Golf Management Australia Spring 2017 | Page 9

Chandler owns, you just finished it in 21mins. You saved time and consumed when it suited you best. Netflix and Stan have established themselves in the Australian streaming market and instead of having the ‘privilege’ of consuming ads on traditional TV, the user pays a subscription and gets their content delivered when and where they want, ad free. Spotify is a music giant, further cemented by the recent announcement competitor music streaming service Pandora will be shutting down its operation in Australia and New Zealand. Spotify is a true ‘Freemium’ model. A user can pay no thing and be subjected to ads and less functionality, or pay a monthly subscription to have their service ad free and with all the bells and whistles. Podcasting might be one of the most interesting spaces. Unlike video or written word consumption, you can multi- task whilst listening to audio. Podcasting is somewhat like Netflix for audio - but it’s free. Unlike radio, you’re in the driver’s seat. You choose the personalities/topics/shows you’re interested in and listen to them where you want and when you want. ON THE CONTRARY, CONSIDER A GOOD OLD FASHIONED PHONE CALL… Who gets upset when someone actually calls them? I do. It’s not because I don’t like the person whose name appears on my screen (02 area code spam call centres excluded), it’s because of the timing. We are all being conditioned by an on-demand society, I’m pumped to take or make a call if it’s on my time but when someone else is calling and I’m doing something, it almost feels like they’re stealing my time. Sounds crazy huh? Next time you get a call, I bet this paragraph comes to mind. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN THOUGH? It means as an industry, we must shift our thinking on how we go about communicating to the golf industry and how we market our sport. If we know people want their content on-demand so it can be consumed when they’re good and ready, if we know traditional advertising is going through its biggest disruption ever, why are we doing the same things? Is it easy? No, it’s not, but the opportunities to do more with little are unparalleled. Are you going to get everything perfect from the get-go? Nope, but you must try. It’s not about having to know the ins and outs of every single major social media platform or new age streaming service. But you have a responsibility as a business to have a grasp on how society is consuming media and how you can leverage it to your advantage. WWW.GMA.ORG.AU I 9