Specialist golf creative agency 18Players has agreed a multi-year contract to publish the British and International Golf Greenkeeper Association’s members’ magazine, Greenkeeper International.
Greenkeeper International was first published in January 1991 and continues a long history of journals reporting on the activities of greenkeeper associations and their members, dating back to at least 1913 in the UK. Published 12 times a year, the magazine currently boasts a circulation of 6,800 copies per issue.
The first issue of the refreshed magazine came out this week after 18Players spent several weeks working closely with BIGGA’s key stakeholders and partners, discussing how to elevate BIGGA’s existing best-in-class print product on behalf of the organisation’s members.
18Players is providing a plug-and-play solution, integrating their services with BIGGA to provide the relevant support and share their vast publishing experience. This includes evolving the design and content of the magazine on a gradual and sympathetic basis given the established nature of the existing product. 18Players will put the needs of BIGGA’s members first by using a network of contributors and experienced golf writers alongside BIGGA’s in-house experts and external partners.
BIGGA CEO Jim Croxton said: “Greenkeeper International is our flagship publication and as such plays a vital role informing, engaging and educating our members. It is also a fantastic record of our progress and achievement. As we strive to ensure our members are respected, appreciated and rewarded better by the wider golfing industry it has become clear that we need to widen our communications offering. It is imperative that Greenkeeper Internationalretains its industry-leading status and I’m thrilled that we have reached agreement with 18Players to help us achieve that.
“18Players has an outstanding reputation for producing high quality, modern and exciting publications for the golf industry and beyond, so we are excited about this new arrangement which will see our magazine evolve whilst permitting our communications team to broaden their focus. BIGGA members are rightly proud of their magazine and we look forward to seeing what the team at 18Players can do to elevate it to new heights.”
18Players director Dan Murphy said: “We are proud to be working with BIGGA and believe we can strengthen even further the bond between greenkeepers and the association that represents them. We believe the magazine will continue to evolve over the coming months as a result of close and ongoing collaboration with the BIGGA team, feedback from members and developing relationships with BIGGA’s network of partners.”