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TaylorMade-adidas Golf Strategy
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 most well-known and respected brands: TaylorMade, adidas Golf and Ashworth. The segment’s primary
strategic pillars are to continuously develop and commercialise innovative, technologically advanced products while at the same
time maintaining 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.
Capitalising on the strong market
positions of three well-established
brands
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 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, increasing the segment’s
presence in the golf apparel market.
Combining adidas Golf and Ashworth,
TaylorMade-adidas Golf is a global
leader in golf apparel and number two in
footwear.
Innovation and technology focus
TaylorMade-adidas Golf’s core objective
is to create the best performance golf
products in the marketplace, and that
starts with a clear commitment to inno-
vation and technology.
76 GROUP MANAGEMENT REPORT – OUR GROUP TaylorMade-adidas Golf Strategy
The segment therefore strives to extend
its leadership position with a continued
focus on innovation and cutting-edge
design while introducing at least one
major product innovation or evolution
every 12 to 18 months. In 2009, for
example, TaylorMade introduced its new
R9™ drivers incorporating Flight Control
Technology, which for the first time gave
players the ability to easily change the
club’s face angle, loft and lie angle by
adjusting a screw in the sole. Prior to
this, Tour professionals had their driv-
ers altered to suit their swing by having
equipment technicians bend the club-
head. This type of innovation helped the
R9™ achieve the position as number one
driver model on the PGA Tour and best-
selling driver model in the United States.
Tour validation as important
strategic pillar
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 leader-
ship 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 com-
prehensive service to the world’s leading
players. For example, the TaylorMade
support fleet travels the PGA and Euro-
pean 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, Retief Goosen, Greg
Norman, Nick Faldo, Mike Weir, Andres
Romero, Darren Clarke and Natalie
Gulbis, as well as Martin Kaymer, one of
the European Tour’s stars and the top-
ranked golfer in Germany, who joined the
TaylorMade Tour Staff in 2009.
Marketing excellence as a
key success factor
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 strong
marketing tools to achieve its objectives.
Product launches are supported by sub-
stantial PR and marketing campaigns,
involving key assets and best-in-class
customer support to drive new product
sell-through. 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), online initiatives
like www.Projectburner.com and product
seeding initiatives like last year’s free
Burner® 6-iron giveaway and the Penta
TP free-sleeve programme in 2010.
Another prime example of TaylorMade-
adidas Golf’s efforts to create unique
promotional events is the “Wear in the
World” golf adventure, which involves
testing performance apparel in some
of the world’s most extreme weather
conditions.