Oh Tiger, what are you doing, man?
Tiger makes $100 million or more per year from endorsements - more the result of his personal brand than his golf swing. His brand transcends the sport. He is the Natural, and he gives youth to a sport that skews old
in its demos. His squeaky clean image made him a no-brainer for marketers and ad agencies.None of this really changed when he smashed his car driving down a residential streer he'd driven hundreds of times before or even because there was something fishy about the whole incident; it changed becasue he stonewalled.
In an era of social media, the table-stakes of branding are honesty, openness, and transparency. We all knew something happened, and we knew brand woods should talk about it, explain it, let us forgive him for it. And we probably would have forgiven him, but now we can't even consider that without smirking and thinking of him as fodder for Latterman's top 10 and tabloid headlines about "the back nine."
I'm not sure why a big brand like Tiger didn't have better brand management. Tiger didn't say anything for a few days and then blogged, "This is a private matter and i want to keep it that way.Although i understand there is curiosity, the many false, unfounded and malicious rumors that are currently circulating about my family and me are irresponsible."
Tiger woods was the number one source of traffic to news sites in December, according to New York research firm.
Today, branding is about two-way loyalty; a consumer has a right to ask, "How will you show loyalty to me? I think the public would hae forgiven tiger's transgressions, but i don't think the public will completely forgive him for not voluntarily coming clean... for Tiger not showing loyalty back to his fan base.
Will he rebound?
