Like professional sports and related industries worldwide, Australian title Inside Golf hit the pause button three months ago, writes Lyndsie Clark in Niche Publishing Network.
Their reason might surprise you.
“We felt it would have been inappropriate to call clients and request their advertising dollars during this chaotic and uncertain time,” explained Inside Golf Publisher Sam Arthur in a statement on the magazine’s website.
“Businesses across the industry have been hit extremely hard after a tumultuous six months of drought, fires and COVID-19 — and were (and still are) consolidating expenses to build up cash reserves for spring … or in many cases to simply stay afloat — so I couldn’t ask our five state representatives to call golf businesses and ‘sell’ during this time,” the statement continued. “We know very well how difficult it has become to run a business.”
What a brilliant example of a publisher leading with compassion and understanding, treating the relationship with its ad partners so well.
“The Aussie golf community is a close-knit, supportive group, so like Aussies always do, we help each other out,” Arthur said.
While the title was shuttered, they collaborated with industry businesses to help promote them through their channels. With this kind of attitude, it’s no wonder that the brand has such long-lasting ad partnerships.
“In a 2019 interview, Arthur told the Niche Publishing Network (NPN) that the brand also boasts long-term support from its clients,” Clark writes, “with some of its advertisers continually supporting the magazine for between 9-14 years.
Now that the world is opening back up, the team at Inside Golf is gearing up for a robust August issue, which will focus on promoting golf around the country.
“We believe golf will boom big time! And with overseas travel still off the cards, our readers will be choosing to have a hit locally, playing golf all over this country, especially in regional areas,” Arthur explains. “And we’ll be there to help clubs and facilities get the word out.”
Kudos to Inside Golf for their beautiful demonstration of “we’re all in this together” in action. The industry was warned early on that publishers need to be helpful … or prepare for the worst. This is a fantastic example of exactly that, putting their immediate short term needs aside to raise up their partners. Well done, mates
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