The worst golf shots from the 2018 Shinhan Donghae Open on the Asian Tour. Starring Hosung Choi and many more. Subscribe today! Click here …

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Superstar golfer Hosung Choi hits some great shots and has some equally impressive reactions at the 2018 Shinhan Donghae Open. Subscribe today!

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Any questions? Post them on RotarySwing.com Here’s the video where I discuss the release: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1guwbFWCO4 — Follow …

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It happens to nearly every popular brand whose leadership lacks an understanding of basic product and brand management. Through a company’s failure to establish and adhere to a strategic brand vision the brand is allowed to meander and grow on its own without any thought to how it ultimately might lead to its demise or at least its transformation into something unplanned.

The cycle of how to lose your way generally goes something like this. A brand starts with a spotlight product which often becomes one in the same. It then develops a small, but loyal following, gains momentum through world of mouth and marketing, becomes more popular, grows in status, appears in specialty outlets, grows even more popular, moves into even more mainstream, loses some of its cache now that everyone has it, appears at Wal-Mart, becomes a commodity and now you’re just another shelf item to the consumer. And, your original customers have now probably left you.

Now this is great if your goal is to get on the shelves at Wal-Mart or Target (fantastic goals). But it’s not so great, for example, if you originally wanted to be considered the highest quality provider of widgets which can only be found at stores like Neiman’s or Sak’s. But somewhere along the way the lure of big money associated with mass exposure is often too much to resist and companies abandon whatever strategy they have and end up just another item on the wall.

It happens to the best of us. Remember when Columbia Sportswear was considered to be a bit of a status brand? When Eddie Bauer was considered high-end? When an Ironman meant 140.6 miles? There’s not a right or wrong here, just a choice. Do you want to be Calvin Klein who sells their products in TJMaxx or do you want to be carried only in the higher end stores?

Seem like a silly conversation? It’s not. There’s value owning a status position in minds of the consumers. Which would you prefer? A Chevy or a BMW? A Baume & Mercier or a Seiko? You’d likely pick the BMW and the Baume & Mercier. But why? In truth, there’s debatably little difference in what you’re buying. They both tell you what time it is and can get you to where you need to go. In fact, the Chevy and Seiko are likely to give you a much better owners experience from reliability and cost perspective. But we still love our brands.

Don’t underestimate what’s in a name. From a marketing standpoint, a name expedites the process of communicating what you have to offer the consumer. An established brand or mark allows a company to communicate tons of information with a simple name or logo. In economic terms, this efficiency reduces the transaction cost. In marketing terms, it reduces the noise and allows for clarity of message.

A good example of this is to look at Apple. At a glance, their logo is able to communicate everything they’ve worked towards in establishing their brand. Look at the Apple logo and you’ll think of quality, iPad, uniqueness, cutting edge design, modern, reliable, expensive, Steve Jobs, iPhone, market leadership, etc. No magazine ad needed; there’s a lot of important data in that little piece of fruit.

So with that little marketing review behind us, I turn to the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC). Most people have never heard of this organization, but I bet most people have at least heard of their most popular brand; Ironman. Ironman meets all the criteria of what qualifies as a grass-roots story. As covered in How Did This Ironman Thing Ever Get Started, this small, local event held in Hawaii the late 70’s has turned into a mega marketing machine which carries its brand mark on everything from watches to running shoes. However, as the name has grown it seems to have lost its way. Is the Ironman name a brand or a product or a just an event – or all three? The fact that it’s up for discussion should tell you there is a problem.

From the start, the WTC has used Ironman as a brand and a product. This is perfectly acceptable as many companies start this way and are forever associated with their first product. Your favorite soft drink company is a good example of this. When they developed other products like Fanta and Sprite in the 40’s and 50’s, it created new brands. They didn’t sell them as Coke Fanta or Coke Sprite. Can you imagine the confusion of standing in the grocery store looking at a wall of products called Coke something. The message would be all scrambled. No doubt; there’s certainly a lot in a name.

So where did the trouble begin? The WTC did a very smart thing when they took the traditional 140.6 mile Ironman and created a shorter distance race of 70.3 miles. Much like the half marathon craze, this has opened up a whole new audience to ultra-distance triathlons and introduced a lot of athletes to the Ironman brand. And in another positive move for the growth of the sport, WTC has struck a plan to create an Olympic distance series of races.

Of course, this isn’t done out of the goodness of their hearts. The WTC is making millions off race licensing, merchandise, race entry fees and television contracts with NBC / Universal Sports. I am all for making money and kudos to WTC for taking full advantage of their opportunity. However, a funny thing happened on the way to the bank. The brand has lost its way.

Perhaps a simple lack of foresight or maybe an attempt to take advantage of the brands popularity, the WTC named its 70.3 mile series “Ironman 70.3”. So now it’s common to hear things like: What is an Ironman? What distance is an Ironman event? Why are all the events called Ironman? “Oh, you did Ironman Florida – didn’t Ethel in finance do one in Orlando last weekend?”. The Ironman name has become diluted and now communicates such little exacting information that even triathletes have to pause in a conversation and clarify what distances are being discussed. Everything is an Ironman. It’s just like the example of standing in the grocery store with every beverage labeled Coke. It’s lost its punch.

