Ping Places Hefty Display, Puts Clubs in Hands

Phoenix, Ariz. -- Ping launched a new, robust display to golf and sporting goods stores that promotes the technical innovation of its clubs. Customers revealed that they wanted educational information, good ergonomics and the emotional excitement that this equipment promised to improve their game, says Brian Bush, product line manager of metal woods and wedges at Ping. It was also important that golfers get a "chance to interact with the clubs to get the right feel before making a purchasing decision.""To find out what golfers were looking for, Trans World Marketing in East Rutherford, N.J., executed a number of in-store intercept studies to determine how the Ping consumer shopped the golf category in general and the Ping brand specifically," he says. "They looked at factors like the position of the brand amongst the competition, the skill level of Ping's customers and the factors that influenced their in-store choices."Sporting goods and golf store personnel also filled out surveys, which helped Trans World Marketing define how each brand had positioned itself within the retail environment. Because Trans World has an ongoing relationship with Ping, it has collected a wealth of data and shopper insights in the past and drew upon that to create the latest Ping concept shop, says Bush.Ping also conducted site visits and studies with Golf Galaxy executives in spring 2009 and asked for feedback about a previous floor display. The feedback from those discussions was used to create the new design.Installation of the Ping fixtures began in early March. Approximately 125 went to Dick's Sporting Goods and Golf Galaxy stores, and 75 more were slated to ship to other major retailers in April and May. The display project officially began in October of last year, so the production run had to be executed in a three-month window.Trans World engineered the display to fit in a small package, but it weighs 600 pounds. Many strategic meetings were held between Ping, its freight partner and Trans World to coordinate the pickup, transport and delivery of the units to retail.As for messaging, one of the headers on the display boasts the line, "Get Fit Today." That means at least one employee -- and sometimes as many as 10 in that store -- are trained to "fit" Ping golf clubs to the buyer, says Bush."Fitting" can mean a five-minute interview to see which club is appropriate for that consumer, or it can be as detailed as a full 45-minute session where the customer hits balls using computer launch monitors so the fitter can decide which clubs would be best for him. Made of 14-gauge steel and extruded aluminum, the large, permanent display holds a maximum of 120 clubs including drivers, fairway woods and hybrids. The 120 custom-designed, injection-molded club caddies can be reversed to accommodate left- and right-handed Ping metal woods.To make it more versatile, the display is designed with interchangeable graphics, making it easy to promote any newly introduced product line like the G15 and I15 lines, says Bush. It also allows Ping to react to certain newsworthy events -- like a major tour win by a Ping golfer -- by producing new graphics that capitalize on the brand's success. "In the early weeks after the installation, I had many very positive discussions with store-level managers about the new look of this display," says Bush. "They have commented on the powerful visual graphics, the stability of the way the clubs are displayed and the innovative design of the top header. We hope this news translates into increased sales in this difficult economy."

Ping Places Hefty Display, Puts Clubs in Hands

P2PI MEMBERS

JOIN P2PI

Related Images

Business Topic

Market Segment