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- #26
I loved the i25 hybrid when it was called the i20 hybrid.
racing stripes FTW
2014 PING - Booth
racing stripes FTW
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- #27
Like I told you, I never ever thought I would see the day. They are WAY more subdued in person and I kinda like them on the driver TBH, but I never ever thought we would see that out of PING.
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- #28
the driver didn't look too bad. Like we talked about, it just doesn't seem like PING
Looking at the pics again I am shocked how little they do to make their booth look good
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- #30
I'm a big PING fan, always have been. But man the booth was disappointing. Very little product and very little energy.
I have a friend who works for them (albeit in engineering and not marketing or anything) and I know he isn't a big fan of this kind of blandness.
I know they aren't about being flashy but they went too boring IMO
I think my Birthday wishlist could be filled at that booth, dang I want an I25 driver
I would hate to see them turn out like Blackberry, BB kept the bland old skool approach and look what happened.
with that said I LOVE picg clubs
with that said I LOVE picg clubs
I would hate to see them turn out like Blackberry, BB kept the bland old skool approach and look what happened.
with that said I LOVE picg clubs
I think we are comparing the power of marketing versus the quality of product. In now way is Ping struggling to find an audience, at least from what I'm told by their audit partner. In fact they have fairly robust financials. Ping in my view has resisted the urge for splash and dash. I've fallen for the Taylormade and Callaway marketing buzz many times in the past only to end up with a club that doesn't perform as consistently as Ping's products. Right now I'm going through one of those up and down spell's with the latest Callaway hype. Some days I love it, the next not so much. Ping is boring, no sizzle but I pretty much know what I'm going to get and that is consistent performance again and again.
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- #35
PING is resisting the reality that we live in now, consumers are more observant and interactive than ever thanks to social media. IMO companies MUST adapt to this or they WILL be passed by. Resting on a name can only get you so far, and I'm a "PING guy".
Not sure that is a universal truism, may be reflective of the message board culture but that represents a small segment of buyers in all reality. At my primary club Titleist and Ping dominate the bags and many conversations on the course are critical of the "hype" marketing. I don't say this as a curmudgeon, more equipment churns through my hands then most, I'm just getting to the point where the marketing is finally having the impact on me that it is a turn off.
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- #37
However, the current generation of golfers are immersed in social media, I'm not talking message boards, I'm talking true social media. You named two companies that are living on "doing things the way we have always done things". That's fine, but as new generations enter the picture they gravitate more towards companies who they can truly interact with (see: Callaway and their momentum) moreso than companies they observe to be standoffish. That is just a fact.
Becareful about facts, the grey is easier to defend (just advise I learned in Law School!)
You are correct on the younger player and social media the problem is that their buying power versus my buying power is night and day. So you may be winning the war for the future but in the interim you need to make sure you build a product that is more then hype and don't agitate away a segment of your population that keeps you afloat.
A tank, bomb patches, or loft up hats are just shiny balls on the christmas tree, ultimately they mean nothing.
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- #39
What happens with age? It goes up. So that "night and day" buying power will change, we're talking about an age/generations that are being RAISED in social media and accessibility to things/companies/information the INSTANT that they want it. You CAN both embrace your current market AND expand the baseline of the future, its again, a FACT (I fear not that word as an educator) but when you stick in one mode, one mindset, and one setting permanently it will cost you in the long haul.
As for the shiny balls on Christmas trees, when the gear being pushed behind them performs just as current lines are showing, they mean a lot. ALL golf equipment is good, its just a fact, every single club out there may not fit everyone but it will fit someone and be a true performer from them, its because of that fact that the techniques we are seeing in advertising now are not just hype and it means a hell of a lot in the scheme of securing your future.
I get everything you are saying and in the grand scheme of things it makes sense. On the buying power side with the state of the world and opportunity I'd be shorting that proposition but that's another story for another day.
Here is where I'm struggling. Ping has always been what Ping is today, conservative, tried and true. They have their audience, their financials are strong, they play the high school and college markets well to attract new players.
New dollars are not being created in the marketplace, they are just being repositioned or are disappearing. The funny thing about sales is that you generally don't create new sales you just take sales away from someone else. Innovation, if there is such a thing, doesn't expand the market, it just siphons off someone else's market. So if Ping is being true to their brand and the image they wish to portray they will likely keep what they have, a core audience. I highly doubt they will end up like blackberry.
Agree wholeheartedly, I don't do well in the "man that's cool" threads!!
I've just succumbed to marketing, U2's Invisible is now available for downloading - disappearing for some loop listening.
tgtt
Well-known member
This is really interesting. I'm not a social media guy as I don't have FB, Twitter, or whatever else there is out there. IMO, the "old guard" of Titleist, Ping, and Mizuno can do no wrong and they'll always have their fans and lots of them.
However, as I'm watching golf today and thinking about the conundrum that is Graham DeLaet and wondering about pro contracts. I could really see someone grabbing the soft goods market. Imagine Cobra clothing all over TMAG guys or Titleist guys or whoever. I have no idea if it'd translate to hard goods but do we notice clubs or clothes more when watching?
Someone please move this somewhere if it needs to be somewhere else...
However, as I'm watching golf today and thinking about the conundrum that is Graham DeLaet and wondering about pro contracts. I could really see someone grabbing the soft goods market. Imagine Cobra clothing all over TMAG guys or Titleist guys or whoever. I have no idea if it'd translate to hard goods but do we notice clubs or clothes more when watching?
Someone please move this somewhere if it needs to be somewhere else...
50wyldeman
Member
I feel with all the efforts to grow the game, you really need to focus on media and it's potential for an influx of young blood, ANYONE in marketing will say a company overlooking this tool is simply foolish . I love
, for a myriad of reasons, but this is a misstep in my opinion. It's a trade show, something by its very nature is a VISUAL event you are there to bring people to you , established name or not. Is this not a bit like an engineer wanting to eschew a computer for the computational heavy lifting for a abacus ???
I still wonder how they are going to replace Mike Nicolette. I am huge Ping Homer but the i25 line is so bland to me. The Karsten line looks like repurposed G20 irons and generic hybrids. The S55 was great but its niche club.
Agreed James, even just trying to stay stable they will get lapped! They must evolve, adapt and grow in order to be profitable and increase market share.
I will admit that booth was not very good, but I can also say this with 100% certainty. When it comes time to upgrade from our Eye 2's, I will only look at PING. And I will only buy PING. I don't care about the look of their booth.
Honest question here, why are you Ping exclusively?
Hi Icey. I like the company. I like their story. I always have. They make high quality products. And because of all those factors, I do not feel motivated to look elsewhere. Sure, maybe another company's product might be a little better from year to year. Not sure about that, but maybe. It isn't going to radically impact my game one way or the other.
I also drive a Lexus, and my wife drives one too. I am not saying they are the best cars, but they have always been good to us - and we reward that. If they ever started letting me down, I would reconsider. But they would have to really screw up, because I have a great history with them (since 1996).
I am a loyal customer, and I look past marketing hype. I golf with Ping, and I drive Lexus. I also buy Nikon cameras, Sony televisions, and a lot of other products from companies that I feel produce high quality stuff.