Golfers on virtual par in online Scotch site

Advertisers are appealing to golfers on and off the course.

Mini-billboards began sprouting on greens in May, when sponsored tee markers, a new concept from Tee Line Golf Media, were first installed.

Now a "virtual" golf club, from whisky label Johnnie Walker, has become the country's biggest golf club with more than 1800 members.

Golfers, largely perceived as affluent, appeal to a range of advertisers.

With about seven million rounds of golf played in New Zealand a year, there's a distinct culture around the game for marketers to tap into.

Tee Line Golf Media managing director Roly Crowther said just as a diverse range of people played golf, a wide range of advertisers had signed up to the offering, including car firms, garden suppliers and pool manufacturers.

While the golf-tee marker advertising aims to reach players on the green, the Johnnie Walker Golf Club follows them to the clubhouse.

The club combines sponsorship and product sampling with an exclusive members' club concept and builds on the association between the brand and the sport that dates from the mid-19th century.

Integrated communications agency WRC claims it as a world first and promotions director Simon Yates says it appeals to players' competitiveness.

The club exists online and ties into the NZ Golf master database, a national website that displays golfers' registered handicaps.

Its members belong to golf clubs nationwide and sign on to the Johnnie Walker club as an extra.

In return, a logo appears beside members' names on the website and, as they win prizes, it changes colour to Johnnie Walker Black and up through to the whisky label's premium Blue status.

Rewards are offered for Saturday club competitions and holes-in-one.

Members can also enter online competitions and regular prize draws.

Word is spread through online advertising, emails and referrals.

Lion Nathan Johnnie Walker senior brand manager Melanie Shaw says the campaign is cost-effective and a good way to make a personal connection with golfers.

"We see the golf club as a platform we can continue to develop and build, finding new ways to rewards golfers and get the brand talked about by a key group of influential consumers," says Shaw.

Johnnie Walker's association with golf internationally includes sponsorship of several events including the Johnnie Walker Classic.

Yates anticipates interest from promoters of the brand in other countries.

He says people who enjoy golf in their leisure time often live busy, time-poor lives and the campaign's message reaches them when they are able to relax.

Golfer Martin Abert signed up to the club for a bit of fun and the hope of winning a few prizes.

Abert has even started buying the whisky.

"Is it subliminal messaging ... the last time I travelled back from Hong Kong I came back with two 1.125l [bottles of] Johnnie Walker from the duty free," says the IT director. "It was after I joined up - and I don't normally drink Johnnie Walker."

Abert, a North Shore Golf Club member, says joining the club is a "no-brainier" for golfers.

"It doesn't cost you anything, you give a bit of your details away and you might get lucky."