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Back from the Grave?

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JB

JB

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Can a brand come back from the grave? We are seeing the attempt right now with Ben Hogan Golf. Other brands were owned by places like Sports Authority (think Tommy Armour) and there are many brands that were once incredible that have gone by the wayside. Can a brand be resurrected? Now keep in mind that it does not have to come back and be a billion dollar company or top 5 in the industry, but come back to be a viable equipment company.

What would you do to bring something back to life?
 
I think its extremely tough to do. The marketplace now is loaded with TONS of options for the consumer, adding to that makes it extremely difficult to get the foot in the door and even if they have a "solid" comeback sustaining that is a whole other game.
 
I think it would be extremely difficult to bring something like that back. If you had any loyal customers before, chances are they have since found another company they like and are sticking with them. I would think you would just about have to build your customer base up from scratch all over again. Also, with all the other brands out there and one big one (Nike) just leaving the equipment industry, it would be really hard to complete with what's out there now.
 
I agree with Mike. I believe it would be very difficult with all the options now. Could it be done? Absolutely

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What would i do? I would hit social media hard and be very interactive. You cant go cheap with price because then consumers will think your product is cheap. I would fall in line with the selling point, hit the social media world hard and focus on the future of my product. Too many times brands that did well in the past almost do too much to remind people about the past and consumers can never really get past that. People want to buy the latest and greatest, not something they know was great 30 years ago
 
It can be done but you need to a better mouse trap per say. You need something to differentiate your new products from whats out there. Although I love the look of the new Fort Worth and PTx irons I don't know if they can make it against all the competition but I'll be rooting for them because as a consumer I want all the options I can get!!
 
I wouldn't say Callaway was in the grave but they were headed that way before the regime change several years back. They had a string of lousy product offering after another and seemed to be relying on brand equity from the past. I stopped buying from them but they are back, probably better then ever because of solid leadership and a keen focus on positioning their products.



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I wonder if Nickent could make a comeback?
 
In part, I think it depends on the brand. For instance, 8 years from now, if Nike comes back, that is easier than if Lynx tries to come back. Nike already exists and has lots of money to throw into resurrecting. Lynx on the other hand, is not known by many. However, if i were bringing back that particular brand, I'd sign on Couples (as I recall, he used to play lynx). Not sure why, just think I could get some nostalgia marketing that way.

~Rock
 
I think it's possible. Will not be easy but with the right people at the top running things, a solid r&d team with a good look in the design and a marketing staff that help bring the public exposure will go along way.

whatever it is they make has to look good and fall in a price point that doesn't come off cheap but isn't right up against their competition.
 
It's been a while, but SeeMore came back. I would think they are bigger today than they were after Payne Stewart won the U.S. Open with their putter. After he died, they disappeared for a long time.
 
I think they can come back, but am skeptical that they would reach the heights they were at previously.

Would love to see Nickent come back, man I loved that brand.

It is probably having the right combination of nostalgic marketing, and a great product, that will allow companies to come back and be successful. Social media, get the product out there for testing, get people talking about it.

As the owner of my wife's restaurant says, "We want to be one of the first 3 options when people are thinking of going out". I think it follows suit for golf equipment. You want to be one of those brands that people think of.
 
it depends on how long they've been dead, what their market segment was and how strong their brand recognition is. Hogan is somewhat eternal because it's the name of a person. Nickent is gone. Adams is recent enough that even modest golf consumers still know who they are; they also had a very strong presence in a single segment, which will help.
 
I definitely think it is doable, but I think it would take massive amounts of money to come back on a grand scale.
 
Jobs brought Apple back from the dead. You just need to find that 1 person in a billion with the mind to orchestrate it.

I am glad someone mention Tommy Armour. I think everyone knows someone who still plays the TA 845's! Classic irons!
 
JB said:
Owned by dicks. If you could bring them back how would you?
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I think you keep it to hybrids and really focus on only promoting them, similar to what Adams did when they were really primarily known for just hybrids. Don't branch out to far from your focus.

Also, I think the pricing structure could help a brand really dig into a market, but I also think there is portion of the golfing community who looks at "cheap" clubs as just that regardless of the tech in them.
 
Yes, I definitely think you can bring a brand back, but a lot of it will take grass roots marketing and really focus in and make sure you get it right with your target demographic and get them into your gear and have word of mouth spread (of course this is expecting product to be top quality)
 
I think Hogan has seen the success they have because of the iconic name. Without that I'm not sure it can be done. Even Hogan will likely serve a niche market for the duration they are making clubs.
 
I think old companies can come back as long as they aren't looking to become giants in the industry. Some brands will do well because of cult like following, Ben Hogan. Some brands could have great price points and solid tech to get back. If they build a positive past energy and have a solid plan for the future, I dont see any reason why a brand could not make a come back.

I would love to see Founders clubs make a come back with new tech. The Judge and mini judge served me well while in college and I would put them back in the back again if they made a legit comeback.
 
McRock said:
In part, I think it depends on the brand. For instance, 8 years from now, if Nike comes back, that is easier than if Lynx tries to come back. Nike already exists and has lots of money to throw into resurrecting. Lynx on the other hand, is not known by many. However, if i were bringing back that particular brand, I'd sign on Couples (as I recall, he used to play lynx). Not sure why, just think I could get some nostalgia marketing that way.

~Rock
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I agree completely.

Certain brands have that connection with golfers and could be able to sustain some relative success coming back.
 
Great conversation guys. This is a fun tooic
 
I think that it would be extremely hard for a company to come back from the dead. They died for a reason and probably the consumers who let the company die are probably still around. People will equate the technology used by the dead company preventing a solid comeback. One just has to look at the major brands that died and think if they could/would ever rise again.
 
In the current day with the market the way it is I think it is very unlikely. If golf was booming, sure, if their equipment and marketing is good
 
I guess it depends on what criteria you use to say they "are back".....Is Tommy Armour back.....yes, you can buy the equipment......are the back and viable...probably not.

I think it would take a tremendous amount of money and some sort of "breakthrough" in technology to bring a "dead" OEM back to being a relevant company.
 
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