SPORTS & LEISURE RESEARCH GROUP - The Intersection of insights and strategy

Golf, Inc Conference Presentations Focus on Trends Shaping the Golf Industry and the Power of Online Tee Time Reservations Systems

SPORTS & LEISURE RESEARCH GROUP President Jon Last participated on two industry panels at the Golf, Inc. Conference in Las Vegas, NV during the week of October 4. In the session, “Trends that will Shape Golf In the Decade”, Last joined with CMAA CEO Jim Singerling and DSG Fleet Solutions President Alex Doaga for a lively discussion, moderated by Global Golf Advisors' Principal Henry DeLozier. Last focused on trends such as a greater consumer focus on value, proliferation of choice and digital convergence. Last also spoke about how Boomer and Gen X values have merged to impact the choices made by today's “Sandwich Generation” of Americans now entering a lifestage where the once mutually exclusive decision about major leisure indulgences fights with heightened fears about the economic recovery and child centricity to create industry challenges.

In the session “Online Tee Times 2.0-Integrating Your Operation Through the Power of Your Tee Sheet”, Last joined with Golf Channel Solutions EVP Mike Loustalot and Lone Tree Golf Club owner and Director of Golf, Greg Avant to address consumer desires for greater simplicity, value and choice and how that creates both challenges and opportunities for facility operators. Drawing from his experience in developing loyalty marketing programs in the sports and travel industries, Last reinforced the 2C2R (Communications, Community, Recognition and Reward) foundation of successful affinity marketing initiatives, and spoke to the role that an ongoing marketing research program can play in delivering on consumer needs.

SLRG IN THE NEWS:

The Right Invitation Study Featured In Two Recent Articles

SLRG's study for the National Golf Course Owners' Association and the Little Family Foundation is summarized and featured with highlights of key conclusions on what women are seeking from the “ideal golf experience” in recent articles now available for download here on the SPORTS & LEISURE RESEARCH GROUP's web site.

SELF Logo image Self Magazine Features SLRG Study Results

The recent SLRG “Clean Credentials” research study of college men and women, was cited by Axe Shower Gel spokesperson Vanessa Minnillo in an item that featured study highlights. Find out why and how “cleanliness counts” in this item posted on the SPORTS & LEISURE RESEARCH GROUP's web site.

Media Post's Marketing: Sports Monthly Columns

Modern Applications of the Five Minute University: SLRG President Jon Last reflects on how our insatiable appetite for constant and instant information conflicts with perceived time deprivation, and offers thoughts on the implications of this paradox on the sports and leisure categories. Read it here.

SuperSize thumb POV: The “New Simplicity”: Why Bigger isn't Always Better

We are still clawing our way out of an economy that has not fully righted itself, and the current consumer mindset brings significant implications for sports marketers. The prevailing attitude has become one of calculated rather than conspicuous consumption. This has converged with two other factors that should give us all reason to take pause against using the snob appeal approach as “default positioning” for your sports or leisure brand. READ MORE»

Traction image PROJECT SPOTLIGHT: Measuring Brand Health for Effective Communications:

In today's marketplace, the adage that perception is reality is even more true than in the past. Rampant substitutes and commoditization threatens yield integrity in the travel business and is even a threat for sports brands and properties that now must battle for ever dwindling consumer attention and time against other leisure enticements.

A valuable tool that we deploy for clients across categories is to conduct regular brand perception tracking work. We design these tracking studies in a customized fashion that blindly measures the ability of consumers to “play back” and associate key message points and brand image triggers that a brand is seeking to articulate through their marketing communications. We measure client brands within the context of a carefully designed set of competitors. Over time, these studies enable brands to evaluate those points of perceived differentiation and assess which message points are resonating more strongly than others. To learn more about how SLRG can design a similar custom program for your brand, contact us.

HUGH WHITE thumb Industry Veteran Hugh White Joins The SLRG Team

Sports and media research veteran Hugh White has joined SPORTS & LEISURE RESEARCH GROUP, where he will work closely as part of the senior management team in the areas of business development and project management. With over 30 years experience in Media and Advertising Marketing, Hugh previously oversaw the research and marketing departments for the Sports and Leisure division of The New York Times Magazine Group for 20 years. In that capacity, Hugh became a well respected expert in the golf, tennis, sailing and skiing industries. At Kantar Media Research (A WPP Company), Mr. White and his team created the MARS OTC/DTC Pharmaceutical Study, the currency measurement in the pharma advertising world . Hugh also developed the U.S. Business Elite Media Measurement Series for IPSOS Media. Mr. White holds a B.A. Degree from Iona College and has done postgraduate work at the City College of New York. He has published several papers and is an active member of The Market Research Council.

Jon Last, 445 Hamilton Avenue; Suite 1102, White Plains, NY 10601