Gather Global Podcast

A massive thank you to those of you that joined us for our recent Mentor Room: LIVE! [https://www.linkedin.com/video/event/urn:li:ugcPost:6910613309025103872/] as we welcomed Nicole Wheatley [https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-wheatley-medi8golf?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_search_srp_all%3B5Xy6wrbORTKvuwjZvVC3hQ%3D%3D&miniProfileUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afs_miniProfile%3AACoAAAFXFxkBLHv9epkuqJtFEQY4etCVRJGhS88] and Jojo Regan [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jojo-regan-23a11471?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_search_srp_all%3Bxxzo607SQJOOXVnQzHko7g%3D%3D&miniProfileUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afs_miniProfile%3AACoAAA8lCU4BgTD616E5l4PmK2w5kLWWzRGZeCo], two Gather members who are at the forefront of brand positioning. Both are passionately helping drive a new image for the game to new audiences. Listen out for key insights on: * Investing in branding/marketing/PR - the key decisions and opportunities for more golf businesses to consider. * How we can speak as an industry to the non-traditional golf audiences? * The "unknown" golf market. How do you approach the golf audience that doesn't sit within traditional demographics with very little known about them (e.g. GenZ, Millenials) ? * NFT's and the world of crypto - are there genuine opportunities for golf in here? Read more and check out the highlights video over on our website [https://www.gather.golf/posts/mentor-room-live-highlights-nicole-jojo]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

“Golf needs to have the strength of will of character to look beyond the walls of its own self-worth.” Dan Green, Design Director at Zag. Are you in the mood for some Truth Bombs? Then this is the 15min audio for you. 1.     What’s next for branding in golf? 2.     Who does Dan seek inspiration from within branding in the sports world? 3.     What’s Dan’s advice moving forward for golf brands to break through with Gen Z? 4.     If anyone listening wanted to do an audit on their golf industry brand, hypothetically what could that look like? “Golf has always dined out on its history. It’s always an easy target and a quick win. “Ok, we need to create some content around this event or this course, let’s just tell people what happened 150 years ago, or even 20 years ago” which bears no meaning to the vast majority of the audience. And is really just a pat on the back, boys club, kind of a move ultimately and something that I think a lot of consumers are probably sick and tired of.’” BOOM! Welcome to: Cutting Through The BS with Dan Green. In just 15mins, hear from one of the brightest minds in branding, who also happens to love golf. Headquartered in London, Zag [https://www.wearezag.com/] has earned a big-firm reputation with clients including Audi, BT, Discovery, Deloitte, Disney, Facebook, World Vision and Yamaha. Dan [https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielwilliamgreen/] was also part of the project that re-branded The Open and the Women’s Open for The R&A, plus he created an even bigger emerging golf industry brand called Gather 😉 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

What if golf, was just golf? Not amateur and professional, with so many fragmented organisations. Not with organisations for men and women separately competing for the same commercial sponsors and media outlets? “We HAVE to look at golf differently now” This week, we are incredibly excited to share with you our first ever Women's British Open Champion as a Gather Guest, who has some fascinating insights to share from how Australia are challenging the previous norms. Transitioning from elite tour professional to senior leadership within the golf industry is a rare feat. In addition, being a leader that challenges the norm and trailblazes with new concepts and collaborations, is even rarer. We loved our chat with Karen Lunn (CEO, WPGA Tour of Australasia). Join us as we dive deep into a fascinating conversation on the Gather Global Podcast. Karen just offered up so many incredibly valuable insights in this conversation, and we're very excited to now share them with you. Here's some of the key areas we covered: * Governing bodies in countries pitching against each other for sponsorship, television coverage and government support, rather than collaborating. "Seems like a no-brainer." Learn why the WPGA and PGA in Australia are doing things differently and what other countries and organisations can learn. * How would Karen currently score our industry, out of 100, in its ability to collaborate effectively for the benefit of the game? * The biggest standout from the Australia-wide golfers survey? Hear what the huge opportunity is…and why it’s not about ramming golf club membership down people’s throats! * Looking at partners with disruptive ideas as an opportunity for the industry, not a threat to the game. * Hear about the switch Karen has made from an elite player, a major winner, into working as a leader in the sport. Lessons in resilience and keeping your motivation when doors are closing on you. Have former professional tour players honed this skill better than many? * Do we still place too much value on golfing ability when appointing people into golf industry roles? * Does the research tell us that PGA training is now focused on the wrong candidates? * Karen’s view on the biggest opportunity for the golf community in Australia over the coming 3 years. Enjoy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

