To leverage excitement around The Masters, April saw UPS and Ping team up to launch #Bags4Birdies – an eight market campaign to develop grassroots golf.
The global logistics outfit and the golf apparel brand have aligned for an initiative that will donate junior sets of golf clubs for every single birdie (or better) that leading UPS golf ambassadors Lee Westwood or Louis Oosthuizen make during a competitive round in the four 2016 major championships.
The PING Moxie G junior clubs and gear will be given to ‘deserving kids’ in select markets around the world as the #bags4birdies program aims to support golf’s future talent by giving them the tools they need to succeed on the course.
UPS is working with several golf governing bodies around the globe – in North America, UK, Germany, Costa Rica, China, South Africa, Vietnam and Japan – to identify and select recipients
The campaign and its bespoke content assets, fronted bv Westwood and Oosthuizen, are being pushed through PR and amplified by both brands and golf ambassadors across social channels such as Twitter:
For every birdie @Louis57TM or @WestwoodLee record in a Major, UPS will donate a set of junior clubs #bags4birdieshttps://t.co/Rzs3W8RkRm
— UPS (@UPS) April 5, 2016
We're excited to be partnering w/ @UPS to launch #bags4birdies, a program designed to support golf’s future talent. pic.twitter.com/QT1nej02ZW
— PING Golf Europe (@PINGTourEurope) March 31, 2016
With further media support across from across the international golf press.
UPS & PING launch #BAGS4BIRDIES campaign which will see children get free clubs https://t.co/ybw4AhD0Bt pic.twitter.com/kEYkYqmurY
— Golf Monthly (@GolfMonthly) April 4, 2016
Golf fans can follow Lee and Louis’ campaign progress simply by using the #bags4birdies hastag in online searches.
‘Just as UPS is committed to excellence in growing businesses worldwide, we are now applying the same principle to supporting the next generation of champions with the #bags4birdies program,’ explained Ron Rogowski, UPS vice president of brand and sponsorships.
‘We hope this will give the worthy recipients a head start on their own journey to excellence.’
‘The support of UPS and PING via the #bags4birdies program will enable more children to learn and play the game, this will be invaluable to the future of South African golf,’’ added Andrew Weir, Chairman of S.A. Kids Golf, at the campaign launch.
‘This partnership is important as it will create a unique opportunity and access to the game, we are extremely grateful for this support.’
Comment
‘Bags for Birdies’ aims to make golf more accessible and sustainable to children of a young age in each of these markets.
And it is vital that sponsors of golf use their rights and marketing budgets to develop activation strategies that address the deep-seated problems at the root of the game.
After all, golf as a participation sport is in a dangerous decline in both North America and Europe.
According to the National Golf Federation the game’s decline from a high of 30.6 million golfers in 2003 has seen it drop to 24.7 million in 2014 and the trend continues.
Fewer people are playing and fewer youngsters are interested in the game.
It is seen by many as too expensive, too exclusive, too ecologically dubious and too time-consuming – in its current form it is not a good fit for so many contemporary lifestyles.
Yet, at the elite tip of golf, a group of powerful sponsors who do so much to prop up the professional game financially do so specifically to access that exclusive, elite of high net worth men and their businesses.
In short, the game is eating itself.
It is crucial for the game’s power brokers – the governing bodies, the property owners, the sponsors and the players to work together to address these issues.
And this campaign shows some of the tactics that show the way forward.
In addition to family-owned PING’s long-term relationship with the game at all levels, logistics giant UPS also has an increasingly in-depth relationship with golf.
It is an official partner of the R&A and through this relationship is developing an understanding of the grassroots game and its challenges.
It is working with such partners and its golf ambassadors to support the amateur game: through events like the Latin America Amateur Championship and the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship.
Links
UPS Twitter:
UPS Website:
Ping Tour Twitter:
Ping Tour Europe Twitter:
https://twitter.com/PINGTourEurope
Ping Website:
Louis Oosthuizen Twitter:
Lee Westwood Twitter:
The Masters:
