Bridgestone: Wilson Without The Heritage?

By John Barba

In Part 1 of this series we gave you an overview of Bridgestone Golf. In Part 2, we take a closer look at the brand position, the company’s golf equipment and what we can expect from Bridgestone in next 12 months and beyond

There’s a term in business called “Bottle Rocket Marketing.” It’s not a positive term.

As the name suggests, Bottle Rocket Marketing takes off with great promise. Pretty soon, however, the bottle rocket fizzles out, finishing with an unsatisfying and anticlimactic pop. Fun, but bottle rockets have a life span of about 15 seconds with no lasting impact, unless you’re Jason Pierre-Paul.

Remember TaylorMade’s Speed Police puppets?

There’s another term in business called “Stealth Marketing.” That’s marketing so far under the radar you don’t even know it’s there. If it works, great. If it doesn’t, well, at least no one knows you failed.

Lots of folks cringe at the very mention of marketing, but getting your message out to your customer base in a meaningful and effective manner is essential to any business. And good marketing features equal parts corporate integrity and respect for your customer. It also helps if it’s backed up with solid product.

Baby Steps & The Sneds Factor

Bridgestone may very well be the largest corporation in the world that dabbles in the golf market. From a branding standpoint it’s a good play – premium tire buyers often play golf and golfers often buy premium tires. In only 10 years Bridgestone has established itself as a solid #3 in the golf ball market, ahead of industry stalwarts TaylorMade, Srixon, Nike and Wilson. They’ve also invented the whole concept of ball fitting as both a tool for both sales and R&D.

Equipment-wise, however, they’re sitting at the kiddie table, despite having some of the best stuff out there.

“We don’t want to be irrelevant in any category, that’s for sure,” says Bridgestone Marketing chief Corey Consuegra. “In the golf club category, we intentionally want to be niche, more unique. Our distribution strategy is a bit different, and that’s because we’re looking for that better player, the avid golfer who wants to stand out from the crowd in both performance and in product selection.”

That niche is getting a bit more love this year, thanks to the work of Brandt Snedeker.

“Snedeker’s hot start has been huge for us,” says Josh Kinchen, Bridgestone’s Golf Club Marketing Manager. “Him putting our JGR driver in play was huge. We didn’t intend it to be a Tour-level driver. It launches high, it’s not adjustable, but Sneds’ hit it and loved it. And you can’t argue with the results.”

Kinchen says the JGR is creating considerable buzz, prompting tons of calls to customer service. He attributes that to both Snedeker’s play and the $299 price point. Any regrets over pricing it that low?

“Not at all. We’re not trying to squeeze every penny out of our consumer. We’re trying to create ongoing relationships with our customers with innovative technology.”

The Logical Song

Most OEM’s do a fairly good job of matching golfers to their different iron sets. Mizuno suggests handicap ranges for each product. PING’s progression from G-Max thru S is obvious and simple, while Callaway’s lineup flows logically from SGI to Player’s irons with Big Bertha/XR OS to XR/XR Pro and Apex/Apex Pro to the Apex Muscleback.

With Bridgestone, you have clear Super-Duper Game Improvement in the new JGR Forged Hybrid Irons (Bridgestone’s website says it’s for pros to high handicappers) and the SGI J15 Cast. On the other end of the spectrum are the J15 Muscleback Blades. In between it gets a little muddy.

To wit:

• The J15 CB is a player’s cavity back with a fair dose of forgiveness, aimed at the 0-12 handicapper. Snedeker, Kuchar and Hudson Stafford play these on tour
• The J15 Driving Forged is distance-oriented, aimed at 0-15 handicappers. Bridgestone touts maximum forgiveness in a smaller looking, player’s forged iron. LPGA pro Ai Miyazato games these
• The J15 Dual Pocket Forged is aimed at 0-20 handicappers. It has higher MOI, a longer-heel-toe profile and larger offsets than the others, while still traditional in appearance. Fred Couples games these

Bridgestone’s fitting philosophy: not all 10 handicappers are created equal, and the best iron for you depends on why you’re a 10. “To get the right iron fit,” says Kinchen, “it’s about what you do well and what you don’t do well.”

Forging Distribution

One thing Bridgestone does exceptionally well is forging – its forged irons and wedges are among the best on the planet. Equipment distribution, however, is a bit of an albatross. And not the good kind.

“Our strategy is to be the biggest and best golf ball brand we can be,” says Consuegra. “As a result we’ve intentionally had a limited distribution strategy on the equipment side. In some markets its difficult to find our clubs. We’re working hard to change that.”

