The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing

I published my minigolf marketing ebook four years ago today.

It's been brilliant to see the guide read and used by a number of associations, federations, course owners and managers, players and clubs around the world.

The feedback and reviews have been excellent to see, with some people also using the ebook to help them promote other sports.

You can buy my minigolf marketing ebook on Amazon.

Don't worry if you don't have a Kindle as you can download the Kindle App on iOS, Android, Mac & PC.

The ebook is also available on Kobo.

It's just £1.99.

Minigolf Marketing

As a minigolfer with over a decade of experience as a tournament competitor and years of experience in marketing and communications I designed the guide so that anyone interested or involved in minigolf could help promote the game. It's a niche title, but an audience and subject I know a lot about.

Writing the book was brilliant and enabled me to bring two areas of my life together. I've worked in marketing since 2003 and have played minigolf since I was a child. Stepping up to compete on the national minigolf tour circuit and in international tournaments opened my eyes to the potential of the game. I’ve also had the honour of serving on the committees of the British Minigolf Association (BMGA) and the World Minigolf Sport Federation (WMF).

Minigolf is a sport for all. People of all ages, sexes, backgrounds and abilities can pick up a putter and play the game.

The Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Emily and I have visited 958 courses in the UK and overseas on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. When our travels began in 2006 there were around 600 courses in the UK. We've got 40 from that original list left to visit.

The minigolf boom

The game is really booming and new courses are being announced all the time.

There are a huge amount of interesting and fun stories to tell and positive aspects to highlight to potential players, the media, sponsors and the wider sporting community. The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing should give federations, associations, courses, clubs and our fellow players ideas, inspiration and support in their marketing efforts.

Links:

• Minigolf and marketing consultancy
• The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing on Amazon
• The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing on Kobo

The former British Home Stores in Stockport

While having a walk round Stockport yesterday evening it was amazing to see the old ghost sign on the rear of the store had been uncovered!

The old BHS shop in the Merseyway shopping centre in Stockport was a Poundland, but that store closed last month.

BHS became defunct in August 2016, but there are still traces of the brand if you know where to look.

As well as the newly uncovered ghost sign you can see name as part of the mural artwork along the side of the store as well as on two small signs in the doorways where the fireman's switches are.

The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing

You can buy my minigolf marketing ebook on Amazon.

Don't worry if you don't have a Kindle as you can download the Kindle App on iOS, Android, Mac & PC.

The ebook is also available on Kobo.

It's just £1.99.

Minigolf marketing

I've been so pleased to see the book bought and used by a number of competition players, course owners and managers, bloggers, course reviewers, minigolf associations and federations around the world since I published the guide in 2017.

As a minigolfer with over a decade of experience as a tournament competitor and years of experience in marketing and communications I designed the guide so that anyone interested or involved in minigolf could help promote the game. It's a niche title, but an audience and subject I know a lot about.

Writing the book was brilliant and enabled me to bring two areas of my life together. I've worked in marketing since 2003 and have played minigolf since I was a child. Stepping up to compete on the national minigolf tour circuit and in international tournaments opened my eyes to the potential of the game. I’ve also had the honour of serving on the committees of the British Minigolf Association (BMGA) and the World Minigolf Sport Federation (WMF).

Minigolf is a sport for all. People of all ages, sexes, backgrounds and abilities can pick up a putter and play the game.

The Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Emily and I have visited 956 courses in the UK and overseas on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. When our travels began in 2006 there were around 600 courses in the UK. We've got 40 from that original list left to visit.

The minigolf boom

The game is really booming and new courses are being announced all the time!

There are a huge amount of interesting and fun stories to tell and positive aspects to highlight to potential players, the media, sponsors and the wider sporting community. The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing should give federations, associations, courses, clubs and our fellow players ideas, inspiration and support in their marketing efforts.

Sports marketing

Much of the guidance can also be applied to a number of other sports clubs and organisations to help raise their profile and boost memberships.

Links:

• The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing on Amazon
• The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing on Kobo
• Minigolf and marketing consultancy

RadioShack is back

Electronics retailer RadioShack is back in business.

US electronics brand RadioShack is aiming to make a comeback with an online shopping mall concept alongside other brands owned by its new parent company. Check out the RadioShack website.

Funnily enough I was at a RadioShack in Denver, Colorado twelve years ago today!

Digital camera quality was something else in 2009!

RadioShack in the UK

I also found a RadioShack shop in Saint Annes on the Sea on the Fylde Coast in June 2017. Sadly it closed down in 2019.

