By Octavio Jacobo^*

The Hispanic Element of the PGA’s Golf 2.0 Strategy Jumps Out of its Box

The initiative has three core strategies: 1) Retain/Strengthen the Core; 2) Engage “Lapsed” Golfers (of which there are supposedly 90 million with 70% interested in returning); 3) Drive New Players.

While Golf 2.0 outlines as a section the opportunities and a unique challenge of reaching and bringing Latinos into golf, with the required concerted effort of employing refined strategies, the strategic element it presented in a specific and close-framed fashion.

Hispanic marketing and business are no longer elements and cannot be successfully tackled as a “box” in the whole plan. The demographics are shaking the national business environment with the trend of the USA Hispanic population accelerating and being projected to continue to do so for decades to come.

At the same time the growing Latino population is experiencing extremely significant alterations; an acculturated, native, legal, young and growing population largely sustaining the demographic growth of the country is, and will become more so, vital to the future strength of the country.

Seen that a comprehensively well put, funded, long-term, influential plan by no other than the PGA of America, clearly addressing and focusing on the opportunities to develop the US Hispanic Market; the presentation of the Strategies of Golf 2.0 put forward a worrisome situation for the appropriate layout of the plan, specifically in regard the understanding and vision for the development of the Hispanic element within the comprehensive strategy.

For my final project of the FSU Hispanic Marketing Communication course I decided to combine my passion for M2H with my parallel acquired passion for golf; the topic for my project was “USA Golf Industry’s Hispanic Market: Status, Future, and Opportunities”.

Through my research for this project I discovered the size, importance and extension of the golf industry, a $76 billion, 2 million jobs, and 16 thousand small businesses . Most importantly I realized that, contrary to my beliefs and own experience as a recent player, the golf industry was not unaware of the Hispanic demographic trends and great opportunities these represent. As a matter of fact, I learned that this had been a recurrent topic of discussion and study for a number of years.

This research also made me aware of the unfortunate reality that almost a decade after the core-shaking results of the 2000 census, with plenty of important industries quite invested in the large-scale national trend to serve and develop the USA’s growing Hispanic population - many of them already gaining the large benefits of those investments; and in spite of the repetitive and well intentioned studies, presentations and discussions in many of the golf industry’s forums, there was still not an action-plan in place; much less any organization or company with a known project to pursue this must-take-on opportunity.

Although disappointing, as well as intriguing; I was convinced that soon somebody in the industry would be smart enough to move from talking to acting. On this, I saw the opportunity to partner with such pioneer organizations or companies toward quickly catching up, developing and implementing comprehensive Hispanic market development strategies, and to gain first mover competitive advantages.

The results of the 2010 census once again, and harder than any time before, shook the national business environment; documenting that the growing trend of the USA Hispanic population was far from slowing down; instead, had continued accelerating, surpassing the forecasts, and being projected to continue to do so for decades to come.

At the same time the growing Latino population is experimenting significant alterations. For one, immigration is no longer the fuel for this growth; instead it is in-country births, which represented 64.2% of the 2000-2010 Hispanic population growth . By this, the majority of the Hispanic population will be, or already is a acculturated, native, legal, young and growing population whose natural increase is largely sustaining the demographic growth of the country and which is, and will become more so, vital to the future strength of the country; not that much different to the after World-War II Baby-Boom demographic phenomenon.

The significance of this demographic shift is that USA Latinos are not, and will no longer be aliens in the country. Much for the contrary, USA Hispanic are a core segment - a fast growing in size, purchasing power and influence segment of the morphing USA fabric. USA Latinos are becoming and will continue to be as North-American as the ketchup and hamburgers, while –and here is the most important shift, maintaining its many core traits of Hispanicity.

Furthermore, this Hispanicity is not isolated to the USA Hispanics, but expands, permeates and influences all the country’s culture, population, economy, politics and self-being. The USA is already the third largest Latino/Hispanic country after Brazil and Mexico. It is the second largest Spanish speaking country after Mexico; and yet, it is estimated that of the 54 Million USA Hispanics 77% speak “Only English” or speak it “Well” or “Very Well”, while only 23% of Hispanics do not speak English or do not speak it “Well”.

