An American icon brand such as MacGregor Golf demonstrates the positive effects of a well-executed, wholly integrated IMC program. For 75 of its more than 100-year history, MacGregor Golf was the number one brand in golf known for making premium golf equipment. Starting in the mid-seventies and after a series of owners as a public company, MacGregor found itself with drastically lower sales, a single-digit market share down from 55 percent, and perennial financial losses. During this time MacGregor attempted to come back to profitability and market share by expanding into mass-market distribution with lower end equipment. The brand had lost focus with a short-term sales strategy that attempted to play off the equity of the MacGregor brand in new channels. Compounding the effect of this effort was inconsistent and poorly executed product. Over time the brand lost relevance among new customers. The MacGregor brand maintained a small but loyal base with historic fondness for its history. However that base quickly eroded; the brand had become your father’s Oldsmobile. MacGregor was facing its demise.

In 1999 a new owner with a vision for reviving the brand bought the rapidly fading company. The first two years were precarious. The newly privately held company cut most of its product lines, all its management and sales staff, half of its work force, and pulled out of all mass markets and online sales. The company was cut in half, reducing sales to less than $20 million. In a similar strategy to Harley-Davidson, MacGregor concentrated on its core business and refocused on producing only the best products in each category. With a budget of under $5 million in 2001, MacGregor embarked on a new marketing campaign after an extensive internal audit that produced and galvanized internal alignment in sales, product development, and marketing—one vision, one voice. A comprehensive brand repositioning plan was developed with a messaging hierarchy and tactical communications strategy. In the first two years, marketing concentrated on key influencers and trade since resources were limited. An all points of brand contact plan was implemented including broadcast, print, product graphics, sales materials, catalogs, direct mail, Web, blogs, public relations, point-of-purchase, merchandising, tour players, and tour demo days. All points of brand contact focused on a limited but critical audience to drive viral word-of-mouth. In 2004 MacGregor sales in the U.S. grew to $75 million, and $135 globally. Today MacGregor is well on its way to becoming a renaissance icon.