What the ski industry could learn from The Masters…swag.
Gregg Blanchard /
In my last post I talked about The Masters. An incredible, expensive event that had a surprisingly cheap, efficient option when it came to staying fueled on the course.
It’s a unique, but amazingly effective strategy.
But there’s another pricing strategy that surprised me during my one amazing day at this unbelievable course. And it came as we wrapped up our day and stopped by the pro shop (well, gift shop) as we made our way to the exit.
Pro Shop
Just as you’d expect, the gift shop at Augusta National was sprawling with every soft of golf-related gift you can imagine.
But there are two unique aspects of this gift shop:
- The prices, again, are not as expensive as you’d imagine
- This is the ONLY place they sell logo gear
Thing about that one-two punch for a moment.
The Result
In other words, the masters makes their gear a badge that says “I went to the masters.” But they also make it so as many people who attend the event can leave with something that sends that message.
While I don’t think any resort can play the second card of true exclusivity, I do think there’s room for rethinking our swag-pricing strategy from one of a traditional retail store to one of a store that is selling ads people will wear all over the world.
If lowering the price of a logo T-shirt gets 10,000 more people out the world to wear them a to the grocery store or ballgame?
Well, maybe that’s a trade off worth doing some math around.