Callway's unusual partnership with Justin Timberlake

Source: Callawaygolf.com

 The Problem

•  The recession has hit Callaway hard and sales of golf equipment (clubs, balls, bags, gloves and footwear) have suffered badly
• Callaway has reported losses in both 2009 and 2010 (as well as for the first 9 months of 2011)
• Callaway is losing market share to competitors such as Adidas and TaylorMade
• Callaway’s spend has declined – in 2011, the company spent $30m on US ads.  During the same period however, brands like Titleist and TaylorMade spent $41m and $38.5m respectively (source Kantar media)
• A previous partnership with Lamborghini is described by CEO  Tony Thornley and analyst Dan Wewer as “misguided” – The campaign involved the two brands working together to develop composite materials that were used in both the cars and on golf equipment.  Says Wewer:

“Callaway strayed too far from its golfing roots with a marketing message that focused on styling and too little on the benefits of its equipment for golfers”.

The challenge

• Get Callaway’s voice back and make sure it resonates with Golfers this time!
• Lead the growth of the game by appealing to younger users.  After 22 year old Rory McIlroy’s win at the US Open in 2011, the company feels now might be the time to target this “youth movement”.
•  Talk to the Youth but don’t alienate the core customer who, on average, is 55 years old.

The Solution

• Partner with youth icon and R&B Superstar Justin Timberlake
• Deputise Timberlake as de-facto and honorary “creative director” for the brand.  Even though he will not appear in the ads themselves, Timberlake will partner with the brand’s agency (Factory Design Labs) on the new campaign

The Work (so far)

The campaign features an “epic demo” which places pros such as Phil Mickelson and Anikka Sorenstam onto the most outlandish urban terrain imaginable – the Las Vegas Strip.  In one ad, golfer Alvaro Quiros drives a ball 300 metres over the Bellagio fountain from a floating platform.

Timberlake also made an appearance at the Callaway Golf Centre in Vegas to demo, amongst other things a new range of irons.  He’s got a pretty good swing too - he should, he plays off a 6 Handicap

The Assessment

Said Timberlake: 

“We wanted to make a statement that was more rock n’ roll.  Being hip and contemporary is part of the new marketing plan.  We hope this approach gives the sport a nice injection of kickassery”

It will take some time to judge whether this new move is not only effective in restoring Callaway's fortunes but in bringing younger people into the game of golf.

Incidentally, this work is not dissimilar to an activation done by Mastercard some years back when it built a demo course in London's Hyde Park and invited Tiger Woods to entertain the lunchtime crows.  Read more about it here and here

Bing's unusual partnerships uphold theme of "accomplishment"

Bing, Microsoft's search engine, while a distant second player in search to Google, has always adopted a clever and thoughtful approach to its advertising.

The broad communications theme behind the brand seems to revolve around "achievement" or better still "accomplishment" - a theme for which it has adopted the tagline "Bing is for doing".

Who could forget Droga5's joint campaign to promote Bing and Jay-Z's new book "Decoded".  I was actually an amalgamation of 2 briefs (one from Bing and one from Jay Z's publisher) yet in spite of the obvious complexity, was a triumph for both brands.

Fast forward to winter 2012.  American snowboarder Kevin Pearce, nearly killed in a fall more than 14 months ago in Park City Utah, is about to make his return to the slopes. Though he will never represent his country again, his return to the sport is amazing nonethless given the traumatic brain injuries he's had to contend with.

 The whole story is told - with Pearce himself narrating - in a new Bing advertisement.

As AdFreak's Tim Nudd points out, the campaign is nearly perfect but for its timing.  The piece broke on the same week as the tragic death of Canadian freestyle skier Sarah Burke who, amazingly, fell last week on the very feature which nearly killed Pearce.

Bing is a relatively silent player in the world of search - or perhaps it is just drowned out by the ominipresent Google.  But I think that advertising such as this - and partnerships like the one it struck with Kevin Pearce - could certainly position it as a thinking man's alternative to Google.