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Who is Callaway's Face of the Brand? Do they need one?

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jlukes

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Phil has been Callaway's star for quite some time, but it is clear that Phil has entered the twilight years of his PGA Tour career.

Does Callaway need to find an heir-apparent to Phil? Do they even need a top player or is it better for Callaway to just have as many staffers as possible, regardless if they are a household name or not?
 
I think Phil has quite a bit left in star power, but if you look at up and comers of their existing stable, I like Reed as the next one.
 
Martsy said:
I think Phil has quite a bit left in star power, but if you look at up and comers of their existing stable, I like Reed as the next one.
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I was thinking about Reed, but is he "face of the company" material?
 
Does any company with a large staff really have one?
Rory vs Tiger?
Spieth you could say is for Titleist, but truthfully that is just because of a mega year. Could say Adam Scott, Dufner, ZJ, etc up until this year.
Cleveland Srixon? Maybe Keegan, maybe Gmac
TaylorMade - DJ, Day, etc
Callaway is still Phil. He is still the target on TV and still is "in it" in the majors. He also still moves the needle on equipment.
Bridgestone - Freddie? Kuch? Sneds?
Ping - Bubba? Westwood? Hunter? MAJ? Louis O?

I just dont believe that these companies have a face anymore. They have stables of quality golfers and depending on region of the world, might move the needle, might not, but win on Sunday, register on Monday still means something, just not as much as it used to mean due to good marketing and stale marketing.
 
I think Tony Finau has a chance. He is going to be a star I think. Maybe Ollie as well
 
Reed. Heck no. I don't have a good answer to the heir apparent to Phil.


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Clearly the face of the brand is Sir Issac and/or Big Bertha.

I don't think they are worried about who is their next big golfer. With the way golf contracts come and go, their next face could be a guy who won't be joining them for say 2-5 years. Sometimes I think it's better not to have a face of the company if you are looking at it that way. Who is Titleist's face of the company? I think one shift we saw in Callaway in recent years is that instead of going the route of the 1 big guy, they signed a really good stable of players.
 
jlukes said:
I was thinking about Reed, but is he "face of the company" material?
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No, he is not IMO. I really don't think they have one right now. At least not to the level of Rickie, DJ, or Spieth (for UA).

Do they need one? Wouldn't hurt.....but I think they are doing alright as is right now.
 
I think its still Phil. That being said they have quite a few staffers. I would have said Reed, but then he fell off the planet it seems. I think its better to have a bunch of players and if somebody steps up and takes it then even better for them.
 
I'd say their brand is Bertha right now.

Not sure they need a marquis name to be the "face" of the franchise. Having a wide, diverse group of golfers works very well.
 
Phil still is and I don't believe his heir apparent is currently on their roster. Reed does not strike me as a guy you want to hang your face of the brand tag on.
 
Lydia Ko
 
ATLGolfer said:
I'd say their brand is Bertha right now.

Not sure they need a marquis name to be the "face" of the franchise. Having a wide, diverse group of golfers works very well.
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you sir are wise. I just gave you a real long distance high five.
 
ddec said:
Clearly the face of the brand is Sir Issac and/or Big Bertha.

I don't think they are worried about who is their next big golfer. With the way golf contracts come and go, their next face could be a guy who won't be joining them for say 2-5 years. Sometimes I think it's better not to have a face of the company if you are looking at it that way. Who is Titleist's face of the company? I think one shift we saw in Callaway in recent years is that instead of going the route of the 1 big guy, they signed a really good stable of players.
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Here is what my answer would be, plain and simple. Well said. And the stable of players is consisting of solid men AND women.
 
JB said:
Does any company with a large staff really have one?
Rory vs Tiger?
Spieth you could say is for Titleist, but truthfully that is just because of a mega year. Could say Adam Scott, Dufner, ZJ, etc up until this year.
Cleveland Srixon? Maybe Keegan, maybe Gmac
TaylorMade - DJ, Day, etc
Callaway is still Phil. He is still the target on TV and still is "in it" in the majors. He also still moves the needle on equipment.
Bridgestone - Freddie? Kuch? Sneds?
Ping - Bubba? Westwood? Hunter? MAJ? Louis O?

