Room With A View: Crowne Plaza To Have Lobby At PGA Tour Event

Crowne Plaza Sets Up Lobby Near Colonial Entrance For This Week's PGA Tour Stop

Crowne Plaza has set up a faux hotel lobby near the main entrance gate of this week’s PGA Tour Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. Inside the one-story structure, fans can take free green screen photos with Crowne Plaza and Callaway endorser Phil Mickelson. Other Callaway tour staff will be on hand from Thursday-Sunday to sign autographs. At the course, TVs will loop Mickelson’s Crowne Plaza ads as well as tournament coverage. Meanwhile, there also is a contest to guess the number of Callaway golf balls in a large container, and the company will award a full set of Callaway equipment to the person closest to the actual total. The lobby was designed by Georgia-based Ogden Design. Octagon handles Crowne Plaza’s sports marketing (Jon Show, SportsBusiness Journal).

WEARING THE CROWNE: In Ft. Worth, Gil LeBreton wrote Crowne Plaza, through its "witty TV commercials" that feature Mickelson, has had a "noticeable" influence on the tournament, as five of the top 10-ranked players will be playing this week. Colonial Tournament Dir Peter Ripa: "The reality is that this event has been re-energized. The community is involved. People are recognizing the commitment level of Crowne Plaza." LeBreton wrote the hidden message of the Mickelson spots is "obvious, whether intended or not: Phil Mickelson has a sense of humor." Mickelson is the "un-Tiger [Woods]. Which, in the absence of Tiger himself, makes Mickelson abundantly marketable" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 5/18).