and introduce the “New” Delaire to a younger audience (40s–60s). From logo development to branding package to membership brochure package GBR gave Delaire an entire makeover, repositioning the club as high-end and vibrant. Since media usage habits of their target audience have shifted to the web, the next stage was to develop a comprehensive web presence with a user-friendly CMS so the club could update content independently. The website allowed potential buyers to browse real estate listings in Delaire, promoted the lifestyle and allowed golfers to take a hole-by-hole tour of the course. In addition, a password-protected members only section housed club rosters, club meeting minutes, private photos, etc… GBR then created an active Facebook presence where potential new members could connect with the club and current members could engage and stay connected with the latest club happenings when out-of-town. Addressing the importance of engaging with the Realtor community to keep them aware of all that was new at Delaire along with the real estate opportunities available for their clients, GBR created and implemented an email marketing program linked to content on the website.
The results of the program have been phenomenal. Delaire filled their non-resident membership and started a waiting list. The perception of Delaire has been elevated to new heights. Delaire increased its visibility in the South Florida country club market and was looked at as a model of how to transform a club. Demand for real estate in Delaire has increased and a market for new construction has been created. Good marketing works again.
