People to Watch: Marie Heyer, TaylorMade-adidas Golf

Name: Marie Heyer Company: TaylorMade-adidas Golf, Carlsbad, Calif.Title: Global Design Group Operations ManagerAge: 32 Education: University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (BA in Advertising)Why She's One To Watch: Played a key role in the most successful launch in TaylorMade history for the R9 driver.In her six years at TaylorMade-adidas Golf, Marie Heyer has increased her responsibilities from print production, event planning and copywriting to include the 3-D realm, taking on in-store displays, customized vehicles, temporary promotional materials, permanent environments and more. Her public relations background helped her develop strong organizational and project management skills, which have come in handy when managing up to 50 projects at once."I have a strong sense of pride and ownership in the company that I didn't experience while working at a PR firm for many different clients," she says. "Being part of the TaylorMade-adidas Golf team has allowed me to be part of a team that is focused on the overall success of the company."Working with her team of 10, one of Heyer's biggest challenges is finding the balance among function, budget and design while still upholding the integrity of the brand. "For example, a certain design element may not be required for function, but may be necessary to maintain TaylorMade integrity, and, consequently, might throw off the budget," she says. "If any one of these components is off, there will be a struggle to find that middle ground. If all three are in place, then we have success." A few recent projects illustrate how this balance was achieved -- with impressive results. When launching the R9 driver, which Heyer calls "the most innovative metalwood driver in the industry to date," in-store displays had to stand out as well as reflect the product's cutting-edge technology. Displays were accompanied by other promotional pieces in-store and launched in tandem with all other marketing elements, including print ads, online presence and the new TaylorMade PGA Tour truck. The launch has been the most successful in company history, with more than 100,000 R9 drivers sold thus far.The PGA Tour truck travels to nearly every PGA Tour event in the continental U.S., with technicians on-hand to build and service thousands of clubs for the tour professionals. During its 15-month development, Heyer worked with various vendors and TaylorMade's creative director to create a "stealthy yet evocative" exterior and a clean, technical-looking interior. She also helped convince the PGA Tour to allow the truck to be 10 feet longer than its competitors' vehicles, making it "a vital symbol of our brand dominance and superiority," she says.In another recent project, Heyer oversaw the creation of the first TaylorMade custom club-fitting facility in Germany. Called the Center of Excellence, she says it is "a showcase for TaylorMade's state-of-the-art club-fitting technology as well as a global symbol of our brand's commitment to innovation."With each launch, Heyer is dedicated to honoring the quality of the product, even when budgets are tight. "I also find that it can be difficult to embark on a new launch knowing that it needs to be bigger and better than the one before," she says. "I need to be more creative, more original, more efficient and think outside the box now more than ever. While it can be difficult, I still love the challenge."

People to Watch: Marie Heyer, TaylorMade-adidas Golf

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