Who: Golf Town, with Union and TA2 Sound + Music for audio/sound.
What: “Sleep Well. Golf Better,” a 40-minute meditative podcast designed to help golf lovers relax and drift off to sleep.
When & Where: The podcast is available on Spotify (listen below), Apple Music, and Google Podcasts now, and is being promoted through paid social and Golf Town’s own social channels.
Why: Golf Town and Union launched a new brand campaign called “Come out to Play” a few months ago. “It was based on a couple of insights, [including] reminding people of what they love about the game of golf and getting them to come back out and fall in love with golf again,” said Lance Martin, chief creative officer at Union.
This is a fun extension of that campaign, with Golf Town helping customers improve their game by helping them get a good night’s sleep. “‘Sleep Well, Golf Better,’ is a golf-inspired, meditative sleep podcast, so you never have to settle for a par sleep again,” says the description. “More than other sports, golf can really relax you, so we wanted to bring that into the digital space and give people a way to experience that,” said Martin.
How: The podcast takes the listener through a round of golf in the calming and hushed tones familiar to anyone who watches televised golf. The narrator describes each hole in colourful detail, with the described course loosely based on the iconic Pebble Beach. He provides advice for a good swing, along with soothing suggestions for how to relax and stay focused, including breathing exercises.
“Your friends look at you with amazement,” he says at one point. But when the golfer lets their mind wonder to a problem at work, they hit a bad shot—although they make a great recovery with their next swing.
It’s ostensibly a sleep/relaxation aid, but it also feels like an audio love letter to the game—with a bit of ASMR inspiration. It’s like food porn, but for golf (is golf porn a thing? Don’t Google that on your work computer).
But it’s not just a gimmick either, said Martin. “It is fairly enjoyable to listen to and would actually be relaxing, so [Golf Town] does want people to try it and use it, it’s not just silliness,” he said. “It’s kind of nice to actually sit back and listen and imagine yourself playing some of those holes.”
For now this is a one-off production, but they could do more depending on the response, said Martin. “We thought it would be really interesting partnerships for Golf Town with signature courses to do virtual walkthroughs of their actual courses.”
And we quote: “The game of golf has many benefits and is a great outdoor activity for dealing with stress and anxiety. We designed our sleep podcast to be calming and relaxing, knowing how important mindfulness and wellness is to every-day life.” —Golf Town chief marketing officer, Frederick Lecoq.