Within this context, and as I was so eagerly expecting for, a key organization within the golf industry, in this case the PGA of America, has taken the lead, moving from the talking to assertively leading the way for the whole industry to embrace and act upon the new realities of the country in order to revert that negatives trends on the golf industry and to save the continuity of the golf business.

Contained in the “The Time to Act is Now” call for action, I found the first glance to the long-term comprehensive customer-base development strategic Golf 2.0 presented at the Golf 20/20 meeting early this year (2011); the answer to a recent Boston Consulting Group study that confirmed what those of us in the industry or studying the industry already knew very well: golf in the U.S. is a shrinking business.

The September 2011 issue of the PGA Magazine presented an ample and detailed coverage of the Golf 2.0 “targeted, focused, long-range strategic plan intended to affect the entire industry with a fresh, needed approach to making golf more relevant”. According to the article Golf 2.0 “came into existence on June 27, when the PGA Board of Directors approved the funding necessary for this new, long-term strategic plan” .

The goal of Golf 2.0 is to substantially increase the number of golfers, the rounds of golf played and the revenue generated from golf over the next decade. Specifically, the set goal of Golf 2.0 is to increase the number of golfers from the current level of approximately 26.1 million to 40 million by the year 2020. To do that, the golf industry must get consumers to change their perception of the game in terms of barriers.

The initiative has three core strategies: 1) Retain/Strengthen the Core; 2) Engage “Lapsed” Golfers (of which there are supposedly 90 million with 70% interested in returning); 3) Drive New Players.

Within the third core strategy, I found the subsection that I was eagerly looking for: ENGAGE MINORITIES, which is presented as: “The nation’s growing minority population represents both a unique opportunity and a unique challenge. Overturning the under-representation of African-Americans and Latinos in golf will require a concerted effort employing refined strategies. Access to demographic information and “knowing your customer” will be integral to success.”

While in 2012 Hispanics will represent 17% of the total USA population, projected by the US Census Bureau to grow to 134 million and a 30% of the total U.S. population by 2050; according with the NGF’s Minority Golf Participation in the United States 2010 edition report, on 2009 only 7.7% of Hispanics over 6 years old participated in golf, versus 11.9% of Whites non-Hispanic. At the $125,000 or more income bracket, Hispanics had 13.2% participation versus 19.1% of Whites non-Hispanic.

As excited and positive I was for finally seen a comprehensively well put, funded, long-term, influential plan by no other than the PGA of America, clearly addressing and focusing on the opportunities to develop the US Hispanic Market; the presentation of the Three Strategies of Golf 2.0 and the corresponding Ten Strategic Elements (listed here after) had me worried specifically in regard their understanding and vision for the development of the Hispanic element within the strategy: the appropriate layout of the plan, the skill of the strategists who designed it and the staff that will implement it.

1. Retain/Strengthen The Core

1.1. Better Know Your Customers

1.2. Nurture Current Customers

2. Engage “Lapsed” Golfers

2.1. Recognize Women’s Influence

2.2. Target 90 Million Lapsed

2.3. Engage Entire Family

2.4. Target Lapsed Seniors

2.5. Engage Electronic Users

3. Drive New Players

3.1. Reach “Other 84 Percent”

3.2. *Engage Minorities*

3.3. I’m Ready To Play

I just had the opportunity to attend a great Hispanic Market event smartly named the “Annual New American Mainstream Business Summit: Multicultural Goes Mainstream” put together by the Miami based Market Intelligence firm Geoscape (www.geoscape.com). The sharpness of the name and content of the event is that although it was an event focused in Multicultural business and marketing, primarily Hispanic Market, it was properly renamed and addressed the Multicultural and Hispanic element as MAINSTREAM.

Joe Steranka, CEO of The PGA of America was a panelist of the Sports Marketing Panel with a very “on the ball” participation and a great interaction and alignment with the other panelists: NASCAR, ESPN and the Miami Marlins; as well as with the Mainstream-Multicultural-Hispanic approach of the event. Although Mr. Steranka did not cover Golf 2.0 in his presentation, he hinted about it and its female and minority elements.

My point to bringing the name and content of this event around the launch and elements of Golf 2.0 and the Hispanic Strategic section, is that, while Golf 2.0 outlines as a section the opportunities and a unique challenge of Latinos in golf, and the required a concerted effort employing refined strategies, which worryingly seems to be specific and framed in isolation of the rest of the strategic elements.