In this episode we had the pleasure of speaking with Amir Malik [https://www.linkedin.com/in/amirmalik01/]. Amir founded The Muslim Golf Association (MGA) [https://muslimgolfassociation.com] in the UK in 2020 which is the worlds first dedicated golfing platform that caters for the modern, professional, Muslim male & female golfer. Check out their website, but also connect with Amir. There could be great collaboration opportunities for you, but without doubt there will be inspiration and some fascinating insights that can help you, your golf club, organisation or business. WELCOME TO GATHER – WHAT’S NEXT? This is your 15min insight into the minds of some interesting, diverse and inspiring people that are doing things within the golf industry and have an innovative perspective on what the future can look like. We kick off all of these conversations with 2 questions: 1. In their view, what’s next for golf in their sector of the industry? 2. A Gather Elephant in the Room question – where we ask about a challenging topic or a difficult question that’s often talked about within the golf industry, but nobody wants to actually deal with it. What we love most about Amir’s story…is that he wasn’t a golfer 7 years ago. He’s since fallen in love with the game, learned to play at a local municipal course (where, interestingly he’s found the best customer service compared with many private clubs) and then in 2020, launched the MGA. He talks about being ignorant to many of golf’s traditions and WE LOVE this. This is a huge strength in trying to achieve his vision with the MGA and….a huge opportunity for us to learn something critical: His observations as a relative newcomer to the sport, compared with many of us who work in the industry that have been fortunate enough to be playing the game for a long time. It’s a fresh new perspective, filled with energy, passion and enthusiasm. From one chat we could see why Amir and the MGA have been featured already in the BBC, Guardian, National Club Golfer and even in mainstream media in the US. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

If you are starting your first role, or you're a senior leader in golf, there’s critical insights and learnings in this new episode. They come from someone who has gathered varied experiences and skills, put their hand up and asked for more help to learn and now see themselves in an influential role at a global brand at the age of 35. But still learning and staying humble. Chris Hedderman has worked as an Assistant Professional at a local municipal course, re-gripping clubs in minus temperatures in the cold of winter. He’s worked at one of the most exclusive clubs in the world, receiving the odd comment about not being the ‘usual’ type of Assistant Pro. He’s been on tour working with players and along the way, developed a wide range of skillsets which led him to his current role as Head of Marketing for EMEA at adidas Golf. Some very strong messages about why and how to listen to the younger people who love golf and who want to work in golf to help shape our future industry. Also, some learnings about how positive collaborations can be when you have no fear and leave your ego at the door. And of course….we talk about the "big" brand strategy behind the ‘Hoodiegate’ disruption… Here’s some of the great insights Chris shared with us: * 02.00mins:“Unhelpful stereotypes!” How far we still have to go to change these? * 7.05: “We’ve created robots”Cool young amateurs and Pro players still conforming to ‘golf fashion’. * 17.53:“What are we so scared of?” Why doesn’t golf want to embrace change in what people wear? * 21.54: What is the risk, as a global brand, to adidas Golf doing various collaborations with new independent and smaller brands? * 35.59:“Huge OPPORTUNITY! Golf shops have “retail-tainment” on a plate!” How many golf pros do a great job of selling apparel and how much revenue are they ‘leaving on the table’? * 45.00:“Bring me a ‘Stop the Bus’ moment…” Why we must lift up the voices of younger people in golf and listen to their ideas, for the future benefit of golf. * 49.02:Understanding the minds of Gen-Z for your future career and business. * 56.43:Don’t let your peer group opinions hold you back from putting your hand up to learn more from experienced leaders in the industry. * 63.00:How the best disruption happens… The inside story on the strategy for the adidas hoodie with Tyrell Hatton? * 78.49:The “Dabblers” and “Potentials” are the MAJORITY of the golf market. (*Note: Not called simply “non-members”). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.