Dear Andersons : Cancel The title field is required!

1. Noy Sparks

   

   0 posts
   
   1/18/2016 12:01 PM

   Just curious--in this age of protecting the environment, and being all things sustainable, and being good stewards of the earth, was is actually necessary to destroy a million trees by putting that book of an ad in the latest GCM publication?
   
   I mean seriously....
   
   And GCSAA, c'mon man!!! Be at least a little prudent and say NO to ridiculous and unnecessary nonsense-sized additions to your already overpacked with wasteful-sized ads publication. Or is it all about the money?
   
   Noy Sparks

   
   
   
   
2. Sean Hoolehan

   

   0 posts
   
   1/19/2016 9:01 AM

   Noy,
   
   I highly recommend you switch to the electronic version of GCM, its a great way to read the magazine. I have not received a hard copy for many years. I just got tired of collecting them and since the days of saving a magazine for information are long gone it made sense to simply read them electronically.
   
   Unfortunately there is still a lot of resistance in our industry to a electronic version only. Some trees are grown to cut down. This http://www.amusingplanet.com/2013/09/boardman-tree-farm-of-greenwood.html tree farm is about 30 miles west of me. It's really pretty amazing.

   
   
   
   
3. Noy Sparks

   

   0 posts
   
   1/19/2016 1:01 PM

   Sean-- Thanks for the reply! You definitely bring up a good point regarding the electronic version of GCM. I will consider it--however I like to pass on the magazine to my crew to read while they are eating lunch etc... but still, I may switch to it. Though I am not a tree-hugger, (in fact, I am the furthest thing from it), I do believe many of ad inserts are very wasteful and most of the time end up in the trash without a thoughtful glance from me. They are extremely annoying when trying to flip through the magazine. Plus I just got a nice paper cut from the Andersons ad that precipitated my forum contribution! Thanks again--

   
   
   
   
4. Andy Jorgensen

   

   1 posts
   
   1/20/2016 5:01 AM

   The Andersons ad didn't really affect me. I opened the plastic (which I thought GCSAA agreed to eliminate a few years ago to reduce expenses) and threw the ad in the trash. Not interested.
   
   What really upsets me are the glue in inserts. It is very difficult to remove the inserts without ripping the page they are attached to. I also remember GCSAA agreeing to eliminating these as well.

   
   
   
   
5. Melvin Waldron

   

   43 posts
   
   1/20/2016 12:01 PM

   Andy Jorgensen said: The Andersons ad didn't really affect me. I opened the plastic (which I thought GCSAA agreed to eliminate a few years ago to reduce expenses) and threw the ad in the trash. Not interested.
   
   What really upsets me are the glue in inserts. It is very difficult to remove the inserts without ripping the page they are attached to. I also remember GCSAA agreeing to eliminating these as well.

   
   
   Andy, you didn't recycle it?
   
   I have kept the Anderson's insert for a quick reference guide, but they could have done that in a smaller package. Recycled last season's ad.
   
   And yes it is about the money, if we want to pay more for dues, I guess they can cut the advertising out. But to advertisers, make sure you have your website listed, that is where I go to do research.
   
   Mel

   
   Melvin H. Waldron III, CGCS, Horton Smith Golf Course, City of Springfield/Greene County MO
   
   
6. Andy Jorgensen

   

   1 posts
   
   1/20/2016 3:01 PM

   Melvin Waldron, CGCS said: But to advertisers, make sure you have your website listed, that is where I go to do research.
   
   Mel

   
   
   I'd say 95% of my "research" on a product is through their website. The insert could have been from anybody, it doesn't really matter. I have bookshelves full of pamphlets, books, catalogs, etc....in reality I could chunk them all. It's faster to Google something nowadays.
   
   And to those manufacturers that don't have an up to date website with current and conclusive information: probably won't get a sale from me. It's too easy nowadays to find info. I'm going to go with something I can easily find, not something I have to work for.

   
   
   
   
7. Steve Nelson

   

   0 posts
   
   1/21/2016 7:01 AM

   I guess I'm a certified member of the "Luddite" chapter of GCSAA. I like the printed materials. Also, as Mel stated, the advertising bucks from our industry partners help offset our membership costs. (so no whining, please )
   
   I understand the trend of going online only, heck even Playboy said they were changing their business model. But there is something to having a tangible thing to hold on to and glance at from time to time. On a side note,I have been a member of the Iron Maiden fan club for some time, and one of the many cool things they do is to send out two real magazines per year, plus an actual old fashioned Xmas card. Sometimes the old ways are just better.

   
   
   
   
8. Noy Sparks

   

   0 posts
   
   1/21/2016 10:01 AM

   Just to clarify--It's not that I am against ads. Of course any publications rely on ad revenue. It's the form that the ad takes in GCM. I usually am interested in the ads in GCM and will read them--with the exception of the ad inserts that I find intrusive and annoying. The cardboard-like nature of the insert makes it difficult to flip through the mag. Why can't they take out a normal ad on the regular pages of the mag? Is that so hard? If I were running a magazine I would not allow advertisers to do that. But hey, I don't--so I can only express my frustrations with those who do.
   
   So GCM, there are a handful of us that find those ad inserts annoying and frustrating, and you can pass on to the advertisers that they aren't being looked at by us and immediately go into the trash.
   
   With that said, I enjoy many of the articles and especially like the photos in GCM.