So does anyone really care? If you buy a brand; you care. For the same reason you wouldn’t swap out your BMW hood emblem for a Yugo tag, you care. And if you manage a brand you should care. The kind of lackadaisical attention that WTC has given the Ironman brand will cause it to deteriorate and that’s dangerous territory for an organization that relies heavily on overpriced entry fees and merchandise sold totally around the brand’s lofty position and strength.

This disconnect was exacerbated recently by two marketing mistakes by the WTC. First, they tried to sell special access to services through a program that had little real value and then priced it at $1000/per year (this program was pulled within a few days after a surge of complaints). Secondly, their lack of control of the brand was on full display when the 2010 Miami Ironman 70.3 ran out of water early in the race, changed the run route right before the start and routed cyclists through traffic-congested Miami roads with little supervision. The WTC’s response was that it wasn’t their fault. They had sold the name to a local race director who did a poor job planning the race. WTC offered free entry into 2011 IM 70.3 races, but I doubt that helps a lot of people who traveled there and trained for much of the year around this event.

The brand is losing its cache position in the triathlon community. I’ve already witnessed it. From hardcore athletes to weekend warriors, I hear rumblings that indicate a growing disenchantment with the brand as it wanders off into heavy merchandising, mass marketing and a lack of focus in its core customer and product; the true Ironman distance athletes. These athletes (the core customer for Ironman) are beginning to look for non-Ironman events. In essence, they’re looking for the old Ironman experience.

Some of the damage is already done, but there is a path to redemption. First thing to do is to create independent brands for the various distances (product lines) and treat them accordingly. The customers who buy Lexus expect a different experience than those who buy Toyotas. Applying the basic behavioral understanding of how we like to interact with brands, the WTC needs to recognize that each group of athletes desires to be associated with their specific event. When you use the Ironman brand for all of the races you deny everyone that enjoyment. The full Ironman distance athletes are disenchanted because the brand has been diminished by shorter distance races. Likewise, the 70.3 distance racers have to constantly explain that they didn’t actually do an “Ironman”, they did half an Ironman and so on… it’s really irritating.

Maybe the fix is in the works. I’ve seen only one version of the name and logo for the new Olympic distance races and they aren’t calling it Ironman (thank goodness). They’ve named the circuit “5150 Triathlon Series” cleverly using the “I” from Ironman instead of the number one in the 5150. Hopefully, they’ll avoid the use of the M-Dot and reserve that for their premier event the 140.6 mile Ironman distance.

The next step to redemption would be to rename the 70.3 mile races. I have no bone to pick with these races. In fact, I love this distance and do them myself. But a 70.3 is not an Ironman. I am not in the business of naming events, but I would recommend using the same logic implemented for the 5150 series. Call it something totally different and tie in the master brand in some passive way. Either way, and I’ll say it again, find a new naming convention because 70.3 miles simply isn’t an Ironman.

The Ironman brand is all grown up and lives far away from it’s Hawaiian roots. Admittedly there’s a fine line between using the brand to promote the sport and damaging it through mis-steps and overexposure. Hopefully, the 5150 series is the start of a proper way to manage such a coveted name.

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Source by David W Meier

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If you’re like any normal human specimen, you probably find baseball incredibly boring – it might be akin to watching grass grow or paint dry. In fact, it may be the perfect thing for you to turn on when you hit the couch after a long day and all you really want is a nice, relaxing nap. Trust me, I get it. From the outside looking in, baseball is a bore…a yawner, if you will. It’s just a bunch of guys wearing tight pants who are literally just standing around picking daisies. There may be short periods of slight amusement for you, but those are easily drowned out by the continuous, crippling lag.

To make matters worse, you’re watching a game that doesn’t matter… there’s 162 of them! Who cares about what happens? Also, if you’re a regular sports fan, you probably hate that Sports Center is about to be riddled with baseball highlights, ruining you’re once surefire escape at the end of each day.

My friend, I totally understand. Not to worry though, I’m here to save the day! After all, that’s my job. I’m here to say that if you’ve never really given the MLB a chance, PLEASE DO! I beg you, I implore you. Here’s why:

1. Details

Each game is full of nuances. I know it may take a lot of energy to (uh oh) look at the details of something. It’s much easier to watch some gargantuan punch the living daylights out of another. The ladder provides immediate entertainment. However, the former takes a lot more effort, but, thankfully, expending that extra energy pays high dividends. Why? Think about the things you love most in life. What is it that you love so much about them? Is it their overall greatness? Or, is it every little, minute detail? Take a lover for example – you know, the one that drives you CRAZY! I’m sure it’s every small detail that turns you on, rather than the person as a whole. Ah hah! I got ya thinkin’! In order to truly appreciate something, you gotta dig the small stuff, and the small stuff is what baseball is all about. The pitcher/batter chess games, the calls from the coaches, the substitutions, the mind games, the shifts in the defense, the varying techniques, the differences in the parks…I could literally go on and on. Do me a favor and really watch an MLB game. Look for the details, analyze & interpret, make your own predictions, and…enjoy! Lastly, pay close attention to the intensity of the game. Although the game might seem nonchalant at first, if you really pay attention, you’ll find that the game is super intense. Every little thing that goes on is calculated and certainly has a purpose. The more baseball you watch and the more closely you analyze, the more you will come to appreciate it! I guarantee it, or your money back.