RadioShack in Saint Annes on the Sea - it was the last RadioShack shop in the UK 

Luckily I did manage to shop in there a few times before it disappeared.

It was worth shopping there for the bag alone!

Stepping into the RadioShack store was like a time warp. It was brilliant having a chat to the man behind the counter about Tandy and RadioShack too.

Looking through my photo archive I also found this RadioShack sign from a shop in Whitstable, Kent.

Tandy

My first job was at a Tandy franchise shop in my hometown of Abingdon, Oxfordshire where I sold a number of electronic products bearing the 'RadioShack', 'Genexxa' and 'Realistic' brand names.

This Tandy signage was on display in Hitchin in 2019

Tandy said goodbye to the UK high street in 2001 as the last of the shops were converted after acquisition by Carphone Warehouse.

Round the back of the shop in March 2016

Last year I discovered that the Tandy brand is still alive and kicking. While there are no longer any Tandy shops on the high street I actually bought some Tandy brand rechargeable batteries from the Tandy online shop.

I also found a new old stock Tandy EC-500 Multilingual electronic translator in a charity shop in Stockport last November. That was a bargain buy - it cost me more to buy new CR2032 batteries to go in it!

Interestingly the name Tandy comes from one of the founders of a leather goods company called Tandy Leather - a business that later became RadioShack.

Related blog posts:

• Lost Shops - RadioShack in Saint Annes on the Sea
• Lost Shops - Tandy in Hitchin

Happy Shopper in Lowestoft

The easternmost Happy Shopper shop in the British Isles.

I was looking through my photo archive and happened to find a snap I took of the Happy Shopper shop in Lowestoft, Suffolk in August 2011!

I'm a big fan of the classic brand. I was both amazed and pleased that you can still find the original branding on some of the stores - this one is of particular interest as the classic cheeky chappy face is not included on the sign. From memory and looking online other signs on the shop have other versions of the logo

It's a brand I remember from growing up in the 1980s and 90s. Happy Shopper underwent a rebrand in 2000, but if you are lucky you can still find the original branding and signage on some shops.

Happy Shopper still exists as both convenience stores and own brand food & drink products. It has been part of the Booker Group since 1996. Booker itself is now owned by Tesco.

The Happy Shopper newsagent, general store and off licence can be found at 121 London Rd South in Lowestoft. As with many things in the seaside town it's the easternmost thing of its kind in the British Isles.

On our visits to Lowestoft we've played the easternmost adventure golf course and putting green in the British Isles.

World Book Day 2021

Happy World Book Day!

Today is World Book Day. To mark the occasion check out my minigolf marketing ebook - The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing.

Created after years of playing, promoting and consulting the ebook gives players, courses, federations, associations and clubs a guide to the world of marketing.

You can buy The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing from Amazon and Kobo.

Other minigolf books

While you're at it I also recommend checking out the following books about miniature golf:

• Amazing Strokes by Gretchen Smith
• Tilting at Windmills: How I Tried to Stop Worrying and Love Sport by Andy Miller
• The Path Behind the Green Jacket by Olivia Prokopová
• 10 Courses for 10 Years by The Putting Penguin
• Mini Golf by photographer Simon Martin

There are a number of other books about the game listed at the Crazy Golf Museum.

The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing

While there is some down time in lockdown why not check out my minigolf marketing ebook - The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing.

Created after years of playing, promoting and consulting the book gives players, courses, federations, associations and clubs a guide to the world of marketing.

You can buy the ebook from Amazon and Kobo.

I REMEMBER LITTLE CHEF

Do you remember Little Chef?

Many thanks to Megan Clark-Bagnall for sending me this brilliant badge from her mission to visit all of the remaining Little Chef diners in 2017 - a total of 41.

A very nice addition to my collection

What a quest. Find out more on Megan's Little Chef website.

While the brand was an ever present through my lifetime, I don't remember stopping at Little Chef's, or even Happy Eaters, when my family were on the road for day trips and holidays. Perhaps there weren't any on the routes from Abingdon to Barry Island or Minehead. I do however remember going to the Little Chef in Berinsfield, Oxfordshire for a meal in the late 80's or early 90's.

We also used to regularly pass by the Little Chef in Flimwell while en route to Hastings for minigolf tournaments.

The last Little Chef closed its doors in 2018. Interestingly the Little Chef website is still online.

The Happy Shopper in Sheffield

It was nice to find a Happy Shopper shop with the original branding up and still open. This one is on Page Hall Road in Sheffield.

The two other Happy Shopper shops I've seen this year have both been closed. One of those was also in Sheffield.

