Tiger Woods PR Disaster Calls Endorsement Policy into Question.
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The Guardian has run a story questioning whether Tiger Woods’ recent infidelities might have earned the wrath of Not only Mrs Woods, particularly with the PR spoils of a World Cup and an Olympiad looming.
This article raises 3 major questions for Business Students.
1) What type of promotional technique is being used here?
Endorsements do not fit snugly into the above the line or below the line category for me. ATL is usually considered as referring to as paid-for media and whilst big money changes hands for the right to associate the person with the brand the media is usually bought separately. In many ways it is a mixture of an ATL and BTL strategy as the firm is buying the positive PR of being associated with the star in media they haven’t paid for, as well as using them in their own advertising campaigns.
2) What appeal do celebrities have for brands like Gillette?
Sports Stars like Tiger Woods can strengthen brand identity by reinforcing core brand values that the company wishes to convey such as achievement, talent, success, strength, drive, power etc. In addition, companies can recruit customers of other brands and gain market share if they are followers of particular celebrities. For example, a Beckham fan might swap their Reebok sports shoes for his Adidas range (Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz stitching on the boots would be optional, of course).
3) Is there any credibility in the author’s assertion that we are likely to see a decline in celebrity endorsements due to the public humiliation of the likes of Tiger Woods?
It is clear that using stars that are in the public eye has sound benefits. Whilst Tiger Woods was winning major golf tournaments and being portrayed in the media as an ideal role model for young people then it made perfect sense for many brands to want to pay to align themselves with him. Although it is clear that the attention he is receiving now is less favourable, it has still earned a lot of press column inches for Gilette and Accenture. The question is whether the sales of Gilette razors will be harmed by the link to his less savoury activities of late.
It could be argued that Tiger’s legion of fans will be unmoved by his recent behaviour. When David Beckham was accused of infidelity with Rebecca Loos his sponsors did not rush pull to pull the plug and are probably now congratulating themselves on the wisdom of that decision. Bill Clinton’s approval rating did not drop with US Democrat voters after the Lewinsky scandal. Should Gillette’s marketing managers hold their nerve?
Some companies may even wish to aggressively seek characters who are seen as being more ‘risky’ such as, perhaps Colin Farrell to play up to a maverick or edgy brand identity, particularly in niche markets catering to certain types of males. So whilst in this celebrity-gossip obsessed world securing celebrity endorsements may not be the win-win strategy that it has been seen as in the past, there is little doubt that the exercise still has value if the celebrities’ character is well researched and closely matched to the product in question.
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