Guest: Kris Hart, PGA of America senior director of growth and ventures. Description: Hart joins Sports & Leisure Research Group’s Jon Last and David Klein for a candid conversation about innovation in the golf industry and how the PGA of America strategically identifies those ideas that can become “diamonds in the rough.” Talking Points: ▪️ How Kris Hart’s entrepreneurial […]
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We all remember learning about marketing’s “four Ps.” Looking at recent research with sports fans, I found four significant themes for sports marketers looking to hit the ground running in the year ahead. I call them “the four Es”: Emotional connection: Is it just me, or does it seem like every article, sales pitch or […]
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Author and insights innovator Brianna Sylver joins SLRG’s Jon Last on MRII’s latest podcast with thought provoking perspectives on leadership.
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Presented at the 25th Golf Business Canada Conference, SLRG’s Jon Last shared the latest consumer insights on the rapidly evolving landscape of leisure and golf. This session uncovered consumer and golfer behaviors, generational priorities, and economic perspectives in Canada offering a forward-looking view towards 2026.
In November’s Media Post Marketing Insider, SLRG’s Last shares an old mantra which asserts that if one makes the effort that 90% of people don’t take, to discern the needs of someone you are trying to influence, and demonstrate your empathy and ability to help meet those needs, you will run circles around most of […]
Read More » Guest: Whitey O’Malley, owner of Saddleback Golf Club and incoming president of the National Golf Course Owners’ Association. Description: O’Malley joins host Jon Last for a wide-ranging discussion about how golf facilities are leveraging technology to create operational efficiencies while maintaining exceptional customer service. Talking Points: ▪️ Finding the right balance between frictionless service delivery and high touch. […]
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In the evolving landscape of golf technology, striking the right balance between high tech and high touch has never been more important. SLRG President Jon Last and National Golf Course Owners’ Association Incoming President Whitey O’Malley delivered this data driven session at NGCOA’s 2025 TechCon. The presentation leverages new SLRG insights that explore key trends, opinions and adoption patterns from two critical perspectives: Golf course owners/operators and the golfers they serve.
Discover why John Dick, Founder and CEO of CivicScience, believes that paying survey respondents introduces bias and why shorter surveys offer better data. In this episode of Insights and Innovators by MRII, host Jon Last explores CivicScience’s innovative micro-survey method that scales to over a million responses daily without financial incentives. Learn about the evolution […]
Read More » Maybe it’s because I’m a market researcher, or because I’m one of those people caught between the simplistic definitions of two generations, but a popular topic of late is how to deliver sports content in the most inclusive way. Hopefully, we can all embrace the marketing mantra of “meeting customers where they are.” But what […]
Read More » Guests: Casa de Campo Resort and Villas’ Gilles Gagnon, golf director emeritus, and Jason Kycek, director of sales and chief marketing officer. Description: For 50 years, Casa de Campo Resort and Villas in La Romana, Dominican Republic, has been an innovative resort that continues to break new ground in the Caribbean. Gagnon and Kycek unpack the impetus […]
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