Week 1: Topgolf Analysis

Topgolf is a unique combination of food, entertainment, and sports. This concept, which was launched in 2000 in the UK, by the Jolliffe brothers. They put together a concept of a driving range and dartboard, enriched it with tracking chip implanted golf balls, and produced this unique game that has expanded quickly into the United States.

This video shows a quick introduction to Topgolf. The video does a great job focusing on the atmosphere of Topgolf, as well as the typical player.

Topgolf now has over 30 locations in the United States and boasts over 35,000 visits per day (Topgolf, 2016). Much of their success comes from the younger demographic, but many of their visitors are not hardcore golfers. According to Topgolf's fact sheet, 53% of their visitors are between 18-34 with 83% of total visitors being under the age of 44. 45% of their visitors play traditional golf once or less per year. 

One thing to note is that Topgolf's success is coming at a time where the golf industry has been in a steady decline. Since 2005, when golf reached it's peak in the United States with over 30 million participants, the number of annual participants has steadily dropped to about 24 million in 2015 as shown in this chart from the Wall Street Journal.

This decline can be attributed to the fallout of Tiger Woods, or the time and money that go into a round of golf. An average round of golf takes about 4-5 hours to complete, and average round costs between $25-$150+ depending on the course (Chass, 2016). This doesn't include the cost of equipment, which tends to be on the expensive side of athletics. On top of this, course designs are not beginner friendly.

Topgolf provides a friendly entry into golf and removes the barriers that traditional golf present for recreational or novice players. The scoring system is simple, the tracking chips and computer systems do it all for you. Most Topgolf facilities are priced by the hour, so players can play as much as they can in their allotted time. Skill level does not matter, scoring points is easy for beginners because of the proximity of the shorter targets. Advanced players can opt to aim for the further targets, and some game modes can provide handicaps for advanced players. As for cost of equipment, rental clubs are provided free of charge. 

These points are all highlighted in the above introduction video. There are a good mix of professionals and amateurs- young and old. It also includes shots of additional value items like food and drinks. Some Topgolf facilities offer concerts, dance parties, and DJs as shown in the video. For example, Topgolf Las Vegas offers different products and services to cater to their audience. Bottle service, concerts, and special food menus are offered at higher prices than other locations.

The business model is very simple. A one-time, lifetime membership is offered for $5 and includes a membership card. The card provides additional branding for Topgolf, and provides value to the customer by keeping past game data on the card, and not having to pay for anymore membership fees in the future. Corporate memberships are also available with various bonus incentives. The pricing for games and hours vary during peak hours and also vary from location to location. The following link is for prices in Salt Lake City, UT.

http://topgolf.com/us/salt-lake-city/pricing/memberships/

Topgolf focuses most of their marketing efforts regionally, and in the digital space (Lukovitz, 2016). National Facebook and Twitter accounts support the regionally operated social media accounts. Each location manages their own social media accounts, but the national accounts have reached out for support from the marketing agency The Marketing Arm. To support growth, the firm developed a campaign to target 21-39 year olds on Facebook with zip codes near Topgolf locations that have been open more than a year. One campaign focused on customer acquisition, where first time Topgolf visitors were given incentives to register an email address to receive complimentary lifetime membership along with $10 off their first play. 

On social media, the National Topgolf accounts have almost 100k likes on Facebook and abou 24k followers on Twitter. They are also nearing 30k followers on Instagram.

Their mass media efforts are slim. Topgolf has stayed away from TV. In Las Vegas where they have their largest facility, advertising on trucks and taxis on the strip can be seen throughout the day. Topgolf also has a partnership with Callaway, who provides the rental clubs throughout every facility. 

Other campaigns on social media include viral videos, and launching the Topgolf tour. This video is shot by professional golfers George and Wesley Bryan hitting shots from the roof of the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, onto the Topgolf playing field across the street.

The Topgolf tour involved releasing a series of lengthy videos that showcased a more serious side of the game and reaching the intermediate and advanced players. 

Overall, Topgolf is making great use of their technologies and reaching their target audience. As lifetime memberships are purchased, Topgolf becomes a powerful database of demographic information that also connects behavioral data like number of visits, time of day visited, and if the customer engages in other channels such as email or social media that is connected to the membership information. Appealing to several different demographics is a huge advantage for Topgolf, and maintains a competitive advantage because it is such a unique product. 

Suggestions in the future would include things to convert the marketing tactics from customer acquisition to customer retention. As Topgolf continues to expand in the United States, they must look towards other ways to expand. Expanding into Japan may be a great option. According to Golf Datatech, Japan is the #2 largest golf market in the world behind the United States. Japan has been experiencing the same challenges with declining interest in the sport, and could benefit from the ease of entry into the sport that Topgolf presents. Although a great option, one challenge facing entry into Japan is the high cost of land in premium areas of Japan. 

To continue the growth of this blog, I've enriched it with Google Analytics. I can monitor the activity and behavior of anyone landing on it. I may have better ideas of where or how to promote it. For now, I can promote it on my personal Twitter page that has a modest following. However, the following is from my past career as a professional athlete and may have no interest in reading my digital marketing blog. I've attended some local conferences hosted by SLCSEM, who claims being Utah's largest digital marketing association. I can reach a network of local digital marketing experts for feedback and visibility.

Costa, B. (2016, March 7). Americans want to play golf-until they try it. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://www.wsj.com/articles/americans-want-to-play-golfuntil-they-try-it-1457379085

Golf Datatech. (2015, February). World wide golf report 2015. Retrieved from http://www.golfdatatech.com/2015/02/world-wide-golf-report-2015/