As the year draws to a close, a few big PR mishaps seem to be unraveling in front of our eyes. Tiger Woods, one of the most sought after endorsements, is losing sponsors left and right over what else – infidelity. Whether it is the Governor or the President, or the pro-golfer or the Senator, this story is as old as the hills. What seems to surprise everyone is the reaction of the parties involved.
As this latest story began to unfold, we marveled at how steadfast Tiger’s sponsors were during the first revelations, not to mention his wife. This week has seen the complete undoing of at least one of his lucrative contracts, that with the Accenture consulting firm. Who knows who else will follow?
From a PR perspective, there are many interesting angles to this tale of fame and fortune. It is informative to see which companies drop him from their rooster and which do not. In fact, it is a good time to look at what makes someone a candidate for sponsorship – name recognition, physical attractiveness, prowess at their job or is it something else. Something more elusive, character.
In some ways, we support the decision to drop an endorsement if the behavior is not in line with the sponsorship but in others it seems quite hypocritical. After all, Tiger is still the same golfer as he always was. That leads to the heart of the matter. What exactly is it that he was endorsing? Faithfulness? It didn’t seem so.
Perhaps we should all take a closer look at what it means to endorse something in terms of selling a product. Most of the people that sponsor products are just that, people, with many flaws just like the rest of us. Perhaps it should be clearer what qualities in that person we are looking for not just their skill or fame quotient. Thus far, none of that has been clear with product sponsorship.
A role model is a real person with human qualities, good and bad. When working with clients to sponsor different events, communications professionals need to be very on target with their message and what they are endorsing. Maybe it’s time to look farther afield than all of the usual suspects – athletics, actors, and models. Even so, there is no guarantee that different qualities will be found.
It seemed to us that Tiger was a symbol of perseverance and dedication to his profession. That is what he was endorsing, reaching the top of his “game.” As distasteful as his actions are, they have nothing to do with his golf game but with his marriage and judgment. Instead of just dropping him, it would be good to hear some of the reasons why he was dropped. Those same companies that spend millions on hiring people to endorse their products would do well explaining their decisions with a clear statement, otherwise it seems quite superficial in our view.
Tags: endorsements, PR, sponsorship, tiger woods
