Case study / Membership campaign strategy

Banstead Downs Golf Club.

A membership campaign built to move interest into conversation.

Banstead Downs golf course in evening light, with the London skyline visible beyond the trees.

01 / The commercial context

The quieter season left a membership gap to close.

Banstead Downs entered autumn and winter below its desired membership level, while the club also wanted to keep visitor golf moving through the quieter part of the year. It needed to introduce the course to more local golfers and turn that attention into useful enquiries.

The membership decision was the larger commercial opportunity. The campaign therefore had to show why the club mattered, give prospects a direct way to respond and make follow-up part of the journey from the start.

02 / The campaign response

Capture interest first. Create the conversation next.

Paid social introduced Banstead Downs through complementary membership messages rather than one catch-all advert. The creative tested the pull of the course's location, its welcoming character and the substance of full membership.

Each execution used Facebook's lead-generation format and a direct Apply now action. That kept the response close to the advert, ready for a considered email and phone follow-up rather than leaving an interested golfer to find the next step alone.

03 / The creative system

Three reasons to stop, read and enquire.

The ad set gave place, belonging and the membership product their own entry points. Original Banstead photography kept every message rooted in the course, while a consistent form action made the response recognisable.

The first hole at Banstead Downs in clear evening light, framed by mature trees. — The first hole / Original club photography

Banstead Downs Facebook membership advert leading with the club's Surrey and South London location and a view towards the clubhouse.

01 / Place

Make the location feel like an escape.

The first advert turns proximity into a benefit: a downland course on the Surrey and South London border, shown through a recognisable clubhouse view.

Banstead Downs Facebook membership advert asking golfers whether they want a high-quality and welcoming club to call home.

02 / Belonging

Put welcome beside course quality.

The second advert speaks to golfers looking for a club to call home. The course still leads visually, but belonging carries the message.

Banstead Downs Facebook advert introducing full membership and showing the tree-lined downland course.

03 / Membership

Make the product explicit.

The third advert names full membership at the outset and uses the course itself as proof, giving active prospects the clearest route to apply.

04 / Enquiry to conversation

Interest had somewhere useful to go.

The in-platform form shortened the distance between seeing the club and making an enquiry. It also gave the team a clear signal that a golfer wanted to know more.

The follow-up plan paired those responses with timely email and phone contact. Its role was practical: answer questions, reinforce the reasons to join and create a natural opening for the club team to continue the conversation.

05 / The historical result

£128k+ in new membership income.

£128k+: new membership income
<6: months to new membership income
4: months ahead of green-fee target

The membership and green-fee results came from the same focused campaign period.

Figures from the original Banstead Downs case study.

Campaigns / Membership

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