David Cunneen (left) wins the grand prize of a Royal Caribbean Cruise, with Annalize Troost and Michael Gazal
Personal travel manager Annalize Troost, representative for West Pennant Hills and CLIA Cruise Master, recently combined her love of golf and travel by sponsoring a hole at the 2016 GoldKey Financial ALPG Pennant Hills PRO-AM, an event that attracted over 300 local and international professional players, as well as amateur golfers and caddies and two hundred or so spectators.
Troost joined TravelManagers in October 2015 and it was her wish to promote awareness that she was now a personal travel manager that inspired her decision to undertake a golf day sponsorship.
“As an active member of the Pennant Hills Golf Club for over ten years, it seemed a logical place to start building my client database. It’s a very community driven club and members try to support each other. I saw this as an opportunity to explain the benefits and expertise I can provide clients as a personal travel manager and the event provided an occasion to reconnect with the golfing community and also to meet members of the wider public,” she said.
L-R: Annalize Troost, Michael Gazal, Julie Anderson, Mark Rheinbay and Suzanne Laister
Troost enlisted the support of Royal Caribbean International (RCI), who co-promoted a stand with TravelManagers on the fourth hole. RCI ‘s inside sales coordinator Nicole Stojic, and key account manager Mark Rheinbay were at the two-day golf event.
“I offered a variety of worldwide special travel promotions and Royal Caribbean handed out product brochures. Nicole and Mark were extremely supportive of my sponsorship initiative and golfers were extremely interested to learn more about cruising. I certainly valued their commitment and wouldn’t have attempted this event without them.”
Troost received support from her state-based business partnership manager Julie Anderson and national partnership manager Suzanne Laister.
Part of the sponsorship agreement allowed for four teams to enter into the PRO-AM tournament. Three teams each consisted of three of Troost’s clients and an accompanying golf pro with the fourth team comprised of TravelManagers’ executive general manager Michael Gazal, president of the Pennant Hills Golf Club Alan Watson, Ron Hutt, another of Troost’s clients and the golf pro Mirim Nagl from Germany.
Troost said her presence at the golfing tournament was a valuable experience in marketing.
“I have added 260 new subscribers to my eNewsletter and obtained numerous new business contacts. I have created a special golf database with communication being sent to everybody who completed a competition entry form. I have already secured a group booking for 2017 and received several enquiries from potential new clients. All of this from my first sponsorship event, I couldn’t be happier.”
Gazal commended Troost’s ability to find a way to connect with people at a grass roots level.
“We applaud Annalize thinking outside the square and taking the opportunity to immerse herself within her local community. It’s this level of innovation and forward thinking that makes TravelManagers’ personal travel managers stand out from the rest and the results speak for themselves.”
Troost also received marketing exposure by providing two travel prizes on the day.
“The major prize was a cruise for two in a Balcony Cabin on the Royal Caribbean ‘Explorer of the Seas’. Second prize was a $200 discount cruise voucher. The format was a competition draw – not based on golf score or ability, so everybody had a fair and equal chance of winning.”
Through members associations, Troost also provided sponsorship to the ten-year anniversary MonSTaR Gala Event held on 18 March following the annual MonSTaR Cup charity golf event held at Pennant Hills.
“The winner of the second prize being a $200 discount cruise voucher was won by Mark Golding who runs the charity golf day to raise funds and awareness for supporting sufferers of Motor Neurone Disease. This is the value of networking, opportunities will come,” said Troost.
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