24.02.05
A
cyclone warning off the coast of California. This could be very bad
news for GolfPunk. We’ve just sent Crouchy and Steve out to shoot our
tuition pages with six of the world’s best players, courtesy of golf
club manufacturer TaylorMade.
They have to be back here with the words and images within 72 hours.
If it’s a washout, we’ll have a great gaping hole of 15 blank pages to contend with.
Related
On
the upside, the very fact that TaylorMade are signing us up with their
best players, represents a major coup for our fledgling title.
Furthermore, Nike, TaylorMade and Cobra have all committed advertising spend with us today.
This is excellent news, especially seeing as we couldn’t get a look in with them last year. Money in the bank.
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25.02.05
No
news from the troops in California. Bugger. We get the guys in the
office thinking up alternatives. Thinking about it, we should have had
something up our sleeve but that’s show business for you.
Just
when you do a deal with one of the world’s biggest golf brands to sign
up their players for tuition, the heavens open and we’re in schtuck.
Spend
the afternoon working on one-shot ideas for WH Smith. After great
debate, we decide on a Summer Special Annual, edited by Paul Casey.
News comes in on the wire that the PGA tournament in California has been washed out after two days.
This is pretty much unprecedented. What chance our photo shoot happening now?
28.02.05
A
breakthrough in California. A freakish break in the weather meant that
Steve and Crouchy were able to complete six separate photoshoots with
famous golfers such as Ian Poulter, Retief Goosen and Darren Clarke.
Result!
GolfPunk
is the talk of the driving range, apparently, which is not bad going
for a magazine that’s only available at various branches of Barnes
& Noble.
These guys earn the kind of numbers that make most Hollywood stars look like EastEnders extras so they’re not easily won over.
The team back in England celebrates by drawing up a list of advertisers who we want to specifically target this year.
This
basically means spending the afternoon reading through other golf
magazines and lifestyle titles like GQ and seeing what’s in there.
Blimey, doesn’t GQ get a lot of adverts?
We
get a call from Mirror columnist Bill Borrows who’s just seen a
full-page article about GolfPunk by David Smith in the Evening Standard
. Get in there!
Our
press has been brilliant ever since we launched which, apparently, is
nothing to do with the magazine and everything to do with our head of
media. Who also happens to be my wife. Best not to argue. The kids, six
& four, start work experience next week.
01.03.05
Off
to giddy London on the train for a meeting with our outsourced
advertising team, ironically called In-House International.We discuss
the whys and wherefores of why we don’t we get as many adverts as GQ.
Whatdyamean it’s because they’ve been going for 1200 years and sell more copies than us? Why I oughta…
We
take a good look at the advertising prospects for the year ahead, cross
reference them with what we’ve got in the bag and come to the
delightful conclusion that, after a year of breaking the title, our
advertising revenue is looking excellent.
Back to the office in
Falmer for a meeting with the chaps about National Golf Bunk Day, where
we encourage the nation to bunk off work and play golf on a specified
day. Marvellous.
Everyone retires to the Clubhouse, which is really The Juggs pub in Kingston.
02.03.05
Meet with Len Sanderson, KYN Publishing Ltd’s chairman.
Len
is a good sort. Always there with a wise word and a spot of lunch. He
takes me out to Diverso, a fine Italian unit near Green Park tube.
We
talk tactics for the year ahead and try to figure out a way in which
our next meeting can be on the golf course. It’s always worth spending
time with Len.
He’s been in the business for years and knows a lot of very important people.
03.03.05
Meet
with Jonathan Stobart, our finance director. Jonathan has the kind of
loud, boomingWelsh voice that has terrorised those of an insipid
disposition in the Welsh valleys.
The meeting is all about tightening internal finances, i.e. making sure the editorial ne’erdowells don’t spend all their travel and subsistence money on sweets.
Surprisingly, the proposed new financial controls and management systems are very well received.
That’s the thing with a small business like ours: everyone pitches in and takes personal responsibility for everything.
04.03.05
Early
into work to get a head start on the day. Normally I start about 9.30
but an 8am start is not unheard of when the next issue is seriously
underway.
We’re putting a fella called Tiger Woods on the cover.
Creative director Steve, deputy editor Iestyn and I work on cover lines.
Soon the rest of the office is in and everyone is throwing ideas into the mix. Three hours later the cover looks sensational.
Good work everyone.
I
leave the cover with Steve to tighten up and sneak off for a round of
golf with one of our original investors, ex- Liverpool, Ireland and
Sunderland footballer Phil Babb.
Investor relations are very
important you know. Babbsie is going on Soccer AM in two weeks and they
want to talk to him about GolfPunk. Excellent.
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