Ping Power

As surely as snow melts off greens and fairways, come springtime golfers begin to think about new clubs.When they drop into the pro shop for the first time this year, they likely will encounter the newest line of Ping irons. In fact, thanks to a new system of displays from Karsten Manufacturing Corp., Phoenix, golfers may find Ping products difficult to ignore.Unveiled at the PGA Merchandise Show at the end of January, the displays were created for the primary Ping retailer -- golf course pro shops. The displays coincide with the release of the new Ping ISI irons line, but they are designed to be used to merchandise woods, putters, bags and apparel as well. The displays will begin appearing in shops in March."What we tried to do was create a display that will look very sharp for the upscale pro shop, but will be functional as well," says Karsten Manufacturing President John Solheim. "This is not an average display.""Our focus, at least in the beginning, was on irons and woods," explains Steve Bostwick, product coordinator, "But we also wanted a display to show all of the products we make."Many pro shops carry a number of Ping products, Bostwick adds, and the company wanted to avoid creating a display for each product. The company also sought a more universal design to create a "store-within-a-store" look. Bostwick spent several months traveling with the company's field representatives and visiting numerous pro shops. That input helped define the functionality of the display. The shopkeepers asked for a small footprint, adaptability and ease of assembly.As good as the company thinks its new displays are, it does not expect 100 percent penetration of its accounts. "A lot of our accounts are at small courses that don't really have a proper store," says Solheim. "But we do expect to achieve a pretty good multiple in the larger shops.""We will meet the demand," adds Bostwick. "We don't expect this to be a one-time order. We will re-order as often as necessary to meet demand. We have designed this display for the long term."A changing marketplace has made the use of displays to sell golf products a necessity. "Our accounts told us that they needed help displaying our products," explains Bostwick. "In the past, a lot of pro shops created their own homemade displays -- some of them pretty nice. But this is a competitive market and there is a need to have your product seen right when the customer walks in the door."A nearly 20-year-old Ping irons display, designed to help custom fit a set of clubs, was recently updated and will remain in use. "The new display is designed to get the product in front of the customer," says Bostwick.One way the company hopes to keep its displays both functional and current is by updating the copy and art on the replaceable vertical side banners.Although the retailer will incur some expense to receive the display, the company will keep that cost as low as possible. "Obviously, we want to make the displays as attractive as possible for our accounts," adds Bostwick.Until recently, Karsten Manufacturing handled all of its advertising and promotional activities from within, including the creation of television and print advertising -- and the design of displays. For this project, the company sought out the services of Trans World Marketing, East Rutherford, N.J. Work on the project began in January 1995.Two major components of the display system are a fabricated, textured, powder-coated steel center pylon and a fabricated wood base. The pylon is attached with two screws to the base, which is a combination of steel and wood. To show off irons, Trans World created an antler-shaped, laser-cut piece. Injection-molded plastic and fabricated wood were used to make the sloped base that holds the Ping woods.Displaying putters created a bigger challenge, since the clubs tend to be of different lengths. A magnetized back bar holds the shafts of the clubs in place and helps keep the display looking neat. Other than the base and pylon, all of the other parts -- racks, shelves, banner rails and brackets -- snap in without hardware or tools.With a footprint of 24 inches wide by 18 inches deep and an overall height of 72 inches, the display was designed with a flat back. The units can be placed back to back or in line.

Ping Power

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