We thought it would be interesting to talk to a few golfers about Tiger Woods and his current situation…especially as it relates to a lucrative Nike contract. So we went to the Longview Golf Centre with a camera and a list of questions. This video is what a few golfers said about the situation. We’d love to hear your thoughts.
What would you do if you were the Marketing Director of Nike Golf?
Comment from Nicholas
Time: December 11, 2009, 3:06 pm
In my humble opinion, it is none of our business if Tiger was unfaithful to his wife. I undestand that 90% of Tigers net worth is public relations and endorsements but from the casual fans perspective, what do you remember from his ads? He is selling performance in the majority of them. Buick, Gillette, Nike, Gatorade. None of which paints him out to be a strong family man, rather it is directly related to the fact that he is arguably the most dominant athlete on the planet right now and is the best representative of performance. The media is responsible for caressing this sqeaky clean image beyond his public sponsorships. And what is American media notorious for? Building people up then tearing them down when there is the slightest crack in the foundation. Will this ’scandal’ tarnish his image? Absolutely. I think you will find with most golf fans that his image has been more of the negative flavor for some time now. Look at his continued immaturity on the course infront of internationally televised events. He throws clubs, he swears, he has berated fans. So, overall I think this just reaffirms that although he is an incredibly successful athlete and puts on the PR mask during post event interviews, in reality he isn’t that great of a guy. And what is so bad about that? It comes down to the entertainment value of it all. Are you going to have some sort of enhanced sports experience if you know that outside of the game, your favorite athlete shares the same values and beliefs? It is a very tricky subject. To answer the question on Nike, if I was the marketing director, I would weather the storm and closely monitor what transpires on the course in the next 12-18 months. I think it would be foolish from a marketing perspective to turn your back on Tiger completely. For example, lets say Nike drops him or at least focuses on another star this year and Tiger goes out and wins 2 majors and proves that again, he is the most dominant golfer on the planet. Nike will now be facing a major brand problem because the now the most famous sporting brand in the world is not behind the most dominant athlete in the world and why? Because our pop culture, drama driven society blew a private matter through the o-zone layer? It wouldn’t make much sense. So, I would not abandon ship on Tiger if I was Nike. I would however have some contingency plans in place and that shouldn’t be as daunting as it seems. There are some absoutely amazing young golfers out there waiting for their chance and are soaking all of this in.
Thanks.
Comment from Louis Laurent
Time: December 14, 2009, 10:17 am
Thanks for your thoughts Nicholas.
