To generate additional revenue, Ben Geren Golf Course sold tee marker ads to local businesses on a one- or two-year contract basis.
Golf courses looking for a revenue stream that doesn’t depend on the weather or meeting the game’s challenges of time, expense and difficulty may need look no further than their first tee. At Ben Geren Golf Course in Fort Smith, Ark., which is run by the Sebastian County Parks District, Golf Marketing and Pro Shop Manager Paul Wanstreet took a look at the large granite tee markers on each of the course’s 27 holes and saw exactly that kind of financial opportunity.
Wanstreet did some research and discovered that while some of the tee markers had advertising messages from local businesses on them, no new contracts had been signed for many years, and some of the advertisers had since gone out of business. He began calling potential advertisers, offering either a one-year commitment for $250 or a two-year deal for $400. After a very short time, he had sold ads on 22 of the 27 tee markers, divided roughly equally between the one- and two-year commitments.
THE GOAL: Generate additional revenue for Ben Geren GC by selling advertising space on the course’s tee markers on each of the 27 holes.
THE PLAN: Sell tee-marker ads to local businesses on a one- or two-year contract basis, create and hang the actual signage, and then thank advertisers for their support via a newspaper ad and customized e-mails, including photos of the mounted advertisements. THE PAYOFF: Within a very short time, ads for 22 of the 27 tee markers were sold, generating over $7,000 in revenue for the course’s bottom line. |
“The tee markers [see photos at right] are five feet tall, made of granite, and give information about the hole such as the layout, length, par and where there might be sand traps, water or other hazards, with a space below that for an 11 x 17-inch sign,” Wanstreet said. “The signs are heavy-duty, and we use liquid nails to attach them.
“With the approximately 30 percent increase we’ve had in play recently due to favorable weather and the fact that our new superintendent, Jay Randolph, has the course in great shape, we think it’s a great opportunity for local businesses to do some advertising and help support the course as well,” he adds.
One other selling point for the signage is that the golf course is part of a huge park acreage, which attracts large numbers of non-golfers who come to enjoy the many recreational opportunities the park contains, including frisbee, a water park, soccer fields, tennis courts, go-cart tracks and bike trails.
That added to the appeal of the opportunity for Nickel Potter, Director of Operations for one of the Ben Geren tee-marker advertisers, the Phat Tire Bike Shop chain. Potter sees the ad platform as offering a reasonable cost to reach potential customers.
“We decided to advertise at Ben Geren because our bike shops are targeting the same customer base as people who enjoy golf,” Potter says. “Both of our industries are targeting leisure time—and in many cases, people who enjoy golf also enjoy cycling, and likely have the discretionary income to afford those types of activities.
“Also, the advertising rates at the course made the decision much easier,” Potter adds. “We like to see good ROI on our advertising, and the lower the initial cost, the more likely we’ll see good returns.”
Wanstreet has made sure that his new advertisers know how much the Parks District and the course appreciate their support. “We’ve made a big deal out of it,” he says. “We had 5 x 7 pictures made of the signs and put an ad in the local paper to thank advertisers. We also sent an e-mail and a photo of their signs to advertisers thanking them for their support.”
While the two-year contracts provide more immediate revenue, Wanstreet is happy to sell one-year deals as well. “That gives you a chance to have some extra coming in for next year,” he notes. “I don’t start the clock until the signs are hung, so money is coming in at all different times.”
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