Hilton Checks In With European Tour

Hilton has stepped up its partnership with the European Tour, moving from a supplier to an official partner of the organisation for the next three years.

As part of the new agreement, the hotel company will sponsor the BMW PGA, BMW International, Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open and Italian Open in 2018.

The new deal will also see the partnership work on a number of initiatives including a revamp of the European Tour ‘Hilton Golfer of the Month’ activation to allow fans to vote for a winner, naming rights to the European Tour annual  ‘Golfer of the Year’ Award and activation at each tournament on a hole in one competition. Should a hole in one be scored at the BMW PGA, both the player and lucky fans will win flights and accommodation to the Seychelles.

The European Tour and Hilton will also collaborate on a new ‘Life on Tour’ podcast, set to be launched later this year.

Hilton’s golf ambassadors currently include Chris Wood, Jamie Donaldson and Matteo Manassero (pictured above), as well as Bernd Ritthammer.

The European Tour’s content and digital platforms – named Social Media Campaign of the Year at last month’s BT Sport Industry Awards – will also be utilised to help drive brand awareness for Hilton, grow its audience engagement and ultimately drive revenues.

Aligi Gardenghi, vice president marketing Europe, Middle East & Africa at Hilton said: “We’re delighted to upgrade our relationship with the European Tour by becoming an official partner. The European Tour provides us with an outstanding platform to showcase our portfolio of hotels, deliver exceptional experiences to our guests and connect with passionate golf fans across the world we’re looking forward to be collaborating on a number of exciting initiatives this year and beyond.”

Keith Pelley, CEO of the European Tour, added: “Hilton has been a significant supporter and supplier to the European Tour of a number of years now and we are thrilled to commence a new relationship with them as an Official Partner. It is incredibly exciting to work even more closely with a brand of the scale and prestige of Hilton and we look forward to some exciting collaborations over the next three years.”

The European Tour bolstered its leadership team last week with the appointment of IMG’s senior vice president and chairman of golf, Guy Kinnings, as deputy CEO.