Areas of Expertise, Golf Industry, Stories

Creating a successful marketing campaign for the golf industry

Marketing to the golf industry and creating a successful campaign is not hard! PLAYING golf is hard! My buddies and I say “Oh well, golf is hard” when one of us is in trouble. Like behind a tree. Wait, the double hit trick will get around the tree now. It isn’t like basketball where there is always a chance for a rebound, or football where you get four tries to get 10 yards. You hit a bad shot, and you own it! The damage is permanent.

But, people that are true fans of the sport love the fact that golf is hard.

Scoring well in golf is hard, too. Another sport where scoring is hard is soccer. I didn’t know anything about soccer until my son played. But, I do remember how boring I thought it was. And, the pay off to that boredom could end with a 0-0 score — insane. But when you do score in soccer…GOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLL! Everyone loses their minds. But, after watching hundreds of matches and learning the game, I discovered soccer’s true beauty.

Like golf, soccer is a game within a game. Both are about the perfection of a series of moments. For golf, it is the proper swing dynamics, and for soccer it is the passing and set up on the pitch.

Now, this is why marketing to the golf industry and creating a successful campaign is not hard! The passion is palpable. Elation when executed perfectly. And, downright depression when your timing is off. Our job as the marketer is to tap into that passion and then leverage it.

There are plenty of passionate people to market to in this industry. According to the National Golf Foundation, an estimated 97.6 million (one out of every three Americans age 6+) played golf (on-course or off-course), watched the sport on television, or read about it in 2017.

Here is my list I keep in mind when marketing to the golf industry and ultimately creating a successful campaign.

1: Remember the passion that embodies golfers.

2: Leverage valuable product benefits and attributes.

3: Tell an entertaining story with images, video and compelling copy.

4: Spread the story around to digital, print, social and collateral.

5: Stick to simple points and repeat them

6: Hold up any communications to my first point and see if it aligns with their passions.

See, super easy! A lot easier than consistently hitting a pure shot in golf.

Photo Credit: ©2018 Crobar | Creative Leverage • Location: Reunion Resort, Orlando Florida • Purpose: Product shoot for a golf manufacturer.


Todd Kinley

J. Todd Kinley

Founder | Executive Creative Director: Crobar Creative Leverage. Husband, Father, and Moose owner. Lover of art, photography, golf, and strategy. Follow me: