Print in a Digital World

I participated in a panel discussion yesterday at a publishing industry conference here in Cleveland that focused on the role of print in a digital world. The short version is ALL publishers are furiously attempting to come to grips with the ongoing evolution of business communications. Personally, I wake up thinking about this and go to sleep still pondering on it (that, and why I ate a quart of Ben & Jerry's at 11 p.m.).

Anyway, here are a few key points from the presentations I thought were worth sharing:

To paraphrase Mark Twain, "the rumors of print's demise have been greatly exagerated." It's been far too easy for marketing managers to bow to the financial pressure from CEOs to reduce costs by jumping on the all-digital bandwagon. Print is still a critical component of any integrated program in B-2-B. Fight for it because you know it really matters.

That said, the future of printed publications demands that they be "thought leaders" in their markets. "Me-too" magazines that run 3rd or 4th in popularity are, in a word, doomed.

"Thought-leading" magazines are those that present unique, exclusive content that adds perspective to content and enhances the professional and personal life of the reader.

Both articles and ads in print have tremendous value in terms of:

CREDIBILITY: There is still something very tangible about an article or ad that runs in print. It stands out, it's memorable and it seems more "real" than digital. Consider the impact a research article has in a printed magazine vs. the same content online. Would reprints of a web-based article have the same sales impact as reprints of a print-published piece? I think not.

BIGNESS: This is my word for the fact that print advertising creates a sense of industry participation because of size (full page) and presence (frequency) that digital can't always duplicate. Running a good print schedule tells readers that you are a "player" in the market and you're investing in things that matter to them.

BRAND PARTNERSHIP: By choosing your print placements in one of those "thought-leading" publications, you show the reader that you can discern which magazine serves their needs most effectively by aligning your brand with it.

The bottom line is that marketers and media companies need to find the right mix that fits the specific demographic of their targeted segment. Superintendents I talk with seem to like the combination of digital products we send them now, but they still value having our print publication tremendously. They're tactile people...they like to hold, read, re-read and keep magazines. Don't lose sight of your goal -- connecting with customers -- by forgetting what really matters to them.

The April Issue Rocks!

Our April issue mailed over the weekend. (We're catching up and getting back to normal early-in-the-month mailing dates to further separate GCI from other mags.)

Awesome cover story on how a Colorado course is getting really creative to work through bankruptcy.

Also, our own Tim Moraghan has an excellent interview with Tom Trammell, the agronomy director at Doral, about prepping for the World Golf Championships. http://www.golfcourseindustry.com/gci-0410-tim-morgahan-outside-the-ropes-world-golf-championship.aspx

By the way, I am ASTOUNDED that none of you have jumped all over the chance to secure the right-hand ad position opposite Tim's monthly column in GCI. Our research before the GIS revealed that he is the second-most-respected columnist in the industry. (I'll let you guess who was first in that poll.) And, to top it off, we'll be moving his column far forward starting with the May issue (see my earlier post about planned changes in our folio structure).

Get in touch with me right away if you want to put your ad message next to Tim on a regular basis. First-come, first-served!

Customer Blogs

Okay, how many of you guys are blogging for your customers?

I know our old friend Steve Garske at Par Aide has been doing it for years and BASF has several team members who contribute to blogs on their Turf Talk site, but I'm curious to hear from others. Comment here or e-mail me...we'll hook you up on our gigantic blogroll page on the GCI web site (http://www.golfcourseindustry.com/BlogRoll.aspx).

http://garske.wordpress.com/

http://basfturftalk.com/

Chuck Borman

A lot of you probably know Chuck "The Colonel" Borman from his years as executive director of the Carolinas GCSA and his time before that at COO of the GCSAA. Chuck is semi-officially retired from the association (he still consults a bit with the new guy, Tim Kreger), but he's keeping busy with stuff.

For example, Chuck has replaced yours truly on the Aquatrols Board of Directors. He's one of five independent directors who, along with members of the Moore family, help to lead the New Jersey-based wetting agent manufacturer. He joins our old friends Joe O'Brien (now of 1st Tee) and Brian Vinchesi, the irrigation genius, as members of the board.

Here are Chuck and I hamming it up in front of the company's headquarters following his first (and my last) board meeting last week...

Okay, so I went to Philly and had some fun

Matt Shaffer is a damned fine superintendent at a damned fine golf course...a little place called Merion in the Philly burb of Ardmore. He'll be hosting the U.S. Open in 2013 and you can be sure he and the membership there are going to make it a Major to remember. A few facts I can share from a largely off-the-record conversation with my old friend Matt...




- The regular annual maintenance budget (for 36 holes and lots of extra stuff) is around $3 million. That's in the top 1/2-percent of all courses. The national average maintenance budget is still around $500,000. Only about 9 percent of facilities have budgets of $1 million or more.










