ANNOUNCEMENT Live Chat: Ethan Ganot with Callaway Golf

[Ethanator]

When did you realize that internet golfers are the perfect subject for a blockbuster nationwide advertising campaign?

haha. Just wait til you see our Super Bowl commercial next year, it'll feature JB!

But seriously - you guys are a small but vocal minority and drive a lot of the sentiment in the industry. Plus, a small portion of the golf audience spends a majority of the equipment dollars. So not only are you important monetarily but you're important in terms of influence...and you give us someone to geek out with!

 

[Ethanator]

Living in both NY and PA, what is the better food, NY Pizza slice or Phila cheesesteak?

Cmon is this a real question!!!?? Pizza for the win! I'd never even heard of a cheesesteak until I was in college.
I can eat half a pizza no problem. I do like cheesesteaks but I don't think I can eat more than one without feeling awful.

 

[Nate<80]

Finance degree undergrad -> boring finance/audit jobs -> grad school -> MillerCoors National Account Sales Strategy -> Imports Marketing at MillerCoors.

Quite the journey. Awesome, man! Thanks.

 

[Ethanator]

Thanks for joining us Ethan, we appreciate it!

1. What’s the biggest challenge for Callaway Marketing during this Covid-19 shut down?

2. What was your most memorable project that you’ve worked on while at Callaway?

3. Any aspirations to move beyond just passionfruit in your backyard garden? If I was in California I’d be growing all sorts of fruit!

1) Keeping people engaged in an authentic but sensitive fashion while also trying to weave product in where possible. Speaking of which - callawaygolf.com/activitybook

2) I answered this one in another question - working on the Phil "Playing Through" commercial was awesome. Fast, memorable, inexpensive, different, fun. Pasted the link below

3) we have a dwarf grapefruit tree that has thus far only yielded some flowers. and tomato plants which went nuts last year. Other than that we don't much room for anything else -- small yard. Would love more space and time (and knowledge!) for gardening. It's strangely satisfying. What do you grow?

Callaway Chrome Soft TV Spot, 'Don't Move' Featuring Phil Mickelson

Legendary golfer Phil Mickelson is in a bit of a bind because he needs to make a tough shot through this tiny window, only it's your window. In this rare case of breaking the fourth wall, Phil kindly asks viewers to lean to the side and watch their heads because he's sending a Callaway Chrome...

www.ispot.tv

 

[DNice26]

@EthanatorCG Curious, what are your top two examples, points of reference/inspiration, for genius/effective marketing?

 

[Ethanator]

@EthanatorCG Who is the funniest member of the ZooCrew.
Also, best ribs ever? Go!

Best ribs ever are those eaten with this dude!

Oh man, everyone on the team is funny in their own way. Such a tough one.
Neubarth throws comments under his breath that are incredible references
JRod is just over the top LOUD IN YOUR FACE and combines that with expressive faces and voices/volumes
Finley is the master of the zinger. Ruthless
Luke has such great perceptive dry wit

 

[gkeller813]

3) we have a dwarf grapefruit tree that has thus far only yielded some flowers. and tomato plants which went nuts last year. Other than that we don't much room for anything else -- small yard. Would love more space and time (and knowledge!) for gardening. It's strangely satisfying. What do you grow?

Thanks for answering my questions. I have 3 apple trees, a peach and almond, and I grow cut flower for my wife as well as various vegetables. My best garden had a large sweet corn patch, pictured below. Got almost 200 ears that year.

 

[Ethanator]

@EthanatorCG forgot one! ERC was a great marketing campaign for Callaway and a really good product. Can we expect any updates to the ball soon or was it considered more of a one-off?

Glad you liked it! Fun sneaky fact on the tv spot for that ball - the "Actor" in the spot was our very own Tyler Shean.

I can't get into launch plans but let's just say that we also think it's a really good product!

 

[Ethanator]

@EthanatorCG Who do you feel is Callaway's biggest competitor?

Cheesy answer but I think we are our own worst enemy! We make such great stuff and there is (assuming things get back to normal) enough golf audience to spread the purchasing power around that I think we and the other big OEMs can all thrive that I think we just need to stay out of our own way. We have great people and tools and products so we just need to make sure we are prioritizing appropriately and putting the most effort behind the right projects!

 

[Ethanator]

@EthanatorCG flour or corn tortillas for tacos?

Since you need to double layer them most times, why not both!
If only one, I try to go corn as I think they have a little more flavor.
What's your pick and why?

 

[Ethanator]

Question for Ethan - which way are cookies best served, with a warm glass of milk or with a cold glass of milk?

