How Data & Innovation are Reshaping Golf with Jon Last | Fairways & Fresh Ideas Podcast In this episode of Fairways, Friends & Fresh Ideas, we dive deep into the “truth” behind the golf industry with Jon Last, President of Sports and Leisure Research Group. Discover how data-driven insights are reshaping everything from course management […]
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Driver$: ‘Shark Tank’ for the golf industry
Guest: Kris Hart, PGA of America senior director of growth and ventures. Description: Hart joins Sports & Leisure Research Group’s Jon Last and David Klein for a candid conversation about innovation in the golf industry and how the PGA of America strategically identifies those ideas that can become “diamonds in the rough.” Talking Points: ▪️ How Kris Hart’s entrepreneurial […]
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Consumer Trends Sports Marketers Should Jump On In 2026
We all remember learning about marketing’s “four Ps.” Looking at recent research with sports fans, I found four significant themes for sports marketers looking to hit the ground running in the year ahead. I call them “the four Es”: Emotional connection: Is it just me, or does it seem like every article, sales pitch or […]
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From Turbulence to Trust: Managing Resistance
Author and insights innovator Brianna Sylver joins SLRG’s Jon Last on MRII’s latest podcast with thought provoking perspectives on leadership.
Read More » For Marketers, 75% Of Success Is Just ‘Showing Up’
In November’s Media Post Marketing Insider, SLRG’s Last shares an old mantra which asserts that if one makes the effort that 90% of people don’t take, to discern the needs of someone you are trying to influence, and demonstrate your empathy and ability to help meet those needs, you will run circles around most of […]
Read More » Driver$: How technology is transforming course ownership, operations
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. […]
Read More » The Case Against Paying Research Respondents with John Dick
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 » Are Any Sports Fans Still Channel Surfing Out There?
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 » Driver$: Restoring a classic golf resort to greatness
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 […]
Read More » Determining Impact Of Assets Is Sports Marketing Game-Changer
Clutter has become a bit of a double-edged sword in sports marketing. On the positive side, the proliferation of innovative new promotional inventory has opened up sponsorship to a deeper array of brands across a wide swath of categories and investment levels. Still, all this variety behooves brands to be more creative in developing activations […]
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