Every Great Brand Starts with One Thing: Knowing Who You Serve.
You never forget your first game with “Killer” Kay.
She’s 80. Single. Plays pickleball three times a day. And she’ll smash you at the net.
I met her during open play at a local rec center. I thought I was in for a casual rally. What I got was a competitor with fast hands, fire, and a sharp wit to match. We talked between games, and somewhere between her third shot drive and backhand slice, she dropped this line:
“I’m heading out to dinner tonight with the single ladies.”
It hit me.
That isn’t just dinner. That’s a program waiting to happen.
Single Senior Ladies Night: Built around connection and built around people like Kay.
If you’re running a pickleball facility and not thinking this way, you’re missing it.
Most Brands Still Don’t Get It
Too many facilities slap “community” on a flyer and think it’s done. But they don’t talk to the real players. They don’t know what keeps them coming back. Kay isn’t some outlier. She’s the heartbeat of daytime court culture. She’s the type of person who brings two friends next time, then more after that.
Rittenhouse Doesn’t Guess
We build brands that know their audience. We sit with the Kays of the world. We listen. We ask the weird questions because that’s where the gold is.
And that’s how we turn a casual dinner conversation into a revenue-generating, community-building, loyalty-driving program.
Think About Your Facility
Who’s your programming really for?
Are you building for people you assume are coming?
Or for the ones already on the court every week?
Kay Doesn’t Care About Your Funnel
She cares about clean courts, friendly faces, and a doubles game that wraps up in time for happy hour. She’s not reading your emails. She’s reading the room. And if she feels seen, she’ll bring her crew back again and again.
Here’s the Real Lesson
You don’t need a bigger audience. You need a better connection than the one you already have.
At Rittenhouse Performance Marketing, we define the audience first, every time. Because that’s the difference between a generic brand and one people talk about.
And trust me, Kay’s already talking.
Want to build something real? Let’s chat.