2. Series

Unlike virtually every other sport, throughout the regular season, baseball teams play in mini-series instead of the usual one game – usually three games and occasionally four. Again, this may seem boring at first, but in reality, it makes the game much more exciting. Since baseball is a game where anyone can win on any given day, three games gives you a better idea of who the better team is. Also, it’s amazing to see the adjustments teams make against each other from one day to the next.

3. Season Length and Playoffs

Initially, a 162 game season may seem like overkill, to say the least. But, the beauty is that only four teams from each league make the playoffs. This means that the regular season ACTUALLY MATTERS! In the NBA and NHL, the regular seasons are half as many games as the MLB’s, but 8 teams from each conference make the playoffs, meaning that over half of the teams make the postseason. Because NBA and NHL teams don’t play everyday, their regular seasons actually last almost as long as the MLB’s; the only difference is that the regular season doesn’t mean anything. I enjoy watching basketball and hockey, but I constantly find myself turned off by the fact that a given regular season game is worthless. To add insult to injury, the playoffs become extremely long and drawn out, making them not even that enjoyable. Baseball, even though it’s a long season, always seems to come down to a game or two. Players know this, and they play like it. The most surefire way to get into the playoffs in the MLB is to win your division, as there’s only one wildcard (unlike the NBA and NHL, where there’s five). So, watching all the division battles down the stretch is very entertaining. When it comes to the playoffs, there’s nothing better. There’s only three rounds, making it twice as fast as basketball and hockey. So, the atmosphere is electric, and the strategy gets elevated to astronomical levels.

4. Minor Leagues and Skill Level

The skill level in baseball is outstanding. Baseball is truly one of the toughest sports to compete in, and the level of skill between the big leagues and college/high school is incalculable. Because of this, we have the minor leagues! Within the minor leagues, there are several different levels. Baseball might be one of the easiest sports to turn pro in (because the minor leagues are professional), but, on the same token, it has to be one of the most difficult sports to actually make it to the big show simply because the level of talent is out of this world. Honestly, one of the most exciting parts of being a baseball fan is following prospects. There’s nothing like studying prospects, making predictions about them, and then seeing them come up to the bigs and perform. The top prospects ALL have to prove themselves before they make it to the MLB, and there’s no ridiculous contracts for anyone until they are actually proven.

5. Trade Deadline and 40-Man Roster

The trade deadline in baseball is more exciting than any other, as teams are making moves for now and for the future. Big names are dealt, prospects are dealt – it’s always interesting to watch. What’s even better than the trade deadline itself is what happens immediately after. After the trade deadline, MLB rosters expand to 40 people instead of the usual 25. This allows teams to, once again, strategize to the max. Also, we get a glimpse of what the beloved prospects look like in the MLB. With the rosters increasing so much, “September call ups” occur, in which teams bring their prospects to the big show to see how they do. We get to look at all the raw youngsters and gain an idea of who’s for real. Also, when the playoffs begin, all the rosters shrink back to 25, and teams cannot call up or demote anyone during the postseason, meaning that coaches are ultimately choosing a single roster for the playoffs. This makes things interesting, as not only are teams battling for the playoffs, but players are competing for a spot on the beloved playoff roster. Every year, we see prospects or other players make the postseason lineup who we never expected.

6. Dynasties and Salary Cap

Most people hate baseball for this reason. Personally, I love it! Baseball is full of tradition, and dynasties are one of those traditions. The teams with huge markets, like New York and Boston, have huge payrolls, while other teams, well, don’t. Sure, it’s not “fair” but who cares? Life is not fair! Teams with huge bankrolls often spend too much on big names and don’t pay attention to growing talent in their farm, which is usually their demise, as we saw with the Yankees over the past decade. Once the Yankees finally starting growing their own talent, they actually won the world series. As for the small teams, it’s their job to do it the REAL WAY. Scout players, develop their talent, refine them. Out-coach and out-strategize the monetary giants. Do this, and you’re set. We saw it with the Tampa Bay Rays, who had one of the smallest bankrolls in the league, yet still beat out the Yankees and the Red Sox for the division. I LOVE rooting for those teams – everyone loves to see the home-grown teams take it to the big dogs. Also, with the lack of salary cap, there’s less player movement. We see guys stay on their teams for years and years, which always makes things more exciting than seeing household names put on a different uniform every year.

Honestly people, I could list so many more, but I believe that’s enough. The point of all this: GIVE BASEBALL A CHANCE! Watch it, analyze it, become a student of it. Trust me, you will not be sorry. Instead, you’ll find that you’ll become addicted in no time, and your appreciation will never die!

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Source by Kevin D. Cox