Why are we so intrigued with The Tiger Woods Story? Fallen hero? Sensationalism? Tawdry sex? Voyeurism? Jealousy? Who knows.
Without getting into the obvious moral and possible legal implications of his alleged behavior, here’s a different view.
Let’s look at the brand called “Tiger Woods“. According to USA Today (usatoday.com), Woods posted the highest popularity in Gallup Poll history– 88%–when he was first measured in 2000.
Last week, he plummeted to 33%, the largest drop since Gallup started measuring this. His “unfavorable” rose to 57% from only 8% a few years ago.
“For many years, Woods was the most positively rated person we rated. Now he ranks worse than a lot of the politicians we measure.”
–Jeffrey Jones, The Gallup Poll
So how is the business of Tiger Inc. going? Reportedly it has been a $100 million per year brand mostly from product endorsements. But recently Accenture has publicly dumped Tiger. Gillette is pulling back. Gatorade pulled his drink. Tag Heuer is reviewing…and these are the ones we know about. Tiger Inc. is clearly under siege.
How do you protect the brand? Tiger’s problem is that he is not only a near-perfect golfer but his image was managed so that he appeared to be a near-perfect person.
But what is his real brand? Tiger Inc. would not exist if he was not first an extraordinary golfer. While his personal problems are troubling to many, they have little or nothing to do with his real brand.
So what’s the solution? JUST GO GOLF. Tiger, what brought you to the party? Get back on the course. Do what you do best. That’s the Tiger Brand. Win a few tournaments. Thrill the crowds. Re-build the brand.
I know you have an opinion on this. I’d like to hear it.
Very good advice, put your head down and do what you do best.