Callaway To Launch Ad Campaign Aimed At Young, Casual Golfers

By Jon Show, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal

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Callaway will launch a new long-term ad campaign this weekend as part of a larger effort to reach younger, more casual golfers. Spots featuring Ernie Els break Saturday on Golf Channel, marking Callaway’s first commercials since moving its ad account this summer from N.Y.-based Young & Rubicam to Eleven, S.F. Callaway VP/Marketing Brian Groves said the creative is built less on the history of the sport and more on encouraging consumer ties to the company’s equipment. “We have not been forming enough of an emotional connection with the consumer,” he said. Callaway’s previous campaign, "Better Game By Design," ran for three years, and Groves expects a multi-year lifespan for the new "Pure" campaign. There are no existing plans for Callaway’s newest endorser, pop star Justin Timberlake, to appear in commercials.

CHANGING COURSE: Callaway also is changing its media philosophy after moving its buying account to OMD, placing more buys outside traditional golf media. Print ads, which ran mostly in golf magazines, will now include titles covering business and finance, as well as men’s health and fitness. Rather than continuing with sweeping buys on Golf Channel, there will be more units during live golf coverage on CBS, NBC, ESPN and Golf Channel, and an increased commitment to digital and mobile media. Spending will also increase, said Groves, but he would not disclose by how much. Callaway reported 5% earnings growth for the first nine months of ’08 after posting record revenues in '07.

Callaway's Ads Will Soon Target Younger, More Casual Golfers