Hispanic marketing and business is no longer an element and cannot be successfully tackled as a “box” in the whole plan.

As I have previously written about, in this era, the “General Market” is not and cannot be properly served without serving the Hispanic segment and sub-segments. The Hispanic Market posses the critical mass, significance and the level of influence to be Mainstream, requiring to be fully integrated within all USA market strategies and across all elements of any given organization. Pretending to tackle it independently and in an isolated fashion is a proven formula for failure.

Naturally I found the Golf 2.0 strategy presentation concerning. As plausible, commendable and encouraging as having the Engage Minorities/Latinos Strategic Element under the Golf 2.0’s Drive New Players Strategy is:

• What about the Retain and Strengthen the Core without Retaining and strengthening the Hispanic core, where there are 3.2 million Hispanic golfers ?

• What about Recognizing Women’s Influence, targeting and heavily investing in the female population without considering the Latino Women? Hispanic young women over index the male Hispanics and female general population in pursuing college education and starting small businesses. Hispanic women are quite influential in their families’ expenses, free time, health habits, education and advancement pursues.

• What about Engaging the Entire Family without engaging the Latino family? Latino families tend to be younger, larger, multigenerational and closer knitted than the general population family.

• What about Engaging the Electronic Users without out engaging the Hispanic electronic users? One of every four USA youngsters under 18 is Hispanic and Latinos had 38.8% under 18 Population Growth Rates: 2000 to 2010 . Hispanics over index the general population in mobile technology use and technology acquisition.

• What about Reach “Other 84 Percent” without reaching Hispanics which will be close to 20% of the USA population by 2020?

As you can see, in my perspective, any strategy that does not integrate and embeds a Hispanic approach and pursues the Hispanic segments and opportunities in each and every one of its workings will be slicing the ball out of bounds. Therefore my concern for Golf 2.0, being a great initiative, was for it to be faultily conceived, and therefore destined to underperform- if not to fail, at the attaining of inclusivity and expansion it looks for, and that the golf industry so much needs of.

With these concerns, and with the implicit opportunity to provide my assistance, I have reached out to the PGA of America’s leadership. By the way, Darrell Crall who was recently appointed to his Golf 2.0 Senior Director position after 15 years in the Northern Texas PGA Section, based of the Dallas-Ft. Worth TX DMA, a 2 million plus, 28% Hispanic DMA that has experimented a 290% 1990-2011 Hispanic population growth .

I have had the opportunity to address with the PGA Golf 2.0 leadership my concern about the arrangement of the strategy, where Engage Hispanics is presented as a framed section. I discussed with them the strategic need for the Hispanic element within “Engage Minority” not to be encapsulated and isolated; instead, for it to reach out and actively permeate across all and every element of the overall Golf 2.0 strategy and in every function and take of the PGA organization.

It is clear to me, as it seemed to be understood by them, that for the Hispanic Engagement and Development strategy to be successful, it will require first of an intensive work within and across the PGA organization and the Golf Industry to educate, provide the vision and generate wide-reach embracing of the Hispanic reality and must-take-on opportunities.

The PGA of America and the rest of the Golf Industry that follows its lead must look within its organizational structure, player development and player/customers points of contact to assure that it is structured and prepared to properly reach out, engage, develop, welcome and serve the Hispanic population. A lot must be changed extremely fast.

As the Golf industry is a late arriver to this Hispanic Demographic and Business Revolution party, there is a need and an opportunity for the PGA, Golf 2.0 and the Industry to partner and work with a number of entities and persons which have successfully invested and worked with this market for a significant time, and with others who represent and understand it quite well, and can be allies in reaching out and connecting with the Hispanic population.

Lastly, all the programs and investments to engage and develop golf among the USA Latinos should be significant and of great priority, while at the same time should be integral to any and all engagement and development initiatives.

Founded on the many challenges of language, education, income, awareness, participation, interest and competition confronted by golf among the Latinos, the common approach has been to make of Hispanic golf development a last or non-priority; with the corresponding diminish or inexistent investment, based on the pre-assumed significant diminished ROI.

