During the most recent event, one of the truly popular locations was the Coleman Heating & Air Conditioning mobile display trailer. The air conditioned 8- by 24-foot trailer, which showcased the company’s cooling and heating equipment, was a busy site. The Coleman trailer was located near the Coleman “cool zone” of picnic tables and a “rain zone” with misters — all designed to draw crowds leaving the 18th green and heading past the driving range.

The Coleman trailer was launched in April of this year as an enhancement to the Coleman list of sales tools. The trailer is used for generating sale leads and creating public awareness of Coleman. Besides displaying the newest equipment, the trailer included a computer to show potential customers the advantages of installing higher-efficiency equipment, as well as computer simulations of the internal operations of Coleman products. There was also a wattmeter to show the low energy demands of the products.

Charles Humphreys, president of ESD Inc., a local distributor in the mid-South along with some of his Coleman dealers in the Memphis area, got together to have the trailer on site at the St. Jude Classic.

“The St. Jude Classic is held in the hot summer days of late June and we thought it would be a perfect opportunity to use this new display,” said Humphreys.

While there were a lot of corporate tents on site, the Coleman trailer was one of the few truly air-conditioned locations aside from the clubhouse. According to the participants, the end result was a win-win situation for Coleman, its dealers, and the distributor.

The golf tournament drew some 125,000 spectators at the TPC at Southwind course, as well as local and national television coverage. The trailer turned up from time to time as a backdrop during local televised interviews.

Many leads were generated from those passing by and walking through the trailer to view the exhibit, according to Humphreys.

“The dealers who worked the display picked up many valuable leads that not only were in the Memphis area, but also covered the mid-South. We even had a new construction builder from the Little Rock, AR, area that requested a sales call.”

As a corporate sponsor of the event, Coleman and its local representatives demonstrated a commitment to the St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. Since 1970, when the tournament adopted St. Jude as its sole beneficiary, the research center has received more than $13 million as a direct result of its association with the PGA tour event.

Publication date: 07/29/2002