The Masters 2016
Ahhh The Masters. The golf tournament of the year. The best of the best. The greatest shots from the greatest players. This year is no different, and the best players in the world are already coming out strong. Jordan Spieth shot his first round on Thursday at 6 under, finishing 4 under for the tournament after Friday. Others like Jason Day, Rory McIllroy, Henrik Stenson, Justin Rose, and Shane Lowry are confident going into the weekend. I sit here in my Internet Marketing class, (the class that I am also assigned to do some of these blogs), and I am watching the Masters Coverage instead of doing anything else. (Sorry Leila :D)
So what makes The Masters so special?
Honestly it could be a number of things. The green jacket that the winners get, some of the greatest finishes in PGA history, great memories for every player, the par 3 contest before the tournament, or even just the famous reasonably priced concession stands.
The Pimento Cheese sandwiches were even featured on social media by Rickie Fowler. One of his sponsorships, Mercedes Benz, used Rickie to spread a message across his social media promoting The Masters, his road to getting there, and capitalized on the features that make The Masters, The Masters.
Here is a look at one of the videos from Rickie!
Direct Influence on Tour: Special Masters Equipment
Alot of the players take to the Masters. Wardrobe changes, special equipment, personalized gear, it's all a part of the Masters. Their was an article from the PGA that took the time to look at some of the special gear from the Master's this year, and it is fantastic.
Here is an example of how far they go. Rory's ball is even changed!
.@McIlroyRory will chase history this week at @TheMasters with a custom @nikegolf ball. https://t.co/u7WrKmeEt2 pic.twitter.com/fF9Y06gA2m
— Jonathan Wall (@jonathanrwall) April 6, 2016
One of my favorites is Bryson Dechambeau's set of irons. He stamped a name on each of them to represent the names of prominent features or memories at Augusta National and The Masters tournament. Looks really good and probably very fun to be out on the course and say "Hey can you give me Azalea?"
Vokey even got in on the action and made some custom, limited-release wedges! They are 64 degree wedges, something that Vokey doesn't make standard on their wedges line, and have a special grind for what would be best at Augusta National. Basically these are the ultimate wedges for people that would ever actually play at the course. The fast greens and silky smooth fairways are combined to make an immaculate course that will look at you with it's beautiful landscapes and then spit you out by rolling your ball off the green and into the water.
The Masters on the Internet
This kind of marketing is all over the place. Rickie Fowler may be a big name, but lots of companies are taking to influencers to promote their company, and the tournament. The tournament even has it's own social media. Their Twitter is on fire for the duration of this week and the last couple weeks leading up to the tournament, and until the end of Sunday when the green jacket is handed out, it won't be dying down.
The Twitter feed on the right is JUST from the Masters account. I was going to embed the #TheMasters feed. but it was so long, that people would have just been scrolling those tweets for hours.
Two of the YouTube golf coaches that I watch have also been throwing out some specific Masters marketing, both holding give-aways for Masters edition staff bags! My favorite is the Taylormade staff bag from Me and My Golf, as I am a huge Taylormade fan.
Rick Sheils who is my favorite coach on YouTube was also the other one giving away a bag, but his was a Callaway, and honestly, was kind of ruined by the fact that they put a bunch of advertising on the bag, rather than just having a bag specific for the Masters. They should have realized that the bag and the color and the feeling itself would make the bag special. They didn't have to splash it with product marketing. Here is the video from Rick about his giveaway.
Just look at the difference between the special Taylormade bag and the Callaway bag. To me, one captures the essence of the tournament, and the other is a marketing bag that just happens to have some green on it... The Taylormade bag looks so iconic. It looks like the Masters. The perfect green color, the polished gold hardware pieces, and the tasteful logos. It exudes The Masters tournament. The Callaway bag on the other hand is just a copy of their normal staff bag, except they changed the color to green. And frankly it looks like the green is too dark. Which just makes it worse.
So there ya go. The Masters. A great time of year for golfers, fans, and the community alike. It's the one event that everyone knows about whether you are a golf fan or not. It's the event where everyone turns on their A game. (well except maybe Fowler.. nice water ball man. And maybe Ernie Els... with that 7 putt :D) It's a great time of year to be a golf fan, and I can't wait to see how the tournament finishes up!
Till Next Time,
