Congratulations to Dave Love III, whose recent win at Disney earned him a lifetime PGA Tour exemption. Couldn't have happened to a nicer person and fine ambassador for golf. He is a timeless endorser (think Arnold Palmer, Michael Jordan). 

I remember meeting him at a Polo Golf event before the PGA Championship. He mingled with all the guests, signed autographs and engaged all in fun, meaningful conversations.

In addition to having classic good looks, he represents some of the most positive attributes of a brand spokesperson:

Recognizable — most avid golfers instantly know him and identify with Polo and Titleist. His face is memorable.

Likeable — at Tour events, he is one of msot valued autographs and still has a healthy gallery of all genders and ages.

Real – Davis has faced many challenges in his life from his dad's early death to family business issues. He has been gracious and honest in dealing with all of them. 

Trustworthy – his demeanor, his character and his loyalty, make you believe him and transfer that to a brand he endorses.

These links advise on great endorser attributes, especially about a similarly great endorser Maria Sharapova. Endorser Success and  Marketing The Athlete. 

What other ideas am I missing and how do you evaluate a successful endorser as an asset to your brand?

Mainstream media (MSM) is on life support. And golf brands need to wake up to this. People get news and information in new, different ways according to the 2008 Pew Media Report. Where are they going?  A new Forrester Research report claims social media (blogs, social communities, podcasts, etc.) is becoming more important and relevant for customers.

Golf Brands Take Care

How does this affect golf?  Golf World and Golf Writers Association of America report that few reporters are covering golf (even major tournaments) and many influential golf reporters have abandoned MSM to report on the websites.

In the breach are stepping social media sites like Golfwrx, a social network community (a partner of Golf Digest and Golf Channel), which attracted about 42,000 unique visitors (involved and interactive) in October, a 64% increase in a year. Golfers (about 500,000 monthly) are going to GolfLink.com and about 50,000 to SandTrap.com (gotta love that name).

Passionate Players

Starting reading these sites; they’re very good. They feature very knowledgeable and passionate golfers, whose opinions are valued, and seem to be gaining influence. Now, it’s not clear how this is affecting golf magazines’ readership (a primary source for equipment news). But golf magazines online sites are growing, so the MS golf media must be recognizing the power of social media.  So, what’s driving this flight to the Web?

Plain and simple, new PR and marketing rules are here. Marketing has expanded beyond advertising, and the lines between marketing and PR have blurred. Social media experts like David Meerman Scott and Larry Weber (Marketing to the Social Web) believe the reasons are:

• PR is greater than just a mainstream media audience.
• Brands are what they publish.
  
• People crave authenticity not spin.
  
• Consumers value participation, not propaganda.
  
• Marketing is about delivering content precisely when your audience needs it.
  
• Brands can benefit when abandoning MSM to a strategy of reaching more underserved audiences online.
  
• PR is about the CEO and influencers seeing your brand on the Web; not just on TV or in print.
• Web has made PR public again, after years of exclusive media focus.
  
• Brands benefit from driving people into buying process with great, compelling online content.
  
• All social media tools help organizations communicate directly with buyers in ways they appreciate.

What are your customers reading and viewing, and how can you take advantage of this powerful social media strategies and tools?

No matter your political preference, today is a monumental day in the world. The world's most powerful country has elected its first African American president. That's impressive. Almost as impressive was Obama's use of social media (networks, blogs, ecommunities, podcasts, etc.)

It will be valuable to see the evaluation of this campaign and especially the role and power of social media.

What can golf and marketing learn from this? One important lesson is how to effectively connect to and harness the passion of your brand and product. Another lesson is how to go beyond mainstream media (MSM) to reach and influence customers and thought leaders.

Today, not only marks a historic change in the presidency but in the marketing of people, brands, causes and ideas.

This link offers great insights into how social media was used to elect Obama. Social Media Strategy.

Love to hear your comments about the success of these social media strategies and how golf can learn and apply lessons from this campaign.