Can video save the golf star?


By: November 24, 2014


For many years the primary access to videos was our computer. Today they primary access points are mobiles and tablets. Did you now that 40% of the YouTube videos are seen on mobile? I see correlation between mobile screen size and video consumption. Thus we can say the bigger the mobile screen, the more video people are watching on it. Increasing number of free wi-fi access points in our cities also intensify and enhance the usage of smartphones and tablets.

Video_mobile_growth_share_adobe

As a result of this change digital video ad spending is likely to grow in the US by 41.9%, reaching $5.96 billion this year according to eMarketer.

US TV vs. Digital Video Ad spending 2012-2018

 

Estimated digital video revenue

The rise in digital content represents a unique opportunity for golf equipment manufacturers and golf clubs alike, all of which can leverage these platforms to deliver their content to consumers. Video stream growth is being driven by sporting events. Sport video streams are up by 640% Y-o-Y according to Adobe's US digital video benchmark (Q4, 2013).

At the same time we will have to find solutions and ideas how can we stand out from the ocean of videos that are already available via YouTube, Vimeo and other video sharing platforms. It will not be enough simply to record a golf club event, a golf training lesson or upload your TV commercial to the selected video sharing platform(s). 

So the challenge is how can golf clubs, golf equipment manufacturers (or anybody involved in the golf industry business) can deliver in-the-moment, real-time experiences to make use of that full attention.

In 2015 we should also think about how can we humanize our golf club as a company, as a brand by using video storytelling.

Think also about what could be the role of video on smartphones in your next campaign. What extra or additional experience can you build by using smartphones & videos together? I think Volkswagen's SmileDrive app is a good example how brands should combine mobile & YouTube.

By pondering over this topic, I found an interesting start-up company called ClickOn who are focusing on video marketing. They even created a video sharing platform for such sports as golf, tennis and polo.