Influencers and Social Media Platforms Do Not Offer Reputational Immunity
9/4/26 – – Good Good Golf, which in six years has grown from a quirky YouTube channel into a major golf apparel brand, is having a hell of time getting out of the rough. An online ad intended to be a funny promotion for Good Good’s collaboration with golf equipment manufacturer Callaway is threatening the company’s survival.
To demonstrate the awesomeness of Callaway’s new Quantum driver, a special-edition club with Good Good-branded styling, the 60-second commercial featured a man (one of Good Good’s cofounders) pushing a woman (a professional golfer and Good Good content creator) to the ground. Standing over her, he warns, “Do not touch my new driver.”
All good fun. Who could possibly take this the wrong way?
Just about everybody.
There Are Consequences When Irreverence Becomes Offensive
In response to almost universal condemnation, the ad was taken down immediately. Within hours Callaway and Good Good issued unequivocal apologies. But in the two weeks since the offensive ad appeared, things have gone from bad to worse for Good Good:
- Callaway ended its partnership with Good Good, announcing a commitment to donate $1 million to organizations combating violence against women.
- Good Good withdrew its title sponsorship of a November PGA Tour FedEx Cup tournament in Austin, Texas.
- Dick’s Sporting Goods, PGA Tour Superstore, and Target have removed Good Good merchandise from their stores.
- The Golf Channel cancelled a reality program that was to feature Good Good competition.
- Jeffrey Lefkovits, Good Good VP of Brand & Marketing, was fired.
- Matt Kendrick, Good Good CEO & Co-Founder, “resigned.”
- Joe Flannery, Good Good President, “left the company.”
A lot has been written (mostly negative) about Callaway’s and Good Good’s crisis response. I’d like to focus on why debacles like this happen to even sophisticated organizations and what can be done to stay out of similar reputational sand traps.
The Dangers of Online Creative Freedom
It’s easy to blame low-level social media content creators operating in an unsupervised online environment for missing the obvious inappropriateness of any depiction of violence against women. But Callaway and Good Good admit the offending ad was reviewed and approved by senior marketing executives at both companies before it was posted.
Did adults responsible for protecting these brands raise objections? Were they overruled? We don’t know. But the problem I’ve seen within too many organizations is a reluctance by experienced professionals to raise red flags. They fear being seen as out of touch with young consumers and toady’s digital zeitgeist.
Callaway, more attuned to country club golfers, appreciated Good Good’s authentic connection with the next generation of golfers and, ironically, young women attracted to the sport. They may have been thinking: “Good Good knows how to reach our future customers. We need to give them some creative freedom. They’re confident this will be seen as a joke. Let’s not get in their way.”
You Just Don’t Get It
I’ve worked with otherwise-self-confident executives who remember how hard it was to explain their lifestyles, music and politics to their parents. In the words of the Lovin’ Spoonful from my youth, it was like “Trying to tell a stranger about rock and roll.” So, they ignore their better judgment and allow mindless content to go out, sometimes ending their careers.
Talented communicators and marketers too often assume or are shamed into accepting all irreverence and humor as okay on narrowly focused social media platforms. Unfortunately, what happens on YouTube and Instagram, especially when mature brands like Callaway are involved, doesn’t stay within limited groups on YouTube and Instagram. These channels now must be considered mainstream mass communication platforms.
Avoiding Reputational Sand Traps
Going to school on the crisis still in play for Good Good and Callaway, here are five recommendations to help companies stay on the fairway:
- Set and stay consistent with your brand’s promises, priorities and personality on all communication channels.
- Establish and follow multi-level review and approval processes for all messaging, realizing that what is said anywhere to anyone is seen everywhere by everyone.
- Encourage honest internal discussion and candid feedback on communications and marketing strategy and messaging.
- Carefully weigh the risks and rewards of partnerships and influencer relationships, balancing creative freedom with reasonable levels of branding control and supervision.
- Respect your current and prospective consumers, understanding that having fun and connecting with any audience does not require the surrender of safety or dignity. You’re not in Jr. high school.
What’s Next for Good Good?
On Wednesday, Chief Operating Officer Alex Puchala assured employees: “We’re encouraged by the continued support of the Good Good community, and we remain focused on moving forward and building the next chapter of the company.” And a spokesperson told Front Office Sports: “Despite the recent controversy, the company is seeing online retail growth, continued support from investors, and sees an opportunity to re-engage former retail partners in the future.”
I wish them luck and offer this advice: Stay in character, but if you allow your content creators to post anything even close to being as offensive as the Callaway ad, yell fore!
Crisis Quotient Blog 