Nike’s Big Investment

On the eve of his return to golf, Nike premiered a new Tiger Woods ad. (Image via CNBC.com)

As I previously mentioned, Nike was one of the few sponsors to stick with Tiger Woods through his PR disaster.  While Accenture, Gatorade, and AT&T abandoned Woods, Nike and EA Games loyalty remained by Woods’ side.

And on the eve of Tiger Wood’s return to golf, Nike took their loyalty to a whole new level.

The sports apparel company aired a 30-second commercial tonight on ESPN and the Golf Channel.  It  featured a close-up of Woods, decked in Nike gear, listening to questions from his late father, Earl.

“Tiger, I am more prone to being inquisitive, to promote discussion,” Earl says in the spot. “I want to find out what your thinking was. I want to find out what your feelings are. And did you learn anything?”

As Dr. Walter Guarino, strategic communication professor at Seton Hall University and president of SGW Advertising Agency, told CNBC’s Darren Rovell, “Nike is really going to bat for Tiger and truly protecting their long time investment in him.”

It’s definitely a risk, but if Woods does well in the Masters tomorrow, this faithfulness will likely translate to huge revenues.

Fans are ready for Woods’ return.  According to an ESPN SportsNation poll, 52% of voters hope to see Woods win the Masters.  And while ESPN.com visitors do not reflect the entire population, they do reflect Woods’ — and Nike’s — core audience.  Fans who appreciate Tiger for his golf skills (and not his celebrity) are the ones buying Tiger’s Nike gear.

While the content of Nike’s new Tiger Woods ad is debatable, the fact that the company once again forcefully aligned itself with Woods was a smart move.  Nike has already built an $800 million business on his back, and stuck with him through his transgressions, so they might as well get in on what could be the greatest comeback in sports history.

What did you think of the ad? Watch it here:

EA Games One of Few to Stick with Woods

In my last post of 2009, I argued that Tiger Woods’ sponsors and true fans would not abandon him because of his “transgressions.”

Luckily, I included this disclaimer: unless – that is – his personal life starts affecting his professional life, because only two of his sponsors have faithfully stood by him.

If Woods had immediately hit the course, he would have reminded his fans – and his sponsors – why he was their favorite in the first place: the guy can golf.

But Woods is M.I.A. and the majority of his sponsors responded by ditching him.  As I said in my last post, this is a bad move because Woods will be back.  And when he is, corporations will be lining up to sign deals.

EA Sports' Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 to be released in June (http://tinyurl.com/yjtsn2r)

Nike and EA Sports seem to be the only original sponsors who will still be with Woods when he decides to step back onto the course.  Since the golfer’s Thanksgiving accident, the two brands have continued their sponsorship deals.  EA Sports is continuing its plans to release its Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 in June.

EA Sports president Peter Moore recently talked to USA Today about the company’s decision to stick with the Tiger Woods brand, as well as the impact of Tiger’s absence on the PGA:

Tiger the golfer is what this is all about and we recognize some of the personal challenges he is having right now because he is very important to us. He is the world’s greatest golfer of this current era. He is (the Associated Press’) greatest athlete of the decade. We stand by him for everything he has done to build our franchise. And this latest announcement both of the new console games, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11, which we announced in conjunction with our open beta of Tiger Woods Online, which is a strategic imperative for the company not just EA Sports — it all comes under the brand of Tiger Woods and we continue to stand by him as the world’s greatest golfer.

The video game’s release will be the first true gauge of Woods’ fan appeal.  If the game lives up to previous tours’ sales, fellow sponsors will likely lighten up, and – hopefully – Woods will hit the course.



Record Sponsors for NBA International Games

A record number of sponsors will join the National Basketball Association overseas this preseason for its international games.

The five professional basketball games will be played across Europe, Asia, and Mexico this fall, giving worldwide sponsors access to a comparatively untapped fan base.

adidas: Official Sponsor of NBA International Games (http://tinyurl.com/y8dxpyx)

“The event experiences — being able to touch and feel our product — are among the most valuable things we offer sponsors, and overseas partners are realizing how valuable that can be in reaching specific audiences,” said Emilo Collins, NBA Senior BP/International Development & Partnerships in today’s Sports Business Daily.

Three global brands are taking advantage of the NBA presence on all three continents – adidas, Coke, and EA Sports – while the majority of corporate partners are geographically tailoring their overseas sponsorship.  These partners include popular companies such as Hewlett-Packard, American Airlines, and Toyota, said Terry Lefton in his article linked above.

Sponsors such as these have been committed to the NBA as it tries to raise its brand awareness and increase its fan base overseas.  The preseason games are a part of the NBA’s increased efforts to take their game around the world –  which they attempted by hosting more than 345 international events in 158 cities and 24 countries since the start of the 2008-2009 season, according to NBA.com.

As professional basketball sweeps across countries such as China, Spain, and Taiwan, transforming fans into consumers as they go, more and more global brands will be sure to jump on for the ride.  This will be especially true as revenues from advertising in the United States continue on a downward trend.

“Like us, the NBA recognizes that there are many ways to communicate with people and that the landscape is changing every day,” said John Hackett, senior vice president, Marketing, Coca-Cola North America in a Coke press release.  “Our relationship offers the freedom to anticipate and adapt to new opportunities so that we are always on the leading edge.”