SportsEdTV News
Welcome and thanks for visiting...
SportsEdTV Interactive Golf Media Launching In 2024
SportsEdTV is launching a national golf media program that will combine on-course, place-based media with on-demand digital video, connecting the two using QR codes. To create SportsEdTV Interactive Golf Media, SportsEdTV partnered with Portland, Oregon-based Ad A Flag Golf, which has developed a patented secondary flag that attaches to the flagsticks on the greens of golf courses to indicate hole location (the attachment is “Permitted Under the Rules of Golf” of the USGA), Ad A Flag Golf has also secured a national network of courses who will be delivering the media via the flags.
The program, going live in Spring 2024, will offer advertisers the opportunity to place interactive ads on the flagsticks on over two hundred fifty golf courses in the United States. The two-sided flags will feature instruction tips on one side (with a QR code connecting golfers to instruction videos on SportsEdTV) and brand advertising on the other side (also featuring a QR code linking golfers to advertisers’ offerings). This is the first time advertising and golf tips will be delivered as media on the actual putting green of golf courses during ordinary rounds.
“About four years ago, while attending the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, I discovered a company that was offering flag holders with flags that could be printed with messages and easily changed by the grounds crew. My immediate reaction was that a national ad network could be created using these flags,” said SportsEdTV Co-Founder, Chairman, and CMO Robert Mazzucchelli. He added, “My thought at that time was to connect the flags’ messages to SportsEdTV’s world-class video instruction using QR codes. I wasn’t sure how we would secure the cooperation of the golf courses. It turns out our partner, Ad A Flag, was more than capable of doing that. As a result, we have created a compelling media option by connecting place-based and digital ad formats. It took a while to iron out the logistics, but now we are ready to launch.”
“Robert’s eyes lit up when he walked into our booth in Orlando,” said Vernie Santos, CEO of Ad A Flag and inventor of the patented flag system used in the program. He added, “We weren’t really thinking about national advertising on our flags when we conceived the product, but rather, we wanted to create a reusable sponsor signage device for golf events and outings and eliminate all of those expensive Coroplast® sponsor signs that most courses use and then toss in the garbage after an event. We couldn’t be more excited to work with SportsEdTV to bring our innovation to a bigger stage.”
The advertising program offers brands a combination of place-based and digital media. Each advertiser receives ad placements on three holes (three two-sided flags) per course. They receive a brand ad on one side of the flag and sponsorship of a golf tip on the other side, with a QR code driving the viewer to an instruction video on SportsEdTV, which also features a clickable brand ad overlay and short mid-roll video ad. The program will allow brands to fully engage golfers through multiple touchpoints. One of the important features of the flags is that they also use the USGA’s color-coded (Red, White, Blue) distance indicators for pin placement on the greens.
Golf courses get a huge benefit from the program. Each course receives a new set of flagsticks when they become part of the network, along with the Ad A Flag flag holders. They also get a patented Ad A Flag receiver cup to hold the flagstick. The flag holder features a Laser Assist Prism that helps golfers using a range finder to determine the distance to the hole. Many of these items are currently a burden to the courses budgets each year. The courses will also receive an annual cash payment for their participation in the program. As an added benefit, the courses can use the flag holders to generate local revenue when not running the national ad program.
The program is completely turnkey for the sponsors. A maximum of six sponsors will be allowed into the program annually, and commitments from brands must commit to the program by January 30, 2024, to be included in the 2024-25 program. SportsEdTV expects this program to grow to five thousand courses over the next few years. Potential sponsors can learn more about the SportsEdTV Interactive Golf Media Program by contacting Robert Mazzucchelli at rmazzucchelli@sportsedtv.com.
About SportsEdTV: SportsEdTV exists to help athletes, coaches, and parents LEARN, WIN, and CELEBRATE. We don’t expect everyone who uses our learning tools to become a world champion - that’s not our mission. We do expect people who use our educational resources to become their own champion, by whatever definition they view success in their chosen sport
Flag Assist Golf dba Ad A Flag: Flag Assist receiver cups were created in response to the flagstick rule changes adopted by the USGA to speed play and make retrieving the ball from the cup easier. Flag Assist receiver cups were used in the early days of COVID-19 and then refined further by adding customization to the bottom of the cup.
In 2021, Ad A Flag was added to the product line, which includes fully customizable flags with trackable QR codes and the flag attachment that has a Laser Assist Prism. These flags can be used in tournaments, advertisements for local/national businesses, as well as for communications in private club settings.
Flag Assist Receiver Cups
USGA Decision Number 2020-0360 “Permitted under the Rules of Golf”
Patent Number US 11,697,049 B2
Ad A Flag Flags and Flag Holders
USGA Decision Number 2023-0406 “Permitted under the Rules of Golf”
Patent Number US 63/479,697
