Elevating a local club into a must-play golfing destination

Elevating Clearwater Golf Club's brand and marketing, combined with strategic campaigns and package offerings, delivered significant commercial returns.

The highly regarded Christchurch course, Clearwater Golf Club sought to elevate its status from a quality local club to a premium, must-play golfing destination on the international stage. They partnered with Plato to take on a two-fold challenge – differentiate from competitors and attract new markets.

Visitors partaking in New Zealand’s golf tourism market (particularly international tourists) often head straight to established luxury destinations like Queenstown. So we first needed to establish a brand identity strong enough to position Christchurch and Clearwater as a desirable alternative or complementary stop. This tactic not only aimed to boost both domestic and international golf tourism, but it was also simultaneously designed to refine and grow the club’s membership base.

Teeing up a premium brand evolution

Our approach leveraged Clearwater’s most distinctive assets: its championship course and stunning natural water features. We repositioned the club as a ‘luxury golf oasis framed by water’, a move designed to distinguish Clearwater as an experience distinct from the alpine links courses further south.

Activating the brand for club growth

This brand refresh gave us the foundation to move beyond just ‘looking good’ and start driving real commercial results - specifically focusing on driving green fees revenue and building a sustainable membership pipeline through highly focused local campaigns aimed at corporate clients, high-net-worth individuals, and local golfing communities.

We used the new Sir Bob Charles Driving Range as a hook for local golfers. As an accessible, high-quality entry point, we were able to introduce them to the Clearwater experience while capturing visitor data and creating a natural path toward full membership.

To fill the course during quieter periods, we developed premium packages that bundled the elite golfing experience with the club's high-end dining and function facilities. Not only did this increase the average spend per visitor, it showcased the full lifestyle of the club, which is the biggest driver for long-term membership interest.