Bridgestone Golf

Sacrificing media for a better messenger.

Challenge

Bridgestone Golf is a distant number three in golf ball sales. Titleist and Callaway outspend Bridgestone by a factor of 10. Their logos are plastered all over the best tournaments and players. But, millions of golf ball tests consistently reveal that Bridgestone makes the better ball.

Challenger Brand Solution

Symbols of Re‑Evaluation

The messenger matters, and, unfortunately, Bridgestone Golf is not a great messenger. Tiger Woods, on the other hand, is. At this time, Tiger was fighting the good fight to play better. No one knew if he would ever win again, but for many people, it didn’t seem to matter. It was making him more relatable and appealing, because he was fighting the same fight they were: to play better golf. Tiger had always been an innovator and equipment junkie, so when one of the elements of his game that he was changing was his golf ball, it created a win-win for him and for Bridgestone. Ads, emails and social posts feature Tiger Woods, other pros and everyday golfers demonstrating in fun, humorous ways the better results they can get when they play the best ball for their game. Media was laser-focused with digital videos, banners, social posts and email blasts.

Insight

This is probably not news to anyone, but golf is not an easy game. However, what if it were? Most golfers don’t give the ball they play much credit for how well, or how poorly, they play. Bridgestone’s golf ball fitting tests can find the perfect match, tailored to each individual’s needs and concerns. For most golfers it’s the difference between being on the fairway versus in the rough, in the hole or on the fringe. So, bottom line is, if you want to play better golf, you need to play a better ball.

Making Golf Lessons Fun

Bridgestone Golf has a number of pro’s that they endorse in addition to Tiger Woods; Lexie Thompson, Brent Schnecker, Bryson DeChambeau, Matt Kuchar, Fred Couples. They all have unique strengths on the course and unique personalities off the course. We approached tip videos with those things in mind, so the viewer not only learned a great tip, but got a sense for who these players really are. Win Win.

Reliable Performance

Over the course of the 2018 season, over 1 billion impressions surrounded golfers with a single message — if you want to play better golf, you need to play a better ball, a Bridgestone ball.

Results

2017, GKV’s first with Bridgestone Golf, was a record year. 2018 saw double-digit increases in sales for all the balls featured in the advertising, including a sell-out of a limited-edition Tiger Woods ball.