Tiger’s personal tragedy has become the tabloid equivalent of watching a train wreck. You want to turn your head. . . but you just can’t seem to avert your eyes.
Within the sports business community, the “train wreck” has become “which Tiger Woods endorsement / advertising partner will pull out today?”
Gillette? Ads pulled. TAG Heuer? Relationship done. Accenture? Over.
Now, He's Definitely In The Rough
Gatorade had the good fortune of announcing the end of its Tiger-named drink two days before the Escalade hit the tree. However, Nike is sticking with Tiger and riding out this “minor blip” (in Phil Knight’s words). After all, if you made a billion dollar bet on Tiger-branded merchandise, wouldn’t you try to ride out the “minor blip”?
No matter what happens in the coming days and weeks with Tiger’s partners, the question remains, “can he come back?” My answers are simple.
On the golf course: undoubtedly. That’s great news for the PGA Tour.
In the board room: never to the same heights as before.
We remind our pro athlete clients that brands are about behavior. And, in regards to behavior, several key brand attributes of a professional golfer are “judgment” and “grace under pressure.” In a discussion yesterday about the wisdom of Accenture’s decision to part ways with Tiger, a colleague said to me that Accenture’s decision was a mistake because Tiger will undoubtedly bounce back and be even more valuable as an endorsement partner than before. I disagree.
Accenture is a business consultancy. The brand behavior of a consultancy is about “good judgment.” The very thing that made the Tiger Woods relationship a great thing for Accenture — Tiger’s excellent judgment on the golf course was a metaphor for Accenture’s great judgment in the Board Room — doomed the relationship with the poor judgment evidenced in Woods’ “transgressions.” Both brands are about judgment.
Woods’ behavior raises long lasting (and perhaps permanent) doubts about his.
Posted by Ken Ungar.
