CASE STUDY:

Teeing up Coverage for a Major Grand Opening

Client: Drive Shack Inc.

Industry: Consumer

Services:

  • Grand Opening

  • Media Relations

  • Influencer Relations

Recognition:

  • PRGN Best Practice Award, Thought Leadership & Expert Positioning

  • PRSA Dallas Pegasus Award of Honor, Marketing Communications

In 2021, Drive Shack Inc. (DSI), a leading owner and operator of golf-related leisure and entertainment businesses, was ready to introduce Puttery, the brand’s newest competitive socializing concept backed by investor Rory McIlroy.

Three Box was tasked with helping the brand make a splash for its grand opening, generating buzz that would support plans for nationwide growth.

The successful market launch for Puttery’s debut venue in Dallas did just that – driving initial traffic, revenue, media coverage, investor interest and general momentum to solidify the brand for future venue openings and announcements.

Read on to learn more about our strategies, tactics and results.

While announcing Puttery was the primary goal, Three Box knew there was opportunity to go beyond venue coverage, positioning Drive Shack as an industry leader.

Three Box and DSI began preparations for the launch of Puttery Dallas by conducting a thorough analysis of the DFW market, national “eatertainment” concepts and the evolution of grand openings since the COVID-19 pandemic. Research activities included pulling all media mentions of competitors from the previous year, paying close attention to coverage tonality, keywords and volume of coverage surrounding new venue openings. We also used U.S. census data to compile key market intel for Dallas, including population size, median age, education level, average income and largest local employers.

As DSI is a publicly traded company, Three Box also conducted a thorough review of prior quarterly earnings calls transcript to gain a deeper understanding of investor expectations and how Puttery would impact the larger DSI brand. Finally, Three Box used these key findings to map out Puttery’s brand positioning and key messages within DSI’s larger corporate narrative, working in lockstep with DSI executive leadership.

Announcing Puttery to the third-largest media market came with several moving parts and multiple strategic pivots along the way. Three Box leveraged the following tactics to ensure the launch would resonate with local and national audiences.

  • Brand book: Produced an internal brand book for Puttery that highlights brand history, messaging and visuals.

  • Marketing collateral: Developed eye-catching marketing assets to generate brand interest and ensure cohesive positioning.

  • Pre-launch media outreach: Generated early market buzz by sharing regular updates on Puttery’s status and select visual assets with local and national media.

  • Executive interviews: Deepened DSI brand awareness by facilitating interviews with DSI CEO Hana Khouri and Tier 1 media outlets such as Forbes.  

  • Media showcase: Invited local broadcast media to experience the venue firsthand through a curated onsite event that allowed them to capture photos, video and soundbites.

  • Food and beverage features: Highlighted Puttery’s unique food and craft cocktail program by pitching demos and ops team interviews to regional food and beverage media, influencers and morning shows.

  • Grand opening press release: Announced Puttery’s official grand opening to media and investors via wire distribution and targeted pitching.

  • Influencer visits: Accentuated Puttery’s unique, energetic vibe at its height by offering comped gameplay to local entertainment media and influencers, encouraging them to share the experience across social media.

Puttery Dallas’ grand opening attendance and revenue far surpassed DSI’s initial goals and successfully positioned the brand and its leadership team as industry trailblazers. Specific results included:

  • 299 media mentions, totaling 4.8 billion impressions

  • National articles by Thrillist, Yahoo! Finance and SGB Media

  • Local articles by WFAA-TV, The Dallas Morning News, CultureMap Dallas, Dallas Innovates, Fort Worth Business Press, Paper City Dallas and more

  • More than 500k impressions and 100k likes/comments from top-tier influencer visits and user-generated content

  • Sales and foot traffic during grand opening weekend surpassed DSI’s projections for Puttery’s entire first month of operations

    • $100k in grand opening weekend revenue (surpassing objectives by 33%)

    • $800k in first-month revenue (surpassing objectives by 60%)

    • $2.8 million in total revenue generated by the end of 2021

  • Post-grand opening interviews for DSI CEO Hana Khouri in Forbes, Sports Business Journal, National Golf Foundation, The Dallas Morning News, D CEO and Dallas Business Journal

  • In the year following the launch of Puttery, DSI CEO Hana Khouri was named one of Dallas Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 and D CEO’s Dallas 500, in addition to receiving a six-page profile spread in the June 2022 women’s issue of D CEO

  • Successful implementation of the venue opening playbook in Charlotte, N.C., Washington, D.C. and Houston throughout 2021 and 2022

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