Participation is the key to your beverage brand sponsorship

Resorts and brands are partnering with increasing frequency over the last decade.

Fashion started the trend. Now, beverage labels are getting in on the action.

Rather than relying on just traditional advertising, many renowned brands are seeking to create activations that meet consumers where they are. Brand sponsorship is a relatively effortless way for resort owners to monetize the property.

But people don’t need more commercialization on their vacation. So how can a resort create a sponsored activation that puts the guest first?

“People don’t build relationships with brands because they’re exposed to them,” said Carley Faircloth Kilmurray, executive from experiential marketing agency Spiro. “They build relationships because they participated with them.”

The smartest resorts create something that involves guests, then include the partner brand in it. The branding then doesn’t appear promotional — it pushes the fun further.

In a word: Participation.

That’s what makes waterfront golf a fitting amenity to amplify your next resort-beverage brand partnership.

Why participation matters

Beverage vendors are eager to activate in front of resort customers. They want to grow brand awareness with your affluent clientele, and you should find a way to leverage their interest.

Your resort’s priority is delivering memorable guest experiences. The brand’s priority is attracting new customers. The key to a strong partnership is making all that fit together.

❌ Don’t ask: Where can we put that beverage brand’s name?

✅ Instead, ask: What can we get our guests to do with them?

Spiro's 2026 Experiential Marketing Impact Report suggests live participation done well correlates strongly with key success factors.

->93% reported stronger purchase intent following a memorable brand experience.

->90% reported increased trust after engaging with a brand in a live environment.

->61% reported stronger purchase intent after sharing their experience on social media.

Delivering fun not only contributes to a better resort experience, it substantially increases guests’ likelihood to become customers for your partner brand.

A smart option: waterfront golf

As a waterfront resort, you already have prime real estate — it’s just begging to be monetized. Few things pair better with waterside lounging than a cold drink. Hitting golf balls might be one of them.

Splash City Golf waterfront driving ranges transform any shoreline into the coolest hitting bay imaginable. The setup includes platforms with hitting mats facing the water (and usually a mobile target), rental clubs, and biodegradable golf balls.

On Labor Day weekend, the 5-star Baltimore Pendry hotel partnered with The Finnish Long Drink to set up a Splash City Golf waterfront range on the hotel’s pool deck. The venue was already exceptional: located on Recreation Pier with unmatched views of Baltimore Harbor. They just needed a way for guests to connect with their slice of waterfront paradise. With a GolfShotBot floating target on the water and Long Drink-branded swag on deck, guests took turns shooting Zero® Biodegradable Golf Balls into the aquatic fairway in front of them.

Corona Premier took advantage of waterfront golf to spread the word about its low-calorie lager. Over the summer of 2025, the brand launched four Splash City Golf activations at Washington DC’s Transit Pier aided by live music, free drinks, and branded prizes. Through this activation, Corona once again proved their brand fits seamlessly with sunshine and memorable moments.

Ask around — you’re sure to find many golfers among the guests at your luxury resort. Even if not, waterfront golf lowers the bar for who is considered a golfer. Like mini-putt or Topgolf, waterfront golf is so simple it opens the door to anyone who wants to try it just because it looks fun. Which it is.

Sure, you could just slap a logo on some beach umbrellas or give away free drinks at the pool one day. Or you could take the opportunity to give your guests something they’ll remember forever.

How fashion spearheaded the trend

The fashion industry provides nearly a decade of case studies. Designer brands popularized the resort-brand partnership model in the form of pool takeovers and beach activations.

Beginning in 2018, Dior’s Dioriviera takeover concept redecorates iconic destinations with its recognizable prints and opens temporary spas on location under its moniker. Dolce & Gabbana is one of the fashion brands to follow suit, taking over an upscale Hamptons resort beach, draping its decor in brand colors, and setting up a pop-up boutique. Today, these takeovers are everywhere.

The benefits for brands are clear: reach consumers who are in a leisure mindset, removed from everyday distractions. It’s a win for resorts too, as takeovers create reasons for guests to spend more time and money on the property.

In 2023, apparel brand Sporty & Rich collaborated with Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc on a line of swimwear and polos. The partnership was seamless in that the pieces felt like they had come right out of the hotel. And the results were impressive: the collection sold out quickly online and helped introduce the hotel to a younger luxury consumer.

Besides spending money, vacationers are primed to share on social media. When Louis Vuitton ran its summer capsule takeover at White 1921 in Saint-Tropez, the hotel's pool became one of the most photographed on the Riviera that summer.

Tailoring your activation for beverage brands

The blueprint is proven, but the execution doesn’t fit every product line. Fashion brands have had success with aesthetic collaborations where the brand frames the experience. Resorts partnering with beverage brands will have to offer something a little different.

A look at alcohol advertising makes it obvious how beverage brands want to align themselves. Miller Lite’s Legendary Stories Start With a Lite. Bud Light’s Up for Whatever. Dewar’s Here’s to the story. It’s all about having a good time.

Striking a partnership is one thing. The next step is to add participation in a way that intersects with both brands.

Aperol sponsors a DJ booth in Aspen. Molson Coors hosts village-wide concerts in Whistler. Brands like Corona and The Long Drink have tapped Splash City Golf to help them build breakthrough activations at waterfront venues.

Involving a third partner whose purpose overlaps with both the resort and the beverage brand ties everything together.

Closing thoughts

Punctuating your partnership with waterfront golf isn’t just fun for fun’s sake. There’s evidence that delivering thrills around a brand can have a major impact on buying decisions. The Spiro study cited earlier reports triple the purchase likelihood among people that participated with a brand. That has positive implications for resorts and beverage brands.

“Because attention gets someone to look, but connection gives them a reason to stay,” says Spiro’s Kilmurray.

And what creates connection? Participation.