Limited distribution may or may not be intentional, but Bridgestone is trying new ideas to help move the needle. Last year Bridgestone launched its “Test Drive” program (click here to check it out). Want to demo a Bridgestone iron with a specific shaft but can’t find any in your area code? Bridgestone will ship you a 4-pack of clubs to try out for 21 days. Different models, different shafts, different flexes and different lengths are available – all you pay is shipping. It’s not the same as seeing them at Dick’s or GolfSmith and giving them a whack, but it’s a start.

Some object to the fact Bridgestone places a temporary authorization on your credit card for the value of the clubs, but it’s really no different than what hotels do when you check in. The hold goes away after 72 hours and simply makes sure you have available credit in case you don’t send the clubs back. Fair, after all, is fair.

The harsh reality, however, is retail presence does validate the brand, and retail shelf space is at a premium. Those in the “Other” market share category rarely occupy it.

“For better or for worse, that’s who we are,” says Kinchen. “No one plays our clubs because they’re in widespread distribution. People play our clubs because they’re damn good.”

Innovation a la KAIZEN

The word innovation gets tossed around like a ragdoll in golf, to the point where it’s almost lost all meaning. What’s marketed as innovation is often merely evolution. One result of Bridgestone’s 4-year product hiatus is what they view as real innovation with real benefits in their current lineup.

“The milled face of the J15 (and JGR) driver is designed to improve compression time,” says Consuegra. “It’s a small tweak, but that tweak results in reduced spin, which generally results in more distance and more accuracy.”

Bridgestone says its Dual Pocket Forged iron incorporates rubber technology in the club head, allowing mass to be moved toward the heel and toe and boosting MOI. The rubber also dampens vibration for a better feeling and more responsive club.

“Our JGR Forged Hybrid irons combine forged feel with maximum forgiveness in the Super Game Improvement category,” adds Consuegra. “We’re helping this golfer get the same feel Fred Couples demands from his premium forgings, but in a super game improvement iron.”

Consuegra says Bridgestone follows KAIZEN – a Japanese manufacturing philosophy that stresses, and measures, continuous improvement. And with KAIZEN comes a disregard for annual product launches in the same category.

“That gives us a window to keep perfecting, as opposed to just servicing a launch schedule,” Consuegra explains. “It’s about making sure the product is right, that it’s innovative and better than what we have today. We want to put product out there that more than competes with our competitors. If we’re not doing that, we’re not going to launch anything.”

Going forward Bridgestone is planning annual equipment launches, but in alternating product categories.

From “Other” to “Another”

Bridgestone clearly wants to leave the other Others behind and become relevant in equipment, and they appear to recognize there’s lots of heavy lifting involved. It’s also very clear that golf balls are the priority and equipment will be brought along gradually.

After all, that strategy worked for Titleist.

Kinchen refers to Bridgestone as a boutique equipment brand. It’s an apt description, as much as the golfing wing of a $32.5 Billion company can be considered boutique. And Bridgestone is looking at the equipment market with eyes wide open and with no illusions.

“The golf club market is a difficult market to make significant profits in,” says Kinchen. “Generally speaking clubs are used as an avenue to sell other products with higher margins, like balls, apparel and accessories.”

Bridgestone historically targets equipment for the better player – by definition a small demographic. Last year’s J15 line and the new JGR line broaden the offering, and Tour success is adding validation to the brand. But for any business with a small market share, sustainable and profitable growth is a slow, plodding march that doesn’t go in a straight line.

Bridgestone stands today – 10 years into its journey – similar to where Wilson Staff stood 10 years ago: irrelevant to many, revered by a few and on the shelves virtually nowhere. Wilson climbed out of that pit to a nearly 3% market share slowly and steadily, but not easily. Wilson did have history and heritage on its side. Bridgestone, despite its accomplishments, doesn’t have that same heritage.

It does, however, have the equipment and the commitment to vie for your attention.

“We believe this is a marathon,” says Consuegra. “We have to do this right in order to succeed. We still have lots to learn about the golfer in the US and around the world. We’re not going to stop until we fully understand every golfer – that’s the only way we’re going to be a market share leader in all categories. And that is our end objective.”

“We’re not for everybody, nor do we want to be. We want to be for the consumer who wants the best, who’s willing to do their homework and who wants a product built for the golfer in mind.”

Oh, and one last thing – remember that list you made in Part 1? How did it turn out?