Stealth, the future, and marketing

[coralka]

On 1/17/2022 at 5:06 PM, DriverBreaker said:

So I’ve been thinking about Driver technology, marketing, and the future of golf equipment lately.  With all of the hype and subsequent pushback on the new Stealth driver line, here are some thoughts.

1) USGA sets the limits on how hot a driver can be (see cool video on the process here):

2) Any additional gains in ball speed would come from longer and lighter shafts or anything that results in swinging the club faster.  Remember the TaylorMade Burner Superfast 2.0 drivers with the long and light shafts?  46.5” long and only 45 grams!  I had one and man that thing could hit missiles (whenever I could actually feel where it was in the backswing that is…). 
 

3) I think that as more and more golf influencers and content creators start admitting that year to year driver differences are minimal at best (if they exist at all), consumers are starting to be more critical of marketing claims.  For sure there have always been those who question the claims, but I think it feels like more consumers are catching on. 
 

4) Would OEMs be better served using their marketing dollars advertising things like forgiveness?  For example, maybe forgiveness is the new frontier that is focused on?  The USGA limit on MOI is 6,000g-cm^2.  Should OEMs say, “This year’s driver averages only 3mph of ball speed loss on toe/heel strikes compared to center strikes.”  Or, “We’ve already made the fastest face on a driver possible, now we’re giving you the most forgiveness so you can be aggressive off the tee and hit bombs with confidence.”  To me, personally, that is a much bigger selling point and tech I’d be interested in vs “This year’s driver is 10yds longer than last year’s.”

For an interesting read on CoG and MOI in drivers, MGS had an article a few years back:  https://mygolfspy.com/2019-driver-center-of-gravity-and-moi-report/

It is cool to know that moving weight low and back or forward realistically only happens within the space of a Micro SD card. 
 

I don't know a lot of about marketing. Now for studying I just read https://claspo.io/templates/use-case/age-gate/

What say you fellow spies?  What type of marketing do you think OEMs are best positioned to use?  Obviously distance promises sell, and the OEMs know this and have done their research, but perhaps there is a new frontier approach to it that could be pursued?

I've noticed a growing trend among golf influencers and content creators. More of them are starting to question the year-to-year differences in drivers and the marketing claims made by manufacturers. It seems like consumers are becoming more critical and skeptical of these claims as well. Do you think this shift in consumer perception will impact how OEMs market their drivers? Instead of focusing solely on distance and speed claims, could they start highlighting forgiveness as a key selling point? Imagine a driver that minimizes ball speed loss on off-center strikes, allowing golfers to be more aggressive off the tee without sacrificing accuracy. Personally, I find that more compelling than just hearing about increased distance. What are your thoughts on this shift in marketing strategy?

 

[Dinanywor]

Your idea about pivoting the marketing focus to "forgiveness" is spot-on. I think OEMs should take a leaf out of digital marketing strategies, where click-through rates and engagement are paramount. Just like in SEO, where CTR Manipulation like the one offered by searchseo.io is a huge topic, focusing on what genuinely benefits the consumer could lead to better "engagement" with the product, so to speak. Rather than just saying a driver will give you an extra 10 yards, which many are skeptical about, focusing on the more "forgiving" aspects of a new driver could be a game-changer.

Edited September 29, 2023 by Dinanywor