Strategic Brand Portfolio Management: Brand Leveraging and the Importance of Mitigating Brand Dilution Risks in the Golf Equipment Industry

abstract: The Golf Equipment Industry is flooded with many competitors, all looking to expand and grow with their various customer bases. In an industry which demands rapid new-product developments and offerings, companies must position their various brands in a way that appeals to both current and future customers. In tailoring product offerings and leveraging existing brand equity, effectively manipulating brand portfolios, companies must assess the risk of brand dilution effects when fulfilling company-wide growth initiatives. The following project will present research-based marketing principles with marketplace examples from various industries; specifically looking at marketers’ strategies in manipulating brand portfolios through the use of brand architectures, upward/downward line stretches, and brand extensions. Essentially, this paper will present the importance of manipulating brand portfolios in a variety of industries (including the golf industry), exciting current and new customer bases, eventually establishing an understanding of the risks associated with each leveraging strategy. With a deep emphasis on the criticality of mitigating brand dilution whilst manipulating product offerings, this paper will then provide a golf-specific industry trend analysis, diving into the various ways marketers at TaylorMade Golf, Callaway Golf, and Cleveland/Srixon/XXIO Golf leverage brand equity while mitigating brand dilution risks. With a greater understanding of marketing-theory based principles and research conducted on the current customer trends prevalent in the golf industry, supplemented by marketing-personnel survey responses, I will be able to translate branding-based principles into recommendations for companies competing in the golf equipment industry