- The new maintenance facility will be very special. Most notably, it will have the first "green roof" of any golf course structure in the nation (to my knowledge). The photo on the right shows crews pouring a 3-inch concrete roof in preparation for putting down a soil bed and planting fescue. Yes, the green roof will have its own irrigation system. Total cost: $4.1 million. Projected completion date: September 1.


- Merion's short -- it'll play less than 7,000 yards for the Open. So, Matt and the USGA will use incredibly difficult bunkers (the famed "White Faces") and ultra-quick greens to defend par and uphold the pride of the membership. You have to see the bunkers up close to believe them. According to Matt, Ernie Els has played there numerous times and said the bunkers were the toughest he'd ever seen...anywhere.







- Yesterday (April 14) when I was there, the famed East course greens and approaches were being DryJected.




















- Check out the new, ground-driven topdressing brushes (below) one of Matt's former assistants invented and started selling recently.























- Matt with our old buddy Joe Liebsch, a former superintendent turned DryJect guy.





Check out Joe's war wound. This is what happens when you're whizzing around a course trying to finish a job and a section of hose gets wrapped around your leg!


- Like a lot of top-end facilities, Matt has a mix of equipment from different manufacturers. Unlike most, he has a fairly small chemical inventory. He uses less fungicide and herbicide than the majority thanks to intense cultural practices, soil amendments and nutrition programs.


- Seven guys who worked for Matt previously are now at Top 100 facilities...not bad.


Anyway, hope you enjoyed this little travelogue from my afternoon at one of the world's greatest courses. Look for more on my Philly trip soon.

Hit the Summer Selling Season Hard

Here's a sneak preview of our June editorial lineup. Very cool stuff, including some great technical content on Weed Management, Topdressing and the ever popular topic of Liquid Fertilization.

And, since I've mentioned June, there's a myth out there that advertising in summer issues is pointless because "superintendents are too busy to read the magazines." Au contraire, mon frere. Every time I've researched month-to-month reading habits, there was very little decline in ACTUAL seasonal readership. They make time to read the issue even if they'll claim, when asked generally, that they're too busy in the summer. Also, remember that more than half the golf courses in the US are below the Mason-Dixon line and summertime is their off time when they are certainly likely to read their magazines.

JUNE SNEAK PREVIEW:

Be Your Own Boss: Our cover story looks at how the economic downturn is actually increasing opportunities for superintendents to move into ownership under sweat-equity deals. Find out how they're doing it and what it means for the market.
The Perfect Edge: What products are superintendents using to create just the right edge effect on their bunkers?
Topdressing and Disease: What topdressing practices and equipment are superintendents using and what's the latest on the impact on disease suppression.
Liquid Love: The trend towards non-traditional plant nutrition continues to grow in golf. How are more courses integrating foliars and other liquids into their programs?
Product Focus: Case studies on how superintendents are choosing which overseeders to buy.
Real Science: Our research gurus look at the latest in summertime weed control.

It ain't broke, but we're fixin' it anyway

A bunch of folks have asked me what my plans are for the magazine now that I'm back in the saddle, so let's chat about that.

As I wrote in the print issue last month, the good news for me is that GCI is already a damned fine publication. Superintendents (and assistants, GMs, owners, etc.) seem to universally recognize that we're the most improved book in the market, we have a great mix of technical, non-technical and opinion and we have terrific columnists.

That said, we can always improve. So, starting in May, here are a few new and different things you'll see in GCI:

• We're launching a new section called "The Whiteboard" at the front of the magazine that allows us to run short, interesting items, weird pictures, infographs, quotes, and top product and people news blurbs in a cool way.


• We're spreading our columnists throughout the magazine folio instead of bunching several of them up at the front. This will help improve the readability of the magazine by breaking up the flow between longer stories and the one-page op/ed pieces everyone loves so much.


• Speaking of which, it's pretty clear that Tim Moraghan's column is a big hit with readers and we'll be moving him far front in the magazine. Tim, the former USGA Championship Agronomist, is just outstanding as a writer and we want to give him more prominence.


• Our research section, which typically features Ph.D.-driven turf studies, is being retitled "Real Science" and will focus even more intensively on applied research being done in the field.

I think our content has been excellent in general, but you will definitely be seeing more of what I like to call "Killer Covers." These are those in-depth cover stories that get everyone talking. Those stories are FUN and they further GCI's most important mission: to provoke discussion that improves and advances our industry.

Hello Friends!

Yup, I've finally been suckered into blogging...but there's a twist. This blog is dedicated to those of us in the business of marketing and selling to golf course superintendents and turf professionals. In short, it's just for folks like you who need to know:

- How superintendents make purchasing decisions
- Trends influencing the market
- Research you can use to plan your strategies
- Strengths and weaknesses of different marketing platforms
- Budget issues facing superintendents
- New and unique opportunities to reach customers.

So, I'll be on here regularly posting observations about the market, relevant research updates, news you can use, sneak previews of print and video items and a whole lot more.

As always, just call or e-mail if you need any help from me or the staff at Golf Course Industry!

Best...

Pat