I actually don't drink a ton of milk, so umm neither? If I had to choose though, cold! Warm milk kind of creeps me out.
Also - favorite cookie = oatmeal raisin
What's your go-to?

 

[Ethanator]

So @EthanatorCG which Pro Golfer would you most like to beat on the Peloton and who among the zoo crew is the peloton leader.

I literally want to beat all of them. But especially the ones who seem fat and/or out of shape. How could they possibly be in better shape, all. they do is walk a lot?!

Too small a sample yet to see about Marketing Dept peloton leader, I think we need more races!

 

[Ethanator]

@EthanatorCG, do you feel that there is now too much choice in the game or not enough?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think we have a good balance. More choice for the end user is almost always good, isn't it? (Makes it tougher for us to cut through the clutter but at the end of the day we want people playing better golf!)

 

[Ethanator]

It’s 95 and humid. I haven’t had a drink since the front 9 and I’m facing a brutal 4 hole stretch to close out the round. Do I drink the ice cold Bud Light Lime in the cart cooler?

Reach into the depths of your cart bag, I know you left an airplane bottle of hooch at the bottom of that thing 3 months ago that you'd rather drink!

 

[Ethanator]

@EthanatorCG What golf company has the biggest marketing budget?

Oh hmm, not sure! Depends what you consider "marketing" -- you could say that Tour player contracts are a Marketing expense, right?
We are a decent size but nowhere near as large as some others, and not even a drop in the bucket when you compare to non-golf brands like Nike/Under Armour, Coca Cola, Kraft, etc.
For us it's not about how many dollars we have, it's about picking the right places to spend them and looking really big in those places

 

[Ethanator]

@EthanatorCG what did you think when robinson cano went to the mets??

That was the most Mets move ever. UCH! SO STUPID. SUCH A METS THING TO DO TO SIGN A WASHED UP, INJURED, OVERPAID GUY WHO WON'T DELIVER.

in short - it was frustrating!

 

[Nate<80]

Oh hmm, not sure! Depends what you consider "marketing" -- you could say that Tour player contracts are a Marketing expense, right?
We are a decent size but nowhere near as large as some others, and not even a drop in the bucket when you compare to non-golf brands like Nike/Under Armour, Coca Cola, Kraft, etc.
For us it's not about how many dollars we have, it's about picking the right places to spend them and looking really big in those places

Good way of looking at it, thanks.

 

[Ethanator]

What brands do you think are handling the current environment correctly/best?

Rozo!!! Whattup!
Man that's a tough one. I've kind of stopped looking at a ton of social media or tv lately just to stay positive. Home Depot just sent a nice email describing what they're doing for their store associates, and AllBirds did a thing where medical professionals get a free pair of shoes. I thought Budweiser's thing with the American Red Cross was really solid.

What do you think is good?

 

[dacatalyst41]

I actually don't drink a ton of milk, so umm neither? If I had to choose though, cold! Warm milk kind of creeps me out.
Also - favorite cookie = oatmeal raisin
What's your go-to?

You and @Snickerdog would’ve been hilarious as college roommates.

 

[BigMac]

No questions, just wanted to say thanks to @EthanatorCG for sharing your insight and knowledge with us. Had to smile at the reference to Goat Hill in Oceanside, it's the first golf course I ever played, and where I learned to love the game back in the '80s!

 

[BuckNasty]

I actually don't drink a ton of milk, so umm neither? If I had to choose though, cold! Warm milk kind of creeps me out.
Also - favorite cookie = oatmeal raisin
What's your go-to?

tough to beat a warm chocolate chip cookie for me, but if I had to choose a retail cookie it would be double-stuffed Oreo. Been known to down a sleeve or three of those.

 

[Bryndom]

Since you need to double layer them most times, why not both!
If only one, I try to go corn as I think they have a little more flavor.
What's your pick and why?

Corn all the way (and agree with double layers) for proper tacos. Good carne asada or brisket or chicken tinga all the way!

 

[Ethanator]

What is the status of your quest to become the 4th Beastie Boy?

No success thus far. Maybe it's the haircut? Got any tips? Maybe I need to write/record/post some of my own Beastie-inspired tunes to see if I go viral?

 

[JB]

Maybe I need to write/record/post some of my own Beastie-inspired tunes to see if I go viral?

Yes.

 

[Ethanator]

@EthanatorCG what do you think of those of us who like to play strictly by the RoG all the time?

To each their own! This goes for life and not just the golf course -- as long as people's preferences/attitudes/actions don't impact or impinge upon others, then whatever you want to do is your business! Play by the rules in the book - great! Play only by the ones you like - also great! Just make sure what you're doing is in concert with the broader context of the forum -- don't make your own rules during a US Open qualifier and expect me to be ok with that!!