Callaway VP Makes Case For Second Product Launch Of '14

As a casual observer of the Carlsbad wars, I'm fascinated to see Callaway preparing for a big fall product launch while close competitor Taylor Made picks up the pieces from an excess of 2013 product launches which earned a special call-out from parent company Adidas, had a domino effect at Dick's Sporting Goods and left some customers insulted.

Callaway SVP of Marketing Harry Arnett is trying to prepare us for the potential consumer backlash (thanks to reader Mike Z. for this) of new stuff coming from the company. While some of the rationale for the urgency of new product is expected (helps you hit it longer!), more interesting is the thinking suggesting Fall as a permanent launching point for big stuff. Temperate climate bias?

a.     In may [Sp.] places in the Southern Hemisphere and in the Sun Belt states of the U.S., golf is just starting to hit the new season again. This is an ideal time to launch a product in those markets. A few of our competitors use this period as their main launch window.

b.     The new PGA Tour season schedule now starts in October versus January. A change in our launch strategy now allows us to have brand new product to launch on Tour in October rather than waiting until January. As our Tour staff grows, it’s an easier and more natural transition for our new players to play new products in October rather than us wanting them to switch again in January as done in the past.

Stay tuned for customer reaction...