Bowers – Discussion 1 Jeffery Bowers Email this Author 6/7/2016 1:12:24 PM

responding back to this classmate

Advertising is a function of the IMC and has three objectives or features, the text explains they are, “provide the best possible selling message to the right target audience at the best possible price, Advertising is paid. Therefore, advertisers have full control of the content and media placement of the advertisements and lastly advertising is a non-personal way of communicating to a large audience” (Ogden and Ogden. 2014. Sec 4.1). By developing the precise and appropriate message, the venue to transmit that message and getting that message to the masses then the product has a significant chance of survival and the organization has the likelihood of securing a market share and earning a profit for stakeholders.

Titleist golf balls have been an icon in the game of golf for 84 years. The history started on the golf course one Sunday afternoon, “when Phil Young, a dedicated amateur golfer and owner of a precision molded rubber company, missed a well-stroked putt in a match with his friend, who was head of the x-ray department at a local hospital” (Titleist. 2016). Positive that the ill-fated putt was influenced by the ball due to a flaw in the ball’s construction, “Young and his opponent went to the hospital, x-rayed the golf ball in question and found that its core was, in fact, off-center” (Titleist. 2016). This was the start of a revolution in the quality control in the manufacturing of golf balls.

Titleist is the number one ball in golf selling over 540 million golf balls in the U.S. each year, that’s not including the global market so that number would easily doubt. How do you advertise Titleist golf balls? First off for 84 years they have created an image, and that is quality and being the best ball on the market. With advertising messages as “The #1 ball in golf” and “It’s not how you mark your golf ball, it’s how you mark your Titleist”, the corporation has built a brand image as the leader in golf ball manufacturing. They have refined the manufacturing process to an art and Titleist continues to this day to x-ray every ball that comes off the line, that’s about 1.5 billion x-rays a year. The second advertising strategy that I analyzed about Titleist is Unique Selling Proposition, this falls in line with their Brand Image message. Titleist was the first to x-ray a golf ball to ensure quality and they remain devoted to the quality of manufacturing. When you buy a Titleist golf ball, you are buying quality and it will outperform its competitors and perform as designed.

Another strategy that ensures Titleist being the number one ball in the market is to make it the number one ball on the PGA, LPGA and numerous mini-tours played by professionals. Titleist employs over 60 professional golfers, men and women to endorse their product and you show shot after shot rolling into the hole. The novice golfer wants that same feeling so they run, walk, drive, swim and fly to buy Titleist golf balls.

Resonance and positioning support each other, besides using professional golfers hitting amazing shots, Titleist also uses everyday novice golfers in their advertising strategy to tell the consumer how great the product is. By using ordinary people, that helps in building a customer base and product loyalty because when the novice player plays well, the thinking is it’s due to the Titleist ball.

Titleist golf balls, “The #1 ball in golf”. Titleist resonates quality and performance, and they exude that message by having a message broadcast every week at every professional tournament by dozens of professional. That’s why you sell 1.2 billion golf balls a year and stay in business for almost a decade.

References:

Ogden, J. R., & Ogden, D. T. (2014). Integrated Marketing Communications: Advertising, Public Relations, and More. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

http://www.titleist.com/company/