Tiger Woods - the brand hero against all odds?

It appears that, for now at least , the $1bn brand-man, Tiger Woods still has the support of his key brand sponsors, following his car accident. Nike, which has a nine-figure contract with the champion golfer, reportedly said in a statement that:

“Tiger and his family have Nike’s full support. We respect Tiger’s request for privacy and our thoughts are with Tiger and his family at this time.”

(Which to many sounded perhaps just a touch too melodramatic –  as if the poor man had just suffered bereavment in the family!)

Gatorade is another of Tiger’s sponsors.  The brand has a Disney-style tv commercial campaign called, Woods of Wisdom” .  It is  filmed in Disney-style  voiced by Samuel L. Jackson as a wise bear guide to a school-age Tiger Woods.

Gatorade said:

“Our partnership with Tiger continues.  We wish Tiger well as he recovers and look forward to seeing him back on the course soon.”

Tag Heuer describes Tiger’s “character” as making him:

“a natural partner for the brand.”

Procter & Gamble, which features Woods as well as tennis pro Roger Federer and footballer  Thierry Henry in its “Gillette Champions” campaign, announced that:

“Tiger Woods remains a part of our overall marketing plans for Gillette,”

and confirmed that the company had made no advertising adjustments for its television commercials over the past weekend.

This must be sweet music for the golf champ who has run the gauntlet of the media humming with unfounded speculations and supposition over what exactly occurred when Tiger accidently drove his car into a fire hydrant.

Most of the $1bn (in reported terms, $92m – £55 million) which Forbes estimates Woods has earned since turning professional has come from his endorsements rather than prize money. During 2008 he earned approx. $110 million – double that of any other sporting champ.  In brand perception terms, last week  the media suggested that both he and his brand sponsors such as Gillette, General Motors, American Express and Tag Heuer watches, could have potentially ended up deep in the rough.

Before an official police statement was released, Woods reportedly  stated:

“The situation is my fault and it’s obviously embarrassing to my family  and me.   I’m human and I’m not perfect.  Although I understand there is curiosity, the many false, unfounded and malicious rumours that are currently circulating  about my family and me are irresponsible.“

For most people, surely that would be enough. However, Wood’s is not the average kitten.  Before Woods finally  the police made an official statement  which included Woods having to pay a small fine and get points on his licence, commentators warned that the more Tiger declined to officially clarify his innocence regarding to what exactly occurred outside his home – via no less than an official interview with the local police – themore veracious the rumours would become – and that surely wasn’t fair to him or his interests.

Tiger’s brand has always been carefully groomed to be presented as the ‘All- American’ ‘squeaky-clean’ family man.  The game of golf perfectly suits that image.   When the news of the crash first broke followed by unfounded allegations of playing around rather than a round, some in the media seemed all too quick to suggest that his image didn’t  fit well with hearsay allegations of wives swinging golf clubs through the windows of the family Escalade.

It’s good to talk
In our Web 2.0 age, conversations between brands (including celebrity brands) and their public are the key to healthy long-term relationships. Silence on the other hand can, if left unmanaged, lead to consumers, fans, advocates … turning their attention to more openly critical debate.

Unquestionably, Tiger’s problem concerned trust and integrity. But perhaps from a different perspective than may have first sprung to mind. On one hand it was charming – even endearing – to have a hero like Tiger shown to actually be an ordinary man with everyday problems. The guy with superhuman sporting powers but, who, like the rest of us also made honest mistakes such as crashing the car. (DC Comics and Marvel comics built their entire empires on such heroes. – What would Batman be without the man behind the mask? Or Spiderman without the naïve kid who only wants to do the right thing?)

One of Tiger’s sponsors is Accenture.  They fittingly run a slogan: “It’s what you do next counts” and equally aptly feature Tiger looking down his ball stuck between rocks.  If this story would have dragged on, the recent events may have forced Tiger’s PR team to turn the tables on the other players taking the main role in the entire drama? For example, how was this regular guy supposed to trust his own emergency services if those same services were  all too happy to disclose the content of his neighbour’s 911 call to the media?  Why did he – the upright family man – have to be subjected to alleged and totally unfounded claims of infidelity from car crash mistress chasers?  How much should one man be made to pay for the price of talent and fame?

(Since the news first broke, the lady accused of indiscretions said she is not a “home-wrecker” and called the rumours, “ridiculous“).

Prepare for the worst. Hope for the best.

When the news first broke, Gillette, whose multi-million dollar campaign feature all three sporting heroes must have surely recognised the wry aptness of their campaign slogan: “Prepare for the best.”

Before any fire hydrants could even be repainted  the Press were running headlines like “The Curse of Gillette” pointing to the fact that in one way of another, all three of its key celebrity endorsers: Woods, Federer and Henry had  been struck by bad luck. Woods, with the car accident. Henry, with his “hand-ball’ controversy and Federer loosing an important tennis game. (The brand dropped David Beckham two years ago. He still hasn’t entirely shaken off the legacy of its so-called, ‘curse’).

When celebrities go bad for brands.

On the main front page of brandforensics.co.uk, there is an interview with the BBC Worldservice in which I speak of famous instances when celebrity endorsements have been bad for brands.  Sometimes what originally appears to be bad news for companies actually can still  be turned around.  For example, back in 2005 Kate Moss was photographed in what some claimed appeared to be a compromising shot of her taking drugs. Sponsors like Burberry, Chanel and eventually H&M withdrew their support.  However within about a year Kate managed to turn fate around – actually increasing her sponsorship earnings through several important modeling contracts.

Ultimately, the statements from all his sponsors together with Woods’ character and publicised integrity continues to suggest that for now at least, the Tiger brand has more than enough ground roots support to remain on top of the crisis rather than ‘duff’ the shot.

Given the current general mood of distrust of brands and leadership, there aren’t that many other brands out there able to ‘bump and run’ themselves out of the rough like this particular Tiger.

www.brandforensics.co.uk

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