Fast Facts

What
   Ads displayed on GPS screens that are mounted on golf carts used on public and private courses.

Who
   For this article Media Life spoke with ProLink, headquartered in Tempe, Ariz., and ProShot Golf System, headquartered in Orange County, Calif.

How it works
   Ads are interspersed with course information on GPS screens mounted on the front of golf carts.
   Golfers also use the device to track their scores and plot course strategy.
   The screens are interactive. Golfers can communicate with the clubhouse, including placing restaurant orders.
   ProLink offers hole, tournament and menu sponsorship.
   Hole sponsorship provides approximately 15 minutes of exposure on all screens on a particular course.
   Ad opportunities also include menu sponsorship. As players reach the end of their round, they can order food and drink that then will be ready when they reach the clubhouse. The sponsor’s banner runs across the top of the screen with the menu underneath.
   ProLink hosts a daily tournament at individual courses, which players enter simply by playing. Tournament sponsorship includes exclusive coverage on scorecard screen and can include the right to offer products as part of the tournament prizes. Tournament ads don’t compete with hole sponsorship. Ad copy is up for 30 to 45 seconds.
   Additionally, the screens can be used to conduct polls and to allow golfers to give feedback on an advertiser’s brand.
   "The way our screen is segmented, the advertiser gets three portions of ad space per hole," says ProLink vice president of marketing and sales Steve McGrady. "A 2- by 3- inch mini-ad in the upper left-hand corner is depicted for the entire length of the hole, from 12 to 15 minutes, depending on par. When the player goes to the first hole there is a pro tip on how to play the hole on a split screen, with the left-hand side for ads. Then as they approach the tee box another ad pops in and times itself out after 30 seconds and the screen goes to the hole map. At 175 yards into the green, a feature ad pops up." 
   Hole advertisers get all three ads per hole and they can have different copy per ad.
   Golfers can press a button to respond to a call-to-action ad. 
   "For example, golfers put their names in for individual scoring, and when the advertiser asks if golfers want more information on a product, say a car dealership, they each can answer," McGrady says.
   There is also a space on the score printout for coupons, McGrady says.
   Screens are generally 10 inches and are mounted in the roof of each golf cart.
   The network is in color, though many ads run in black and white.
   Creative is supplied by advertisers and can be converted for screens in most cases.
   Creative can tie into a golf theme, McGrady says.
   ProShot offers static screen ads.
   "It’s triggered a distance from the putting green, usually 150 yards, and remains on the screen until the golfer approaches the subsequent tee box," says Devin Julien, director of customer services. Golfers also see ads on portions of screens while traveling up to green shots and away from the green to the next tee box. 
   Ads are seen in the left-hand corner in a 3-inch by 3-inch square and on the bottom across a 2-inch strip and stay on the length of the hole until they take over the entire screen at a trigger point.
   Advertisers buy individual holes through ProShot. "We want to run at least 18 ads at a course," Julien says. Advertisers can also share a hole.
   Ad copy is static, though video may be available at a later time.  
   Static ads can include graphics, logos and photographs.
   Ads are used for branding and call-to-action campaigns.
   Courses can be cherry-picked and most advertisers try to target demographically, McGrady says.
   Buys can be local, regional or national.

Markets
   Screen advertising is available at both private and public courses in most states.
   ProLink is in 310 golf courses in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and West Virginia.
    ProLink is adding 150 courses per year, McGrady says. "At 28,000 golfers per course, that’s over 4.2 million coming online to see our system." 
   ProShot Golf is in 65 courses in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, New Jersey, Iowa, Illinois, Rhode Island, Texas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Wisconsin and West Virginia.
   Courses in northern climates are generally open seasonally, from April through October. Numbers of year-round and seasonal courses are almost evenly split, 50-50, McGrady says.

Numbers
   ProLink is currently available on 22,320 screens.
   There are currently more than 26.5 million golfers in the U.S., with numbers growing at 2 to 3 percent annually, McGrady says.
   An average of 1.85 players make use of each cart, Julien says.

How measured?
   Course use is the basis for measurement.
   "This will eventually evolve, having an independent auditor to validate the system," McGrady says.

What product categories do well?
   Point-of-purchase items that are sold in the course pro shop and restaurant work well.
   Local businesses that do well include pro shops, new and used cars, real estate brokers, chiropractors, jewelers and grocers.
   National businesses that do well include alcohol, car manufacturers, financial institutions, pharmaceuticals, travel and fashion.
   Individual golf courses may have veto power over ad content.

