In 2022, the USGA added a new national championship to their annual roster of prestigious events— the U.S. Adaptive Open -- which showcases the skills of 96 golfers with physical, visual and intellectual impairments. This global field of men and women ranging in age from 15 to 80 battled it out over three rounds of stroke play at Pinehurst Resort & CC’s No. 6 course, in eight different impairment categories. The primary objective of the USGA and Golf Digest collaboration was to drive awareness and visibility for the USGA's new, inclusive, national championship that will showcase the world’s best golfers with disabilities and served as the USGA’s 15th national championship. Our collective goal was to bring the voices and personalities of Adaptive Open players with disabilities to the forefront, sharing how they've overcome physical and mental challenges, and the importance of golf in their lives.
In partnership with the USGA, Golf Digest developed a branded content campaign featuring a four-episode digital video series which chronicles the people behind the USGA's newest national championship, a truly unique annual tournament for the top male and female golfers with disabilities in the U.S. and the world. Since the first U.S. Adaptive Open was not televised, and the stories behind the people involved are inspiring and inclusive — all furthering the USGA's overarching mission of growing the game among all demographics. The Golf Digest Studio team went into deep collaboration with the organizers and players, documenting every move, and produced a video series that helped shine a light on this groundbreaking event.
This video series and the compelling stories behind it garnered measurable success and press exposure.
Key performance results include:
-The overall video package delivered more than 1.6MM+ impressions across Golf Digest and Social
-The series received 248K views to the long form episodes on Golf Digest
-Our consumer, on average, spent 1:36 minutes per session on O&O with the content, which is 30% above benchmark for branded content
In addition to their paid partnership, Golf Digest was also able to help USGA drive considerable Earned Media for
USGA around their inaugural Adaptive Open, garnering heightened coverage across GolfDigest.com, Forbes and The Perfect Putt.
In the case of Forbes and The Perfect Putt, our partnership and “Even Playing Field” content series received specific coverage as part of their focus on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion efforts, and there is still planned to be one additional article in Sports Business
Journal later this month.
Press Coverage includes:
Forbes - Opportunities for Disabled Golfers Abound in Aftermath of Inaugural U.S. Adaptive Open
https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikedojc/2022/09/13/opportunities-for-disabled-golfers-abound-in-aftermath-of-inaugural-us-adaptive-open/?sh=1f5315634c32
Perfect Putt - How Golf Has Helped My Dad Battle MS
https://perfectputt.substack.com/p/how-golf-has-helped-my-dad-battle?utm_source=email