John Cockayne has been involved in event design and management since the early 1980’s.

His experience in this highly specialised sector is eclectic and broad-based and has seen him involved in developing and managing events and travel solutions, both for corporate and tourism clients.

The solutions have ranged from new vehicle launch events for Delta Motor Corporation and International Trade Fairs for the City of Johannesburg, to international tournaments and travel products, such as the Africa Inter-Cities Golf Challenge and The South African Airways Business Networker, which were designed and run for Sun International and South African Airways.

He has designed and managed events for many clients including Sun International, South African Airways, San Lameer, The Rhino and Elephant Foundation, Avis Lease, the Delta Motor Corporation, South African Broadcasting Corporation and the City of Tshwane.

The events shown below are new developments designed to provide his clients with a defined call to action in support of their regional and international marketing activities. Please note that the schedules shown include all of the possible venues, but that a final itinerary can be customised to suit your budget and preferred dates of travel.

Golf Events

No other major ball game offers the same level of personal and interactive networking opportunities that can be provided by a well-run, professionally managed golf event.

As a result of the effectiveness of golf as a medium through which to engage with guests and staff, the golf calendar is a ‘rolling maul’ of golf days, all of which compete for attention and in which it has become progressively more difficult to make your company event stand out as a ‘must attend’ occasion.

We have been running events for over 30 years, and understand the need to make your company golf event memorable. To achieve this we create innovative formats and themes, which will help ensure that your company golf event stands out from “the crowd”, and becomes an eagerly anticipated annual occasion, in the diaries of your company’s guests, clients and staff.

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WHAT DO PEOPLE HAVE TO SAY?

Customer Testimonials

" I first met John Cockayne in 1997 when, as the GM of the Sunday Times, John approached me with a competition concept for the Nedbank Golf Challenge. John subsequently set up and ran a Nedbank Challenge promotion with us at the Sunday Times through his client Ballantines Whisky. During the last year of the promotion in 1999 the competition received over 22 000 written entries. A quite extraordinary number for an in print competition. Subsequently, as the GM of RCP Media, I had no hesitation in recommending John to structure a joint golf event in conjunction with one of the group’s major clients – Adcorp Holdings. During my tenure at RCP the group’s revenues grew year on year by 278% and central to this sustained growth were client initiatives such as the Adcorp RCP Pro Am golf tournament. It is a testament to John’s organisational capabilities and ‘vision’ that he was able to persuade us to go the PGA Pro-Am rather than golf day route and this advice has been vindicated by the fact that the event is now in its seventh year and has become a much anticipated fixture of the Adcorp and RCP event diaries. In short John has always been highly professional in delivery and follow up and is a credit both to event management and his profession. "
Sarel du Plessis
CEO - ADS 24
" John was the Pro at Southbroom Golf Club in the 80’s when we used to go on holiday and a highlight of these visits were his junior clinics and the efforts he used to make with all of the members’ kids. I believe that John was one of the main reasons why I decided to become a professional golfer and I have had the opportunity to play at a large number of his events and work with him at numerous golf Academies run for the SABC and other companies since the middle 1990’s. His teaching programme is effective and easy to understand and he always insists to his clients on using PGA members for his clinics and his first choice of players for any of his events is always PGA members. In the development of Eagle Canyon I worked with John as he structured some terrific corporate memberships and branding packages for the Club. His understanding of how companies work and his approach to the whole structure of events and branding is very professional, completely different and very effective. Most of the original memberships he signed up at the Club are still in place. I think that in the way he conducts his events and marketing business and in his support of his fellow Pro’s John is a role model for any PGA member. "
David Christie
Director of Golf - Eagle Canyon
" I first came into contact with John in 2010 in the context of his application to Braemar Golf for the position of Director of Golf at the PGA National development just outside Moscow. Following the interview process culminating in a meeting with the client representative in London, John was the first choice for the position, but family problems ruled him out of taking the role and he was both good enough and professional enough to communicate this personal ‘issue’ with us just after the meeting in London in order to avoid the difficulties which may have arisen for Braemar had he been on site for some months and then been forced to resign. We then entered into discussions for John to become the Marketing and Communications Director for Braemar, which role was scheduled to commence during 2012. It was as Braemar’s Marketing and Communications Director that John was sent to on ‘secondment’ to Muscat in 2011, where due to the prevailing employment regulations in Oman John was employed directly by Muscat Hills GC. At a difficult stage in the Club’s development, John achieved all of the strategic tasks which he was assigned and also added great value in other areas such as the negotiations with and structure of PDO Club’s membership at Muscat Hills. At the end of his contract period in Oman in January 2012, the discussions about the marketing and communications role with Braemar were continued. Eventually it was felt by both parties that with John now preferring to be in a green grass position as opposed to a head office type role and the market-place in general terms it would be best for both Braemar and John to remain independent, although it was agreed that we should remain in contact. John’s very broad based experience and skills, which made him ideal for a ‘pioneer type’ role i.e. the requirement in Russia, would allow him to fit into and contribute effectively within virtually any management structure. Although he has extensive experience in custodial management roles, his innovative and creative approach to problems are particularly suited for a facility which is new to market, or looking to reinvent itself in terms of its events, marketing, branding and revenue strategies. "
Michael Braidwood
Operations Director - Braemar Golf Management
" As the marketing Director for Douglas Green Bellingham I had the opportunity to work with John on a number of key brand marketing initiatives. As a Group we were astonished at John’s in-depth knowledge of the all encompassing attributes of the Game of Golf and his ability to link these into our core Brands to achieve their strategic marketing objectives. John also had the skills to positively influence your key stake holders – The Trade and Our Consumers. John worked closely with the Marketing Team on an ongoing basis with the two major initiatives being: The Ballantine’s Whisky Sponsorship of the Nedbank Challenge at Sun City. The US Masters Competitions. These best illustrate the value and professionalism that John brought to the marketing mix at DGB. John was a pleasure to work with, as well as being a highly professional contractor, creative in all aspects of the projects plus his strategic inputs resulted in very high exposure for the Ballantine’s brand in all of the projects in which he was involved. He was prepared to deliver against tight and measurable objectives and have his remuneration set against these achievement parameters. His extensive knowledge and contacts within both the media in South Africa and the world of golf created the return on the marketing investment beyond our initial expectations. Due to the success of the projects and value that he generated it ensured that these initiatives had longevity of investment, which in the case of the Nedbank Challenge was for over 5 years. His in depth knowledge of the game would be typified by the recommendation to us and Avis to sponsor Scott Dunlap. During the year concerned Scott won the Telkom Masters on the Sunshine Tour at Sun City and then followed this up with a top ten finish at the British Open Championship. I would not hesitate in recommending John’s marketing and promotional skills to any company; this linked to his personal contributions and efforts in playing with, teaching and hosting our guests at Sun City and various clinics around the country. John is a credit to professional golf. "
Steve Jourdan
Oprations Director - Douglas Green Bellingham
Contact Us

For any enquiries please contact John Cockayne:

Email: cathco@mweb.co.za

Telephone: +27 (0) 73 896 7931

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