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TaylorMade-adidas Golf’s aim is to be the leading performance golf company in the world in terms of sales and profitability. It combines three of golf’s best-known and respected brands: TaylorMade, adidas Golf and Ashworth. The segment’s primary strategic pillars are to continuously develop and commercialise the most innovative, technologically advanced products while, at the same time, maintaining brand credibility through high visibility on professional golf tours. In addition, leveraging brand equity through the creation and execution of new marketing and retail initiatives as well as improving global distribution are key priorities for long-term growth.

TaylorMade-adidas Golf implements a multi-brand strategy comprised of three well-defined golf brands under one roof. ...

TaylorMade-adidas Golf implements a multi-brand strategy comprised of three well-defined golf brands under one roof. TaylorMade is the market leader in the metalwoods category, is among the leaders in irons, and is steadily evolving as a challenger in putters as well as golf balls. adidas Golf develops high-performance footwear and apparel for athletes who want to maximise their physical potential in order to play the game at the highest level. Ashworth is an authentic golf-inspired lifestyle brand complementing adidas Golf’s position. Combining adidas Golf and Ashworth, TaylorMade-adidas Golf is a global leader in golf apparel and number two in footwear.

TaylorMade-adidas Golf’s core objective is to create the best performance golf products in the marketplace, starting with a clear commitment to innovation and technology see Research and Development. ...

TaylorMade-adidas Golf’s core objective is to create the best performance golf products in the marketplace, starting with a clear commitment to innovation and technology see Research and Development. The segment therefore strives to extend its leadership position through innovation and cutting-edge design, introducing at least two major product innovations or evolutions every 12 to 18 months. For example, in 2010 TaylorMade introduced its new xFT wedges incorporating Exchangeable Face Technology, which allows the player to replace the clubface in order to get new, high-spinning grooves while keeping the same clubhead. In addition, the Corza Ghost putters help players to simplify aiming through their white-coloured putterhead including three, highly visible crown lines and a circular hole through the head.

Golfers of all levels are influenced by what equipment the best professional players in the world play with and wear. Hence, TaylorMade-adidas Golf’s leadership and presence on the world’s major professional golf tours is imperative to increasing brand exposure and traction among consumers. ...

Golfers of all levels are influenced by what equipment the best professional players in the world play with and wear. Hence, TaylorMade-adidas Golf’s leadership and presence on the world’s major professional golf tours is imperative to increasing brand exposure and traction among consumers. To attract the most talented players, TaylorMade-adidas Golf offers a comprehensive service to the world’s leading players. For example, the TaylorMade support fleet travels the PGA and European Tours from event to event, each with a fully staffed, state-of-the-art workshop for building and servicing drivers, fairway woods, hybrids, irons, wedges and putters on the spot. Today, the TaylorMade-adidas Golf Tour Staff includes high-profile names like Sergio Garcia, Sean O’Hair, Yong-Eun Yang, Dustin Johnson, Fred Funk, Justin Rose, Paula Creamer, Camilo Villegas, Retief Goosen, Greg Norman, Nick Faldo, Mike Weir, Andrés Romero, Darren Clarke and Natalie Gulbis, as well as Martin Kaymer, a top-ranked German golfer, who in 2010 not only won his first major, the US PGA Championship, but also earned the number one ranking on the European Tour. In China, a market where golf is still in its infancy, TaylorMadeadidas Golf entered into a new agreement with the China Golf Association, which has appointed TaylorMade-adidas Golf as the exclusive equipment supplier of the national golf team.

Well-coordinated and consumer-relevant marketing is paramount to attaining sustainable market leadership. To achieve that, TaylorMade-adidas Golf has combined product marketing, brand communication and retail marketing into one fully integrated global marketing team. This team uses a variety of marketing tools to achieve its objectives. Product launches are supported by substantial PR and marketing campaigns, involving key assets and best-in-class customer support to drive sell-through of new products. ...

Well-coordinated and consumer-relevant marketing is paramount to attaining sustainable market leadership. To achieve that, TaylorMade-adidas Golf has combined product marketing, brand communication and retail marketing into one fully integrated global marketing team. This team uses a variety of marketing tools to achieve its objectives. Product launches are supported by substantial PR and marketing campaigns, involving key assets and best-in-class customer support to drive sell-through of new products. In addition to traditional marketing techniques, TaylorMade-adidas Golf is also dedicated to exploring and executing new and innovative ways to promote products using social media (Facebook and Twitter) and product seeding initiatives like Project Burner, in which TaylorMadeadidas Golf gave away Burner 6-irons, and the Penta TP free-sleeve programme.
 