Demographics
   The ProLink audience plays an average of 24 rounds per golfer each year, according to a company survey. Additionally, average household income is $100,0000-plus and average net worth is $650,000-plus. More than 80 percent own their primary residence. More than 75 percent work in professional or managerial jobs. Ninety-two percent are men, with a median age of 44 years.
   Golfers who play 25-plus rounds per year have the following characteristics, according to a National Golf Foundation (NGF) study:

• 85.6 percent are male, 14.4 percent are female.
• 12 percent are 18 to 29 years old, 19.4 percent are 30 to 39 years, 19.6 percent are 40 to 49, 16.8 percent are 50 to 59, 7.2 percent are 60 to 64 and 25 percent are 65 years and older.
• 10 percent make $20,000 or less per year, 8.3 percent make $20,000 to $29,999, 12.2 percent make $30,000 to $39,999, 11.8 percent make $40,000 to $49,999, 25.3 percent make $50,000 to $74,999, 16 percent make $75,000 to $99,999 and 16.5 percent make $100,000-plus.
• 1.6 percent are not high-school graduates, 23.4 percent are high school graduates, 27.9 percent have some college and 47.1 percent are college graduates.
• 41.1 percent are in professional or managerial jobs, 12.2 percent are in clerical or sales, 16.2 percent are blue-collar workers and 28.7 percent are retired or not employed.

   Golfers who play eight to 24 rounds per year have the following characteristics, according to an NGF study:

• 79.3 percent are male, 20.7 percent are female.
• 9 percent are 12 to 17 years old, 22.5 percent are 18 to 29, 25.3 percent are 30 to 39, 19.1 percent are 40 to 49, 11.2 percent are 50 to 59, 3.6 percent are 60 to 64 and 9.3 percent are 65 years and older.
• 11.1 percent make less than $20,000, 8.5 percent make $20,000 to $29,999, 12.2 percent make $30,000 to $39,999, 12.9 percent make $40,000 to $49,999, 26.1 percent make $50,000 to $74,999, 15.4 percent make $75,000 to $99,999 and 13.9 percent make $100,000 plus.
• 2.1 percent are not high school graduates, 22.2 are high school graduates, 29.1 percent have some college and 46.6 percent are college graduates.
• 47.6 percent work in professional or managerial jobs, 13.3 percent work in clerical or sales, 21.8 percent work in blue collar jobs and 13.9 are retired or not employed.

   Golfers, in relation to non-golfers, have the following financial profile, according to a 2000 MRI database:

• Twice as many own a laser disc player and nearly twice as many own a camcorder, home fax, cellular phone and home computer.
• Nearly twice as many have taken a foreign trip in the past three years, more than twice as many have taken a cruise in the past three years and three times as many have traveled domestically for business during the past year. Twice as many own a vacation or weekend home.
• Seven times as many own $75,000 plus in stocks and more than three times as many own $500,000 in life insurance.

Making the buy
   ProLink -- Lead-time is approximately two weeks with ad copy in hand.
   ProLink can provide design assistance.
   Ad inventory is sold on a monthly basis with most contracts running six months to a year.
   A typical buy is one to two holes, McGrady says.
   Advertisers can cherry-pick holes.
   Ad copy can be changed during the course of a campaign.
   Factors that affect pricing include the number of courses, number of holes and type and location of course and par averages, which determine viewing time. "They range from $275 per month per hole on a par three course up to $575 per hole per month for a par five. The range is $200 to $500 per month, per hole," McGrady says.

   ProShot -- Lead-time depends on the number of courses and content included in a buy, Julien says. "If they supply the ad and it doesn’t require graphics application, we can dial it into each course in a week’s time."
   Factors that affect pricing include number of courses and number of holes.
   Ads run six months to a year. Holes can be cherry picked.

What they’re saying
   "We will continue to make this ad space much more interactive. Today advertisers can provide a call to action. In the future it will be much more integrated. We’ll be able to profile individuals when they come to a golf course. Then when we know a player is on the course we can make a unique pitch because we know he uses Nike balls and likes cold turkey sandwiches. For instance, when we know John Smith prefers Callaway clubs we can ask him if he’d like a 30-day trial on a new product. The enticement is to capture who John Smith is." – Steve McGrady, vice president of marketing and sales for ProLink

Web site info
   ProLink at www.goprolink.com

   ProShot at www.proshotgolf.com

Etc.
   Product sampling is also making headway on golf courses and driving ranges, says Greg Jones of Pinpoint Golf Marketing in San Francisco.

January 6, 2003© 2003 Media Life

-Kathy Prentice writes about out-of-home advertising  for Media Life, penning her stories from the resort town of Traverse City, in the upper reaches of Michigan.

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