How often do you try a brand new golf ball? If you are like most golfers, you're comfortable with your tried and true favorite, or you might shift slightly depending on course and weather conditions.
In order to buy a different brand, or even a very different model, you probably need to be convinced by price or by "buzz" -- the attention that tour players or the guys in your foursome give to a new ball, for example.
So, especially when the changes to a new ball are not wildly new and different, golf ball manufacturers are opting to offer "improved" versions of the same brand and model that are already earning your affection. Rather than come up with a new name, the newest offerings from golf ball manufacturers build on an already established brand.
Note the introductions this month of the new "better than ever" Titleist Pro V1 and the Nike One +Platinum balls.
"Adding the plus sign lets consumers know that the One +Platinum and One +Black are the updated and most recent versions," said Beth Gast, Nike's public relations manager. "The One Platinum and One Black names are very familiar to consumers. It's a strong brand and we didn't want to alienate the consumer by giving it a new name."
Because manufacturers spend so much time and money building up consumer interest in a model or name, they are reluctant to move to something new that they will have to introduce to the consumer. In the case of Titleist's Pro V1, the company would not want to risk the high market share in on-course sales for the ball.
According to Golf Datatech, the Pro V1 earned more than 43 percent of all dollars spent on-course for golf balls in 2006, and had better on-course market share for the year than Bridgestone, Callaway, Nike, TaylorMade, Top-Flite and Maxfli combined. A name change could actually be harmful if consumers do not immediately turn to the new model.
As well, when the consumers are asked, they show preference for a familiar name -- even if the product is different.
"We were planning to keep (the Pro V1 name) that way, but we also wanted to get consumer feedback," said Joe Gomes, director of communications for Titleist. "We sent out several thousand questionnaires to a portion of our e-mail database with the option to choose to retain the Pro V1 name. The response was overwhelming to stay with Pro V1 and Pro V1x."
Over at Nike, Gast agrees: "There definitely is a marketing advantage in keeping the same name. There's a level of trust that comes with that name and the assurance they will be getting a high quality product that performs."
There's another good reason not to change names. The new models simply aren't that different.
In 2000, when Titleist updated its popular Professional golf ball to the Pro V1, the changes were dramatic. The Professional was a wound ball with a liquid-filled center, while the Pro V1 has a large solid core. Although the Professional name carried a lot of weight with high-end amateur golfers, the name change indicated that the Pro V1 was a very different offering.
With this revision, the changes are not as dramatic. It's somewhat like software makers upgrading a program from version 1.0 to 1.5 instead of to 2.0 -- it may have improvements, but it's not a vastly different product.
"The refinements (to the new Pro V1) were evolutionary as opposed to revolutionary," Gomes said. "There's such equity in the name and the construction differences were not that dramatic."
To make sure that consumers know the balls, which were introduced this month, are new, both Titleist and Nike have new packaging and will be advertising about the changes.
The Nike One +Platinum and Nike One +Black sell for $54/dozen. See more at www.nike.com/nikegolf/oneball. Titleist's Pro V1 and Pro V1x sell for $58/dozen. See more at www.titleist.com/prov1.