Another prime example of TaylorMade-adidas Golf’s efforts to create unique promotional events is the “Unstoppable 8 Tour”, which brought high-energy demo events into eight major US cities in order to increase consumer awareness of the new Burner 2.0 irons. This helped TaylorMade to become the number one selling iron brand in the USA during November and December. In 2010, TaylorMade-adidas Golf also launched the second round of the “Wear in the World” golf adventure, which involved testing performance apparel in some of the world’s most extreme weather conditions. Destinations included golf courses at the birthplace of golf, in St. Andrews, Scotland, the sandy dunes of Dubai and Mount Rokko in Japan. The programme, which illustrates how technologies such as Climacool, Climalite and Climaproof can help provide a competitive advantage in the most extreme golf conditions, attracted widespread attention from consumers and the media.

TaylorMade-adidas Golf works with retail partners who possess the skills to effectively showcase the performance advantages and modern design credentials of TaylorMade, adidas Golf and Ashworth products. ...

TaylorMade-adidas Golf works with retail partners who possess the skills to effectively showcase the performance advantages and modern design credentials of TaylorMade, adidas Golf and Ashworth products. Core channels include green grass retailers, off-course golf specialty retailers and sporting goods retail formats with golf-specific departments.
 
Focusing on strategic accounts, TaylorMade-adidas Golf strives to create and make available state-of-the-art floor displays that showcase products and communicate key messages as clearly as possible, allowing it to position its clubs, balls, footwear and apparel among the top-selling golf products in these retail channels. Close working relationships with key accounts will continue in 2011, as will efforts to build additional brand presence at smaller retailers and on-course golf shops. In emerging markets throughout the world, the company employs established adidas Group infrastructures to distribute products, promote awareness and drive growth.

TaylorMade-adidas Golf’s pricing policy mirrors the positioning of its three brands. ...

TaylorMade-adidas Golf’s pricing policy mirrors the positioning of its three brands. TaylorMade’s pricing strategy is to dominate the market at premium price points and to compete aggressively in the high-volume mid-price segment. adidas Golf supports its market reputation as the innovation leader by selling its products primarily at premium price points. Ashworth positions products in the mid- and premium-price categories. Market share expansion, particularly in golf, is driven mainly by the ability to deliver best-in-class lines of products at multiple price points. In 2010, an example of TaylorMade-adidas Golf’s success in implementing this strategy is the adiPure (high-priced) footwear and Traxion Lite (medium-priced) footwear.

TaylorMade’s category priorities include strengthening its position as the number one metalwood brand in the world and building on its growing global market share in irons. ...

TaylorMade’s category priorities include strengthening its position as the number one metalwood brand in the world and building on its growing global market share in irons. In addition, TaylorMade aims to grow its presence and increase its reputation in all other golf equipment categories including wedges, putters and balls.

• Metalwoods: Today, TaylorMade is the clear market leader in metalwoods (drivers, fairway woods and hybrids). The brand is particularly strong in the USA, where it has forged a more than 30% share of the market and a large lead over its closest competitor. The brand’s primary focus going forward is to remain the innovation leader and expand its metalwood business outside the USA. This will in part be driven by strengthening its promotion partnerships in other regions.
  From a product perspective, the brand will complement its successful R9 franchise and Burner family of metalwoods with the introduction of the new R11 series of drivers and the Burner SuperFast 2.0 in 2011.
  The R11 clubs not only incorporate major TaylorMade driver technologies such as Movable Weight Technology and Flight Control Technology, but also the new Adjustable Sole Plate Technology, which allows the golfer to adjust the face angle independently of the loft.
  At 279 grams, the Burner SuperFast 2.0 is the lightest TaylorMade driver ever brought to market and in combination with its slippery new head aerodynamics it promotes more clubhead speed and distance than any previous Burner driver.


