Topgolf's rise—inside the marketing strategies that have driven brand's growth

Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, check us out on Spotify and hear us on Stitcher. This is our RSS feed. Tell a friend! If Tiger Woods began putting cracks in golf’s image as a cushy country club sport in the late 1990s and 2000s, then Topgolf is shattering it for good in the 2020s. The fast-growing brand runs nearly 80 venues across the globe that include high-tech driving ranges, food, cocktails, loud music and social event spaces. From outdoor hitting bays, players aim at targets by hitting microchip-equipped gold balls, scoring points that display on screens. It is, in a nutshell, gamified golf—without the quiet, rule-filled and at times stodgy environment that turns some people off from the game.“We are opening doors to people who don’t have access to a golf course, or a country club, or golf clubs,” said Geoff Cottrill, who joined Topgolf Entertainment Group about a year ago as chief marketing officer. “There are a lot of barriers of entry to even start to play the game of golf so we are trying to take all that stuff away and offer people an easy, fun way to enjoy the game.” Cottrill, who came to Topgolf after stints at Coca-Cola, Converse, Starbucks, Procter & Gamble and MullenLowe, on the latest edition of the Marketer’s Brief podcast reveals the marketing strategies that have helped fuel Topgolf’s growth. It is adding about 11 venues a year, recently opening a flagship location in El Segundo, California, that includes Topgolf’s first par 3 golf course. But emblematic of the brand’s outside-the-box approach, the course has 10 holes, rather than the traditional nine or 18, with the last hole serving as a spot for players to use technology to digitally trace their shots. Ad Age Marketer’s Brief podcast Listen here or subscribe via Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music or Audible Click here Cottrill joined the brand as it began expanding after its 2021 merger with traditional golf brand Callaway, in a deal that valued Topgolf at $2 billion. Topgolf now says it draws about 20 million players annually. According to Cottrill, a big chunk of those players are first-time golfers, although the venues also lure avid golfers, he adds. The brand’s “north star,” he said, is around the idea of “play.” “I get up every day believing the world needs more play in it,” he said. “The older you get the more serious the world becomes.” Under Cottrill’s watch, Topgolf has hired Mediahub as its media agency and Day One Agency to handle social. The marketing strategy involves portraying that frivolous mentality on social media, where Cottrill says Topgolf benefits from players sharing their experiences on Twitter, TikTok and other platforms. “We are seeing a lot of user-generated content,” he said. “We are trying to participate on some level in the conversion where it makes sense—not overpower it, not over-message it.” One successful social play involved Topgolf responding to a TikTok user who made a video not about hitting golf balls, but about the venue’s donut holes, which can be injected with chocolate and other indulgent fillings. It drew about 1 million views, while Togolf’s response the next day lured some 10 million views, according to Cottrill. “In the month after we did it, our donut holes sales doubled,” he said. Topgolf also had fun with it on Instagram during National Donut Day. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Topgolf (@topgolf) Cottrill also remains involved in Marvin, a fashion and music print magazine that he co-founded in 2020 with former agency executive Gary Koepke and publishing veteran Marvin Scott Jarrett. The publication has a single brand backer—Porsche—and doubles as a content development firm. The seventh print issue was recently released. “There is something really cool about holding an old school magazine,” Cottrill said. “I don’t know that [print] is coming back from the dead, but I do think there is a role for it, particularly high quality print.” But the real star in the Cottrill family is his daughter, Claire Cottrill, a rising pop star who performs as “Clairo.” She rose in popularity after her song “Pretty Girl” went viral after she posted it on YouTube in 2017. It led to a record deal and Clairo last year came out with her second album. She recently performed at the Glastonbury Festival in England, where she shared the stage with Lorde for a song. While her dad is a CMO, he says he is not advising her on marketing. “Have I ever given her marketing advice? No. In fact, I am trying to learn from her,” he said. “She is so good at social media that I just am in awe of what she has done.” He adds: “I have nothing to do with her career. I am just the dad that stands in the corner when she plays and cries my eyes out.” See America's Hottest Brands 20 brands that are having a moment Click here

Topgolf's rise—inside the marketing strategies that have driven brand's growth

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