Commentary

Ads on the Green

Where do stressed-out executives go to get away from it all? The golf course, of course. But they can't get way from advertising: LinkServ Golf is targeting affluent executives with ad messages on golf screens.

"These execs are bombarded by messages at work, on television, and on their computer," explains Brent Anderson, vice president of marketing for LinkServ, a provider of global positioning systems (GPS) for golf courses. "They have a completely different mindset when they're out on the golf course. It's quiet; there's absolutely nothing else to distract them."

You'd think golfers would oppose anything interrupting the purity of the game. But a recent study shows that a majority wouldn't mind GPS advertising if it helped their local course pay for the high-tech system.

Advertisers can buy full-screen ads or nine-hole banner ads that appear on a GPS screen seven inches wide and nine inches tall. The ads run for about five minutes, from the time the golfer approaches the green until they reach the next tee box. LinkServ estimates that advertisers can expect their ad to be viewed up to 30,000 times during the course of the golfing season.

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