Contrary to this approach, given the relevance of Hispanics in the country’s fabric and future, the significant lags of Hispanic golf, those listed challenges, and the unavoidable need for golf to succeed at this task in order to survive and thrive again; the strategic approach and investment on the development of Hispanic population must change radically.

Hispanics already represent close to 17% population, they are fueling more than half of the country’s demographic growth, projected to represent 30% of the overall US population by 2050 . The Hispanic young population is already almost ¼ of the country’s youth with 43% rates of growth in the last 10 years , a rate that is only accelerating. If the desired positive results are to be attained, should not the investments be at the very least in a proportionate share to these figures, if not higher? Also, should not the commitment and terms be proportionally with the challenge at hand?

Bear in mind that those investment in the Hispanic market should not necessarily be completely additional and separate of the investments on the General and other Minority markets; in many cases, initiatives are shared and are synergetic.

As the Hispanic culture and population is influential and trendsetter, and as it acculturates and permeates in the main market, positive results in the Hispanic segment can influence positive trends in the non-Hispanic segments as well. Alongside, efforts and investments to retain, strengthen, engage lapsed and drive new players among the general population can and will reach the Hispanic population. The trick here will be identifying and implementing the specific and relevant touch points that make Hispanic tick, which might be different to those of the general population.

Make no mistakes, given the start point and the implicit lags and challenges, in the short and mid-terms the return and results on the investment and the work put in the Hispanic market by Golf 2.0 and the Industry will be smaller, and slower than those of the general market. Given the cultural differences and the many lags, the work will be more challenging and complicated. However it should be clear that not doing it; not doing it right and not succeeding at it is not an option. The approach should be no other than long-term targeted and formally committed. The USA golf industry did not get to where it got in 10, 20 or 50 years. However, it got into the situation it is now by not changing the way things are done, and will continue in this path unless it changes from the core and out. This should be A Whole New Game, no longer the way Golf is, but Golf 2.0

The very good news coming from my conversations with the PGA 2.0 leadership are that not only they agree with my positions, They Get It!

As a matter of fact, I perceived that instead of a situation where with my point that* the Hispanic Element of the PGA’s Golf 2.0 Strategy must jump out of its box and permeate across all other elements of the Strategy* I presented a new vision and valid criticism, I actually validated a view and a position that although is not explicitly expressed in the various communications, has already being perceived, and as a result, is already being advocated.

I found in Mr. Steranka a very well versed leader in the realities, opportunities and challenges of the Hispanic market and he seems to posses the vision and commitment to lead the organization -and in his case the industry, in the right path and for the long haul.

As anybody in Hispanic Business strategy will quickly confirm, without this upper leadership, long term commitment and tenacity, failure is almost guaranteed, fortunately, the PGA has the right stuff. These positives by themselves do not guarantee success, but they definitely lay out the desirable start point and project positive development.

The Time is Now and the Start Point Seems Right. If the PGA is going to lead the way and set the pace, the rest of the industry should already be closely looking at it and concurrently putting forward their corresponding commitment and resources, while doing their own parallel work

Quoting the infamous and very funny Charley Harper (Two and Half Men) with a bottle of whiskey in his hand _“*This is not a Sprint race, it is a Marathon”_*

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Joe Steranka, PGA of America’s CEO, 8th Annual New American Mainstream Business Summit, October 27, 2011

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates July 1, 2000 to July 1, 2010

Geoscape’s 2012 Projections not including Puerto Rico

PGA Magazine. September 2011. Special Report: Golf 2.0 How The PGA’s Strategic Plan Will Help PGA Professionals and their Facilities Be More Successful

PGA Magazine. September 2011. Special Report: Golf 2.0 How The PGA’s Strategic Plan Will Help PGA Professionals and their Facilities Be More Successful

NGF’s Minority Golf Participation in the United States 2010 edition

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 and 2010

Geoscape Market Snap Shot Dallas – Ft. Worth DMA 2011

U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 and 2010

U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 and 2010 ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(c) 2011, Octavio Jacobo, Principal

JaMer Hispa Marketing

Connecting with and Developing the Hispanic Market

---

Credits

Originally posted by OctavioJacobo on 31 Oct 2011.
All contributors: OctavioJacobo,

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