Mike Bourne pictured a way to capture information from a course’s target demographic while giving that group of golfers an experience they’re likely to remember. Now he’s putting the idea into play on golf courses to see how it develops.
Bourne created Grip-Pix, a service where golfers can have their photos taken and then view those photos online. But he sees the service as more of a plus for the golf course operators than the golfers.
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“What stops golf course operators and makes them read is the notion that there’s a service that allows them to successfully harvest all the e-mails of golfers that step onto the course,” he says.
The premise is that the course starter or other employee takes a photo of a foursome. The employee retrieves each golfer’s e-mail address so he or she can send the golfers the digital photo as soon as the same day. This opens the door for marketing opportunities.
The e-mail addresses can be integrated into the course’s existing marketing platform, which might include e-newsletters. This increases the probability of the recipient taking the time to read the message in the e-mail, Bourne says.
“You can tell when an e-mail is from a third party, and the instinct is to delete it,” he says. “But if the message in the e-mail is your photo, you’re more inclined to take a look and at least read the offer. It differentiates your course from generic spam or e-mail. It always brings the recipient back to the emotional experience where they were playing with their friends or whatever the situation was.”
Bourne, of Toronto, was in broadcast media sales and marketing ten years ago when he videotaped his golf swing for fun and sent it to his friends on the Internet. It became all the rage among his friends, who then wanted their golf swings taped. He made a business out of it, called AthletesVideo, where he videotapes golf swings at golf outings. It is part of a service he offers where he creates Web sites for the events. He has since began synching each person’s swing with a professional golfer’s for comparison.
Bourne thought that the interest people had in visiting the Web to review their videos could be parlayed into publicity for an organization or business because, he realized, golf courses will see value in having customers’ e-mail addresses.
To get started, a Grip-Pix representative installs the software for the program on a computer at the golf course. Usually, additional employees don’t have to be hired, Bourne says. Existing staff members, such as the starter or the beverage cart employee can snap the photos on the course.
So far, GripPix is used on Canadian golf courses. Bob Grossi, a golf industry marketing specialist in Ohio, buys licensing fees to Grip-Pix in some U.S. regions and is looking to extend its reach to golf courses there.
The parent company, AthletesVideo, set up golf swing videos and Web sites for events including Senior PGA, LPGA and other tournaments. Additionally, the technology has been used in Columbus, where fans of the Blue Jackets, the NHL team there, could compare their slap shots with some of the players.
Bourne is excited about the potential for use golf courses, given the number of golfers that play on a given course per year.
“If a golf course had 30,000 e-mail addresses of people who played on the course, it’s said that they’ll never need to do broadcast media advertising.”
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