The PGA TOUR is on a player-driven push to bring the game closer to fans through social media. The results have been impressive. In just a few years, the TOUR’s Player Content team has pushed the boundaries to drive hundreds of millions of video views and game-changing engagement for players and the sport. At the center of the strategy is Mattie-Lou Chandler, who ensures that everyone from the game’s greats to TOUR card rookies have access to publish powerful content in their personal social channels.
Our strategy, in short, is to offer our players as much unique and quality content as we possibly can.
What’s your position?
I work on the Player Content team at the PGA TOUR.
Describe your journey to your current position.
I started writing sarcastic recaps about the show “The Bachelor” when I was working in finance for FS1’s “Outkick the Coverage” site. That turned into covering College Football (Roll Tide!) for 3 seasons. I would pick up golf in the offseason as it has always been a big part of my life. Then my role was created at the TOUR and I jumped on it… and the rest is history!
How long have you been utilizing Opendorse?
We’re kicking off season 4 using Opendorse.
How has PGA TOUR’s player strategy evolved over the past 5 years?
The first thing that comes to mind is GROWTH. So much growth. We’ve gone from hoping our players would join social media platforms, to now, we have them begging us for graphics, highlights, and content each week. The evolving never stops, which is great! Our strategy, in short, is to offer our players as much unique and quality content as we possibly can.
What is it like to work with golfers and their agents? How has buy-in been in terms of #AthleteDriven content?
It’s my favorite part of my job! I get to see the players off the course and the personalities that they have. I may be biased but I think golf agents are some of the best. We learn from each other by building relationships week in and week out on-site. It helps with quality control and identifying content opportunities that fit the players’ personalities and interests. At the end of the day we all realize that we are there for “the right reasons” (shout out The Bachelor) and want to see our players succeed as much as possible.
For the sake of full disclosure, buy-in was slow in the beginning. However, that has done a complete 180. Now it’s how can we keep up. We have players and agents coming to us every week asking for assets. It’s amazing! It just took players seeing other players and the success they were having using Opendorse. We pride ourselves on the success our players have had in their various channels.
With a wide range of golfers — from Tiger Woods down to a player who just got their TOUR card — how does your team prioritize your content efforts?
Any player who would like content is prioritized equally. We have a system in place where we are able to make sure that Tiger gets the assets that are the right fit for his channels, as well as making sure the rookies are getting any highlight, graphic, or digital segment they took part in so that they always have a constant stream of content to post if they would like it.
My favorite “challenge” of our job is that we are unique in that we have players as young as 18 and those who are 50. With such a wide range, finding ways to create content that is relevant for 150+ players, ideally before tournament play begins each week, is exciting! It definitely keeps us on our toes
What is your favorite post or campaign that you have shared through the platform? Why?
My Favorite post? This gem. It never would have happened if it wasn’t for the relationships we build with our players week in and week out to know this is exactly something Keith would say. While he has the option to edit the copy, he didn’t. It was just incredibly on brand for Kevin, I mean Keith.
You can call me Kevin all you want. Just make the check out to Keith 😉 pic.twitter.com/Lcxh3xAGTO
— Keith Mitchell (@K_m_Mitchell) March 4, 2019
My favorite campaign? Probably the College Football Crossover graphics that we did last fall. I came from the world of CFB and to be able to combine them in creating the graphics, selecting the games, etc. was really neat and very much a “life coming full circle” moment.
Which is your favorite course on TOUR? Why?
Oh wow, this is tough. No way I can choose just one!
– West Coast: Riviera
– Midwest: Medinah was incredible last year for BMW
– South: Colonial, Ft. Worth has the key to my heart
– East Coast: Quail Hollow