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Can a Brand Undo Being Typecasted?

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JB

JB

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There are brands making high quality equipment and yet some of them get sort of stuck in the mold of being a ball company or iron company or wedge company, etc.

Is this something that can be undone, regardless of how good the equipment is that they are putting out?
 
I really think so. If the gear is that good, it should eventually speak for itself. It might take some time to break out of that previous stereotype, but I think it's possible.
 
JB said:
There are brands making high quality equipment and yet some of them get sort of stuck in the mold of being a ball company or iron company or wedge company, etc.

Is this something that can be undone, regardless of how good the equipment is that they are putting out?
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Other than a truly disruptive event, time.

Perceptions almost always lag reality.
 
I think its a pretty uphill battle unless they are one of the biggest names (for example Callaway's gains in the ball market etc)
 
Callaway proved that you can. Harry's team and marketing $'s surely changed perception.
 
Yes, but it is tough and takes a few years of consistently good output.. I think Cobra over came it.
 
Sure they can. I think it just takes time and some top notch marketing. A few years of really good releases to build a customer base and get their clubs noticed.
 
NVGOLFER80 said:
Yes, but it is tough and takes a few years of consistently good output.. I think Cobra over came it.
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I agree that it usually is a difficult thing to do.
 
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NVGOLFER80 said:
Yes, but it is tough and takes a few years of consistently good output.. I think Cobra over came it.
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Interesting example, because they were at the top of the game and slipped, but came back.
I dont think they were really typecasted as a certain segment, were they?
 
Yes but requires time and money. Believe often the outcome is acquisition by another.
 
troyefl said:
Callaway proved that you can. Harry's team and marketing $'s surely changed perception.
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This is my thought as well. It is very hard but with exceptional people and marketing effort it can happen.
 
JB said:
Interesting example, because they were at the top of the game and slipped, but came back.
I dont think they were really typecasted as a certain segment, were they?
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When I was a bit younger, I remember them being considered an "old" person brand. Then I think they had some ties to the LDA and I think that changed the stigma some. Then signing Rickie and being purchased by Puma finished the transformation. They not have been an heavily typecast as say Srixon/cleveland but I think they they were to some extent.

Whether they were or not. They are absolutely killing it now. They have a great social presence and put out consistently good stuff. That is what it takes.
 
Changing consumers perception about a brand whether it be golf clubs, cars, apparel, food is a tough battle. Can be overcome over time but hard to do. Take VW for example. came out with a $100k car, the Phaeton. Mostly got good reviews as a car but associated with the brand VW killed any chance of it surviving as a luxury sedan.
 
If we're looking at typecast brands examples, I would say Adams was a hybrid company forever. Towards the end of their life, they hit a really good stride with quality equipment. I don't think it was necessarily enough by the obvious fact that they are no longer around. Another brand would be Tour Edge. They were either a box brand or primarily a fairway wood company (at least in my perception). But, their Exotics lineup has come a long way since those days.
 
tequila4kapp said:
This is my thought as well. It is very hard but with exceptional people and marketing effort it can happen.
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Long term, the product has to be as advertised
 
radiman said:
If we're looking at typecast brands examples, I would say Adams was a hybrid company forever. Towards the end of their life, they hit a really good stride with quality equipment. I don't think it was necessarily enough by the obvious fact that they are no longer around. Another brand would be Tour Edge. They were either a box brand or primarily a fairway wood company (at least in my perception). But, their Exotics lineup has come a long way since those days.
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A good example would be Mizuno with irons.
Others could be Srixon with irons, Titleist with balls, etc etc.
 
Definitely a tougher transition but I think they can.
 
certainly an interestiing question....

i think in some cases yes and in others no. for example.....MIZUNO. First thing that comes to anyones mind is irons. But if you look how theyve expanded their iron offerings to all levels of golfers, then started gaining some serious traction with their woods, wedges.....putters. I think the overall narrative on them is changing.

But then when you take a company like Cleveland golf.....people immediately think wedges. For many many years Cleveland made irons under that brand. Hell i played TA3s for like 7-8 years lol. However i feel like they were never and still arent at the forefront of their lineup. Certainly not in the last 10-5 yrs. Someone says Cleveland golf to me i think wedges, woods, putters. Irons???? i turn to Srixon (one of the family of brands)

maybe its just me. But, i think it really depends on the company and what they really want to be known for. See Bridgestone golf. What do the WANT to be known for?
 
I think you can, but it sure could be tough depending on how set is your typecast and how far from what you try to get into. I can't imagine playing a Footjoy iron or Odyssey driver, but I could play a Cobra putter.
 
It’s possible, but it feels like you have to have a few consecutive years of product before it’s a thing. Cobra’s LD stuff was straight fire. The LV4 through Bio Cell? Meh.. They didn’t catch fire again really until the F8? That was an improvement. The F9 and Speedzone releases were fantastic for them.
 
I think if more people had the opportunity for brand agnostic fittings, it'd happen more easily. A lot of folks would really enjoy the ST200, or a Z585, but probably never get the chance to hit one. I can go to TGW today and hit pretty much everything under the sun, but I bet they might have one option for the smaller brands and the TM/Cally stuff will have all the shafts and heads imaginable.
 
JB said:
A good example would be Mizuno with irons.
Others could be Srixon with irons, Titleist with balls, etc etc.
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Definitely Mizuno. I know they've been putting out solid drivers and fairways. But, they just don't seem to get a lot of traction (at least around here). They're making headway for sure though as their drivers seem to get a lot of praise online.
 
Oooh man this is a good one. I don't know, its tough to break that. It would take something spectacular to do it
 
It is hard because perception is everything! You can do an amazing job for years and 1 slip up can send you down the ranks. I would love to know what Wilson’s iron market share was in the 70s and 80s and then they got branded a box set company with Walmart like stores. They were trying to appeal to all golfers but it just didn’t work out.
 
I don’t have enough history with golf but I’d beg to argue Wilson has pigeonholed themselves into a big box brand only...and their attempts to dig out of it seem to equate to a keystone cops episode.
 
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