St Andrews, Scotland: Doosan Chairman Park Yong-maan has confirmed the South Korean conglomerate has signed a five-year extension with The R&A to continue its sponsorship for The Open Championship.
By signing the deal, Doosan will continue to serve as an official patron of The Open until 2019.
Doosan decided to renew the partnership agreement based on an analysis of the market, which indicated significant benefits from the original sponsorship.
Repucom, an independent brand analysis and research agency, assessed the monetary value of the exposure achieved by Doosan’s on-site signage via worldwide television coverage at around US$13 million every year.
In an effort to actively promote the Doosan brand and businesses during the agreement period, Doosan will feature an array of promotional events, including exhibitions and a Doosan-branded bus operated outside the venue. The Doosan exhibits are estimated to have attracted about 23,000 visitors since 2012.
At St Andrews, the Doosan exhibition booth features a large LED billboard delivering Doosan’s brand stories and promoting its business. Inside the exhibit, special areas featured such experiences as an excavator simulator, virtual reality power plant simulator, a golf simulator and a photo zone.
This year, in a special exhibition called the ‘Power & Water Station’, Doosan is promoting its desalination and power plant businesses, with free bottled water and free cellphone charging stations that use Doosan’s fuel cells.
Meanwhile, Doosan invited four ‘KJ dream golfers’ – junior golfers enrolled in the KJ Choi Foundation programme – to The Open. The young golfers were provided with free flights and accommodation as they enjoyed The Open from up close.