It’s been more than 40 years since the release of Caddyshack, which follows several country-club members and their caddies as they golf and socialize. (Also, Bill Murray hunts a gopher.)

Sure, they have their differences, but the vast majority also have something in common: they’re white men.

These days, golf looks a little different than it did in the Caddyshack days: 66% of Americans believe the sport is becoming more inclusive, while nearly seven in 10 (69%) said it’s becoming more diverse, according to a survey of 2,013 US adults conducted by Marketing Brew and the Harris Poll last month.

• Still, the sport has a well-documented history of racism and sexism, and while nearly one-quarter of respondents (23%) said they play at least occasionally, men and those with high total household incomes (equal to or higher than $100,000 before taxes) are among the groups that play the most.

Looking ahead: While there’s still work to be done, the sport is attracting new players, thanks in part to emerging golf brands that are focusing more on creating fun, accessible experiences than perpetuating old-fashioned trends like plaid knickers or pom-pommed hats.

Puff, puff, putt

Traditional golf is still an option, but there’s also a host of modern-era golf brands looking to attract those who want a different experience.

• Pro skater Jack Fardell teamed up with five of his friends from Australia to start Walker Golf Things in June. The brand sells “things you want to wear to the course and the pub,” according to its website, while also aiming to “show off Australian golf,” Fardell told Marketing Brew.
• “It’s not as elitist as it is in the US,” he said. “Here, you’ve got expensive memberships and crazy country clubs that are super private, hard to get into, and in Australia, it’s more like you go down to your local club and you can join for a reasonable price.”

Other golf brands like Topgolf and Five Iron are also trying to make the game seem less stuffy. Continue reading here.—AM

The good news: Quitting your day job to become an influencer as a get-rich-quick scheme might be overrated. According to a survey of more than 1,700 creators from influencer marketing platform Aspire, only 4.3% of creators earn six figures or more a year.

The bad news: That could potentially be at least 13 million creators, as there are now about 303 million creators in nine major markets globally, per Adobe.

And that wasn’t all the company’s survey found.

• 55.2% of those polled said they increased their rates over the past six months (don’t make us say we told you so).
• And 64% said they’ve turned down campaigns over the past year “due to a misalignment between the brand’s values and their own.”

The number one thing creators want from brands…Is more creative freedom, according to the survey. “This isn’t a game of control, as much as I think that makes brands uncomfortable,” Anand Kishore, Aspire’s founder and CEO, told Marketing Brew.

He added that, although guidelines are of course necessary, trying to steer a creator’s output somewhat “defeats part of the purpose” of working with creators for authentic content.

+1: Though 74% of respondents said they’re “very willing” to partner with companies that are “committed to sustainability,” only ~15% who do sustainability-related work said they would charge a lower rate for it.—PB

There are a lot of bad marketing tips out there. These aren’t those.

Privacy, please: Read why a “fragmented privacy landscape” is having an effect on marketers in this Q&A with a Gartner analyst.

From the source: This guide from Meta outlines how to make impactful Reels ads, partner with creators on IG, and more.

Tweet like a pro: How to use Twitter’s Advanced Search to see what’s working and up your social game.

Are you a marketer working in and around the retail industry? If so, we want you to come network and engage with top retail brands at our upcoming Retail Brew Summit: The SKU.

The SKU is a live, in-person event taking place next month in NYC. In just one day away from your desk, you can expand your professional network, gain perspective from leaders at top retail brands such as Crocs and Kroger, and head home with strategic insights that could help reduce your brand’s carbon footprint, increase brand awareness and affinity, and much more.

Tickets are only $599 for a limited time. Let’s get you to The SKU!

Register now.

Stats: TikTok: $92 million. Google: $100 million. Snap: $35 million. Meta: $650 million. These are the amounts tech companies have paid to settle lawsuits in Illinois. Read why it keeps happening here.

Quote: “Oh, the crisp sound of the Velcro latch, the sweet tang of new plastic! And the indelible images of laser beams, planets, the California Raisins, neon rainbows, musical notes, kittens and unicorns. Why did this product, with its wide range of designs, capture our generation’s imagination?”—Jess deCourcy Hinds wrote an ode to the Trapper Keeper. Now that’s brand affinity.

Read: “TikTok Seen Moving Toward US Security Deal, but Hurdles Remain” (the New York Times)

Catch up on a few Marketing Brew stories you might have missed.

• Why Klondike decided to run one last Choco Taco campaign
• Why Kochava says it doesn’t want to settle with the FTC
• Host-read podcast ad marketplace Gumball drops a new measurement feature