I remember seeing the Happy Shopper shops and branded products a lot when I was a kid in the 80's and 90's.

The Happy Shopper branding from the 1970's was changed in the year 2000 and I think it lost a lot of its charm and individuality. Many of the former Happy Shopper stores were rebranded as Premier shops.

Interestingly the social distancing signs on the door showed the original Happy Shopper branding with the smiling blond face appearing before the word 'Happy' rather than in place of the 'o' as seen in the second incarnation of the logo 

The Happy Shopper brand has been part of the Booker Group since 1996. Booker itself is now owned by Tesco.

Related blog posts:

- Happy Shopper

- Happy Shopper in Sheffield

- Happy Shopper in Preston

- Shopfronts

Happy Shopper in Sheffield

I found an old Happy Shopper shop in Sheffield.

It was nice to see the old Happy Shopper branding still up on the signs at what was once Pops Mini Market on Sharrow Lane in the Highfield area of Sheffield.

As the Happy Shopper branding was updated in the year 2000 I didn't think it would still be possible to see it 20 years later. I was glad to be wrong.

Last month I found a Happy Shopper in Preston purely by chance while en route to look for an abandoned Toys R Us.

While in Sheffield I actually managed to find a Happy Shopper that was open and had some of the original branding on the signage. Marvellous.

I remember seeing the Happy Shopper shops and branded products a lot when I was a kid.

The Happy Shopper on Page Hall Road in Sheffield

The Happy Shopper branding was changed in the year 2000 and I think it lost a lot of its charm and individuality. Many of the former Happy Shopper stores were rebranded as Premier shops.

Happy Shopper does still exist, as both convenience stores and own brand food & drink products. It has been part of the Booker Group since 1996. Booker itself is now owned by Tesco.

Related blog posts:

- Happy Shopper

- The Happy Shopper in Sheffield

- Happy Shopper in Preston

- Shopfronts

Covid-19 social distancing signage with 1970s branding

One of the best finds during my 'retail archaeology' expeditions this year is the social distancing signage using the original Happy Shopper branding from the 1970's, 80's and 90's at The Happy Shopper convenience store in Sheffield.

A slightly unexpected sight on a sign of the times in 2020

I remember seeing the Happy Shopper shops and buying their own-branded products a lot when I was a kid growing up in Oxfordshire back in the 80's and 90's.

The Happy Shopper on Page Hall Road in Sheffield

The Happy Shopper branding from the 1970's was changed in the year 2000 and became a lot simpler design. I thing it certainly lost a lot of its character.

The original Happy Shopper branding has the smiling blond haired face appearing before the word 'Happy' rather than in place of the 'o' in the word 'Shopper' as seen in the second, and probably more widespread, incarnation of the logo.

The two other Happy Shopper shops I've seen this year have both been closed. The first was in Preston and the second was also in Sheffield.

Check out my Instagram account for more social distancing signs I've spotted on my urban walks during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing

Check out The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing.

My ebook to help minigolf players better market themselves, their clubs, associations, tournaments and courses is available to purchase from Amazon and Kobo.

Old Littlewoods logo in Ashton-under-Lyne

Finding an old mosaic tile logo at the former Littlewoods shop on Stamford Street Central in Ashton-under-Lyne.

A few doors down from the old Woolworths on Stamford Street Central in Ashton-under-Lyne is a Cash Converters. The doorways to that shop also hold a link to the past.

Past meets present - the decades old Littlewoods logo and the signs of the pandemic times of 2020

Before becoming Cash Converters the building was home to Hitchens, a catalogue clearance store.

Another interesting thing about the building is that the street light is attached to the building itself, rather than on a pole.

Many thanks to Richard Eccles on Instagram for help in identifying the logo.

Old Woolworths sign in Ashton-under-Lyne

Finding an old mosaic tile logo at the former Woolworths on Stamford Street Central in Ashton-under-Lyne.

This branch of Woolies opened in 1927. It closed in the 1960s.

The building is now a charity shop for the Wooden Canal Boat Society.

I found out about this old logo on the excellent Woolies Buildings blog.

It's great to look up, down and all around while out exploring as you can see so many interesting things.

You can see still other remnants of Woolworths on the UK high street if you know where to look.

We visited the old Woolworths in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent earlier this month. It's one of the few former Woolworths shops that has not been occupied since the brand's demise in January 2009.

We also spotted an old Woolworths store in Brunstane, Edinburgh on a minigolfing trip back in August 2011. That was the Big W Woolworths store at The Jewel retail park.

Fuddruckers

Fuddruckers is soon to be no more.