I just dont believe that these companies have a face anymore. They have stables of quality golfers and depending on region of the world, might move the needle, might not, but win on Sunday, register on Monday still means something, just not as much as it used to mean due to good marketing and stale marketing.
Click to expand...

I agree 100%. However, I would say that while Callaway does have a diverse group of good golfers, they really don't have anyone outside of Phil that the casual fan would recognize.

TM, Titleist, and to a lesser extent Ping and Bridgestone, all of guys the casual fan would recognize. Not sure Callaway has that guy outside of Phil
 
I agree Phil is the dad of it but they do need some young blood to be the next star. I think its only a matter of time before they get that rising star. They got a great line of clubs coming and I've always found their clubs to be pretty consistent in quality and performance. I do have to agree though, Lydia Ko is a great face and role model for young kids. Heck, she's a role model for me as well. I enjoy watching her play.
 
Martsy said:
I like Reed
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said no one ever

to op, i don't know who the next face of the brand is. they definitely have some solid players in their stable, but i agree that they're lacking anyone to be the face. then again, were it not for jordan recently, who would have been titleist's guy? adam scott? but i wouldn't say that titleist needs a face. so maybe callaway is fine?
 
I would say Phil , or upcoming star Tony Finau or Ollie are next in line

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jlukes said:
I agree 100%. However, I would say that while Callaway does have a diverse group of good golfers, they really don't have anyone outside of Phil that the casual fan would recognize.

TM, Titleist, and to a lesser extent Ping and Bridgestone, all of guys the casual fan would recognize. Not sure Callaway has that guy outside of Phil
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I think region dependent I would disagree.
Ryo definitely
Lydia Ko definitely

But honestly outside of about 6 guys, I dont think the casual fan really identifies with too many tour pros. I dont think the casual fan recognizes Justin Rose or until yesterday and maybe even still Jason Day. I think they do with DJ, which is a bit odd, but I get it.

I would not undersell the identity of guys like Furyk and Stenson either.

ANd then you look at up and coming stars like Reed, Finau, Hadwin, etc and the staff overall is large, young and varied.
 
Well I do think there is a face to every franchise, thought admittedly some change seasonally, and some much longer. Callaway is in the unique position to have probably the longest standing ambassador to their brand by having a likable and still competitive player in Phil. For the other oem's I think right now it's:

Nike - Rory
Titleist - Spieth
Cleveland - Keegan
TM - DJ
Bridgestone - Snedeker
Ping - Bubba
 
I'm with some of the posts here in that I think Callaway and I'm thinking the brand and equipment and not a specific golfer.

They have a good crop of young guys that could take the "torch" from Phil, but it isn't necessary IMO.
 
Martsy said:
Well I do think there is a face to every franchise, thought admittedly some change seasonally, and some much longer. Callaway is in the unique position to have probably the longest standing ambassador to their brand by having a likable and still competitive player in Phil. For the other oem's I think right now it's:

Nike - Rory
Titleist - Spieth
Cleveland - Keegan
TM - DJ
Bridgestone - Snedeker
Ping - Bubba
Click to expand...

No chance the average golf fan identifies Spieth with Titlest. Heck, I had to do a double take. He is all about Under Armour. Just an observation.
 
i think because golf is so competitive now, its more about having the 'stable' of good quality golfers than having one specific person. So to answer the original post, i dont think they have an 'heir' to Phil, and i dont think Callaway needs one. They're in it almost every single weekend, so i dont think it has to be one specific person. They're clearly good at finding quality talent at an early stage of their career (Ko, Reed, Finau etc...)
 
I don't want this to be interpreted as a negstive, I feel like Harry Arnett is the face of callaway
 
DevRickus said:
No chance the average golf fan identifies Spieth with Titlest. Heck, I had to do a double take. He is all about Under Armour. Just an observation.
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you just saved me from tying that, because I literally just said the same thing
 
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