• Irons: In irons, the Burner irons family has helped TaylorMade to gain considerable market share in the category. As opposed to previous TaylorMade irons, the Burner long-irons, middle-irons and short-irons were developed separately rather than as an entire group. The introduction of the Burner 2.0 in the fourth quarter of 2010 and the launch of Tour Preferred irons in March 2011 will play a key role in driving future growth in the category.


• Wedges: Leveraging TaylorMade’s success in metalwoods and irons to other categories such as wedges continues to be a strategic priority. Innovation is critical in this respect and, in 2010, the success of the TP wedge with Exchangeable Face Technology (xFT) validated TaylorMade’s aim to increase its presence and grow its share in other golf equipment categories. xFT permits players to easily replace a worn clubface with a new one, making it possible to maintain a fresh, spin-inducing clubface without replacing the clubhead. For the consumer, this is more cost-effective than buying a new wedge. 


• Putters: TaylorMade’s Corza Ghost putter stood out in 2010 both with consumers as well as with Tour professionals. Its white-coloured putterhead makes it easier to aim and eliminates glare on the crown. Furthermore, viewers could immediately recognise its unique design when it helped Justin Rose win twice on the PGA Tour. In 2011, there will be new additions to the Ghost line that incorporate the input of a variety of Tour pros.


• Golf balls: Success in this category depends on the ability to create high-performance golf balls, bring them to market and build credibility among Tour professionals. In 2010, TaylorMade’s status as a maker of premium golf balls was enhanced through the Penta TP ball, the first five-layer golf ball, designed to promote optimal performance on the five critical golf shots – driver, long-iron, middle-iron, short-iron and partial wedges. The technological advantage of the Penta TP was highlighted by 18 wins on the world’s major tours in 2010, including the PGA Championship. In 2011, TaylorMade will continue to build on its momentum in golf balls, driven by the Penta TP ball, and increasing the number of Tour professionals using TaylorMade balls such as Jim Furyk, the 2010 PGA Tour Player of the Year.
  

adidas Golf offers high-performance golf footwear and apparel for athletes who want to maximise their physical potential in order to play the game at their highest level. ...

adidas Golf offers high-performance golf footwear and apparel for athletes who want to maximise their physical potential in order to play the game at their highest level. In footwear, leveraging proprietary technologies from various other adidas categories such as adiPrene+ with golf-specific technologies offers a significant competitive advantage over “pure play” golf footwear brands.
 
In 2010, adidas Golf was able to bring significant new innovation to market including the adiPure Z with revolutionary ThinTech low-profile technology, bringing the golfer closer to the ground for improved stability, better overall footwork and more consistent ball-striking.

In apparel, adidas Golf positions itself as the most innovative performance brand in the game by utilising adidas technologies such as Formotion, Climacool and Climaproof technologies in adidas Golf apparel products. adidas Golf was the first major brand to incorporate technologies like these into golf apparel. For example, in 2010 adidas Golf launched the new Climacool with Coolmax Energy fabric apparel line, which is designed to improve airflow to the skin by utilising microfibres.

In 2011, several new product launches such as the next generation of the Tour360 footwear franchise, the Tour360 5.0, which is engineered to be lighter, lower and more stable than its predecessor, will continue adidas Golf’s authentic union of design, technology and function. In addition, in 2011, adidas Golf will leverage its marketing efforts for both its footwear and apparel lines with one campaign – “Be Greater”. This campaign will call the golfers’ attention to how adidas Golf equipment is engineered to help them improve their performance, exceed their potential and reach a higher level.

Ashworth provides TaylorMade-adidas Golf with a unique opportunity to establish a golf lifestyle business. ...

Ashworth provides TaylorMade-adidas Golf with a unique opportunity to establish a golf lifestyle business. Founded in 1987, Ashworth’s roots in golf and authenticity as a golf brand provide a key differentiator from other golf lifestyle brands. Following the acquisition in 2008, the brand was given a facelift, including definition of product range architecture, cleaning-up of distribution and revamping its partnership portfolio, thus creating a platform for future profitable growth. In 2010, Ashworth introduced new product lines incorporating proprietary fabrics for easy care and superior wear. The key priority for 2011 will be to further strengthen the messaging of Ashworth’s positioning as a golf lifestyle brand for true golfers that believe “the course never leaves you, and you never leave the course”. Ashworth will also seek to build Tour visibility and credibility utilising Tour professionals Fred Couples, Sean O’Hair and Ryan Palmer.