It was announced this week that the brand is to be liquidated. Fuddruckers was founded in Texas in 1979. As of last year there were 156 Fuddruckers.

I've never eaten at one but did see a branch at The Orleans Casino in Las Vegas back in 2011.

If you've never seen the film Idiocracy check it out for a brilliant Fuddruckers visual gag.

Orange Wednesday

Last Wednesday was a very orange Wednesday.

It was brilliant to spot this old Orange Mobile shop sign while we were in Oswestry last Wednesday. A relic from another time.

We popped into a charity shop to escape the rain and while browsing spotted this old Orange mobile phone too. I used to sell mobiles from that era when I got my first job at Tandy back in 1996!

Orange launched in 1994 and merged with EE in 2010. The orange brand was continued until 2015 with existing customer plans ceasing in 2019.

Other lost and defunct brands

We've seen a number of old shop signs and retro retail remnants on our travels including Tandy in Hitchin; RadioShack in St Annes on the Sea; Toys R Us stores in Ancoats, Manchester, Warrington, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent and Preston; Woolworths Big W in Brunstane, Edinburgh; Woolworths in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent; BHS in Stockport; Kwik Save in Barrow-in-Furness; Cooltrader in Blackpool; Happy Shopper in Preston and Blockbuster Video stores in Manchester, Colne, Oldham, Cheadle Hulme, Marple, Hastings, Felixstowe, Telford, Prescot and Chester.

Happy Shopper

Finding a Happy Shopper store in Preston.

Short of completing my Time Machine and heading back to 1999 I thought it was nigh on impossible to find an old Happy Shopper shop sign. I guess yesterday was my lucky day.

What a sign

I just happened to be wearing the right colour jacket for the photo too!

I'm always a happy shopper when I find old branding and interesting signs. We'd gone to Preston to take a look at the abandoned Toys R Us store there

I remember seeing the Happy Shopper shops and branded products a lot when I was a kid.

The Happy Shopper branding was changed in the year 2000 and I think it lost a lot of its charm and individuality. Many of the former Happy Shopper stores were rebranded as Premier shops.

Happy Shopper does still exist, as both convenience stores and own brand food & drink products.

Do you remember Happy Shopper? Did you have a favourite Happy Shopper product?

Lost shops

On our travels we've seen a number of old shop signs and retro retail remnants including Tandy in Hitchin; RadioShack in St Annes on the Sea; Toys R Us stores in Ancoats, Manchester, Warrington, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent and Preston; Woolworths Big W in Brunstane, Edinburgh; Blockbuster in Fallowfield, Manhester; Woolworths in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent; BHS in Stockport; Blockbuster Video Express in Colne; Orange Mobile in Oswestry; Kwik Save in Barrow-in-Furness; Cooltrader in Blackpool and the remains of Blockbuster Video stores in Oldham, Cheadle Hulme, Marple, Hastings, Felixstowe, Telford, Prescot and Chester.

Toys R Us in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent

A look at the old Toys R Us store at Festival retail park in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent.

I've never seen cleaner and brighter signs on an abandoned shop.

There are three large branded Toys R Us signs on the store, this is one of two on the side of the building. They differ from the more commonly see signs as the brand name is printed onto one board, rather that the lettering being made out of individual 3D pieces

Toys R Us ceased trading in the UK in April 2018. I worked there back in the year 2000.

I was once one of Geoffrey's Helpers at Toys R Us

It was a lucky find as this month the unit will be opened as a Go Outdoors store and so the Toys R Us branding will be disappearing.

This scene won't be the same next month and the Toys R Us branding will be lost forever

Remains of other Toys R Us stores

We've also been to the abandoned Toys R Us in Warrington, Cheshire and had a look at what remained of the old store at the Central Retail Park in Ancoats, Manchester.

Woolworths in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent

A look at the old Woolworths in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent.

Anyone want some Woolies Pick n' Mix?

A view of the shopfront on Market Street

The last Woolworths shop in the UK closed in January 2009 so it was brilliant to see this frontage looking fairly unchanged!

Lovely to spot this extra piece of old branding hidden in plain sight on the shopfront

It won't be like that for too much longer though as work is going on inside the unit and it'll soon be a totally lost store.

A look inside the store

A view down the side of the store in Longton Shopping Centre

The secondary entrance / exit

Woolies in Longton

We first spotted the store in Longton while driving through the town last November. We were very surprised to see the branding still in place.

Woolworths Big W

We had a look at an old Woolworths store in Brunstane, Edinburgh back in August 2011. That was the Big W Woolworths store at The Jewel retail park.