Is Gender Marketing Needed in Golf?

I like marketing. I like to play golf. When these two interests collide, I take notice. These days, the golf industry’s leading companies have embraced social media, video and the web to promote themselves as more than just makers of equipment. I have previously written about the use of drones in golf marketing as well as the somewhat annoying practice of frequently introducing new equipment. This post is about my favorite golf club manufacturer’s recent announcement regarding their line of women’s clubs.

When PING recently unveiled the new logo for their women's apparel and equipment, my initial observation was the deviation from the company's iconic brand. The PING logo has featured only minute changes since the 70's. The new look has grown on me and I now think this design for the company's Rhapsody line is very fitting. I've also realized that the standard PING logo has never seemed feminine to me.


Gender equality is a long-standing issue and has roots in many facets of life, including sports. It's clear that PING wants to attract the attention of female golfers with the Rhapsody line. But after thinking more about PING's new brand with the concern of equality in mind, I now wonder if female golfers feel this distinction is needed. I'm sure there are some players that prefer the line's feminine colors just as there are some players feel the separation is an admission to being unequal. My first look at the new Rhapsody color scheme reminded me of a Tumblr blog that highlights gender-specific advertising that, in some cases, could be considered offensive.

http://unnecessarilygenderedproducts.tumblr.com/post/102285752796/because-hammers-need-to-be-gender-designated-to-be

PING's competitors all offer clubs that are constructed for female golfers but I have not noticed any of those companies taking the same steps to create an exclusive brand with which female players can identify. I think the new Rhapsody brand is a positive thing and PING has shown it can be supportive without being shameful. However, if sales of Rhapsody clubs are low, it will be interesting to see if the existence of this separation is brought into question.

Thank you for reading! I hope you’ll share your thoughts about PING's decision or equality within the golf club industry in the comment section.

{Top Photo: Courtesy}

Octocopter Videos

Marketers are always looking for the next head-turner. The use of octocopters - - from spelunking to package delivery and everything in between - - is way up and golf marketing is always on my radar. That's why I was pleasantly surprised to see a local golf course incorporate the use of a 'copter (or are they drones?) in its latest marketing efforts.

Despite being a challenging course, Eagle Point Golf Club in Birmingham probably isn't as highly regarded as other heavily marketed courses in the area. But Eagle Point has separated itself from the pack when it comes to innovative marketing techniques. I recently came across these videos on Eagle Point's YouTube channel:


They filmed a video for each hole on the course, which takes the act of describing the hole to another level.


If other Birmingham golf courses are using octocopters in their marketing videos, I haven't seen them. But you better believe that other courses will be getting in on this trend very soon. After all, showcasing a bird's eye view of your course's layout in a video looks so much better than any ground level photograph ever did.

Kudos to Eagle Point Golf Club for breaking new ground. I believe we'll start seeing more of this from the big golf equipment manufacturers soon. Callaway Golf, which has a super sharp marketing team, has already begun working octocopters into some of their videos.



UPDATE: Eagle Point Golf Club closed for good in 2016. Unfortunately, their forward-thinking marketing wasn't enough to fend off hungry real estate developers.

Are Too Many Choices a Bad Thing?

Golf marketing is extremely competitive and manufacturers are always in a mad rush to showcase their new product that will help in a golfer’s never-ending quest for game improvement. But is it possible that golf club manufacturers are overwhelming consumers with too many new products each year? Let me explain my concern…

Drivers are the clubs that are most associated with distance and golfers (especially less-skilled players) tend to equate long drives to lower scores. Manufacturers like TaylorMade do a great job of hitting on this notion in their marketing pieces. They feature data from test results to show how many extra yards of distance can be delivered from the latest in their line of drivers.

To their credit, TaylorMade isn’t just throwing random data out to consumers. They have invested heavily in their research and development teams over the years and their work has produced clubs that are innovative and produce big results. I strongly encourage you to visit this timeline of TaylorMade’s developments and history. It’s very entertaining and gives great details about some of TaylorMade’s more prominent developments, including the first metal driver.

For many years, golf manufactures showcased their new products at two distinct periods: in the springtime, just before the warmer weather arrives, and at Christmas. These days, I’m noticing that newly-developed clubs are being introduced at other parts of the year – and TaylorMade is leading the surge. The observation came to me when I recently viewed this ad for TaylorMade’s JetSpeed series:

The JetSpeed driver (and accompanying fairway woods and rescue clubs) was announced just weeks after TaylorMade’s SLDR driver was introduced. In total, TaylorMade has introduced and marketed 4 new drivers in 2014. Each driver has multiple variations that range from $300 to $600. That’s a lot of specifications for consumers to consider. More and more amateur golfers are taking to social media and other online venues to vent their frustration with TaylorMade’s pace. These complaints include general confusion to disappointment in the fact that the technology found in last year’s expensive purchase has already been topped.

Previous models are now advertised at half of their original costs and the market for preowned golf clubs is thriving more each year. Will TaylorMade keep up its high pace of production? As a marketer, I sure hope so. I’d like to see more cool stuff like this: