How Will Accident Affect Tiger Woods’ Blue-Chip Endorsements?
By Rich Thomaselli
Ensuing Media Storm Could Hurt Deals With Brands Like Gillette, Nike and AT&T
The squeaky clean image of golf’s greatest player and the sports world’s most lucrative endorser took a hit over Thanksgiving weekend — no pun intended. Mr. Woods was involved in a single-car accident, but the timing, the circumstances, the aftermath and the ever-churning rumor mill quite possibly have endangered his own brand and his estimated nine-figure annual endorsement deals with several blue-chip companies.
“I think this incident ultimately will have a negative effect on the Tiger Woods brand,” said sports marketing expert Robert Tuchman, exec VP of New York-based sports and entertainment marketing company Premiere Global Sports. “Regardless of the facts, there are brand marketers who might pass at looking at him now. I think as this situation unfolds and how he handles himself will determine the long-term effects to his image. The best thing he can do is be completely honest and open about the situation and what took place