Imagine if you came up with a truly amazing and groundbreaking invention which had the potential to take the world by storm.
But then, due to a couple of oversights with your marketing technique and timing, your target audience just refused to take it seriously…
That’s what very nearly happened with the current reigning Masters Golf Champion Bubba Watson, and his quite remarkable new version of the Golf Cart which we can see in action below.
Of course, it’s not uncommon for a budding entrepreneur – or even a seasoned professional – to dream up a winning new product but then make a bit of a mess of the marketing strategy.
Long before I eventually hit my stride with the premium print and design services of Martin Print, it’s a little-known fact that I invented the world’s first USB-powered Hamster Wheel.
It was a perfect design, too. It looked terrific. I was convinced that this was how I was going to make my fortune.
Sadly, it was all such a long time ago that USB hadn’t actually been invented yet, so I never sold a single one of them. Got the timing all wrong, you see.
A big shame.
Bubba Watson certainly wasn’t as short-sighted as that when it came to unveiling his new incredible Hover Golf Cart design on YouTube.
But just a couple of very small slip-ups in the way that he presented his new creation to the world resulted in his entire target audience assuming that he was just joking around!
Watson had been working very closely with his sponsors, Oakley, on developing a cool 21st Century upgrade for the traditional Golf Cart.
The new Hover Golf Cart – or Bubba’s Hover if you prefer – is designed to fly smoothly across the fairways and float right across those water hazards in sensational style, as you can see for yourself in the compelling video below!
It looks amazing, it speeds up your journey through the game, and it’s good for the golf course too, as the Hover Golf Cart has a footprint pressure which is about 33 times less than the human foot!
Sounds like a winner in every department to me…
The only trouble was that his audience were under the impression that Watson was just pulling an elaborate comical stunt.
This was partly because the YouTube video was launched to the public on April 2nd , which led most viewers to believe that all this was just a slightly delayed April Fools’ prank!
Another factor was the original choice of wording used as the description to accompany the YouTube video, which many viewers felt just didn’t ring true on any level.
The description just didn’t sound believable or realistic at all, and ultimately only served to drive home the feeling that Watson was just trying to play a joke on us all!
Hmm.
It must be quite tricky to drum up genuine interest in your inventions when everyone thinks you’re just larking about…
Fortunately, the video ended up creating such a buzz in the media that Watson was eventually given high-profile opportunities to convince his audience that Bubba’s Hover was very much the real deal and not just a slice of seasonal buffoonery.
Perhaps this just goes to show that good timing and good communication are crucial components of any good marketing strategy.
If you’re going to unveil a dazzling new product or service that seems too good to be true, try to make sure that your promotional content is crystal clear and definitely not open to any potential misinterpretation!
Oh, and launching a mind-blowing new invention fairly close to April Fools’ Day is probably a bad move, too….
If you’re still in any doubt as to the authenticity of Bubba’s Hover, then I can assure you that the video below is completely genuine.
In fact, orders are already rumoured to be trickling in, and you can expect to pick one up yourself in the near future for around $40,000!
You may as well pick up two at that bargain price, just in case you lose one at the 19th hole.
Of course, if you’re far more interested in snapping up an original USB-powered Hamster Wheel, then I might just have one or two of those still knocking around somewhere…
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