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Day 7: Saturday – Bonus Post

This is a bonus post from the National Mining Association Pete Dye Classic. It has nothing to do with golf but it does have a little something to do with marketing.

Today my wife and daughter joined me at the course. They got to enjoy the event and see daddy working – conducting radio broadcasts, press releases, coordinate interviews, etc. After the round was over we had dinner together and then went back to the course to fish at the pond in front of the clubhouse. All week I’ve watched golfers and their families, caddies, and sponsors fishing the pond. Today, I figured I’d give it a shot with my 5-year-old daughter and her Barbie fishing rod - her first time fishing.

The rod is about 36 inches long, and is pink and yellow.

Sure enough first cast, she gets a bite. The fish proceeds to take the bait (bread) clear across the pond. It takes nearly all the line out of the rod as my daughter and I continue to reel in the fish. As the fish is toying with us – taking a tour of the pond – I realize that her rod does have adjustable drag. I adjust it all the way and we finally realize how big this fish is. It is a monster catfish (in my daughter’s eyes) that is entirely too big for the Barbie rod.

As we get it closer, the rod now looks like an upside-down U; it was stretched to its limit –to the point my daughter was yelling at the fish not to break her rod. We finally landed the fish - it is just under 48 inches; longer than my daughter is tall.

She was thrilled that she’d caught her first fish. I was thrilled. It was a good daddy-daughter experience.

Here’s the connection to marketing. We landed the fish, but the Barbie rod was hardly the best tool to do so.

To all the marketing professionals out there, make sure you have the right tools for success. Don't get caught with the Barbie rod.