I am not big into resolutions, but I think we all could benefit from this one: do not repeat Tiger’s mistakes.
It is now becoming quite clear that the Tiger brand machine is coming apart and it will be a long time until it recovers. Yesterday AT&T announced that it was dropping Tiger Woods, following the lead of Accenture. All the other Tiger sponsors seem to be lying low and seeing how things work out. The trend is not positive.
Tiger made three big mistakes.
Mistake #1: Personal conduct. I don’t need to comment too much on this. We all need to act responsibly and be the person we appear to be and want to be.
Mistake #2: Integrity. It is now clear that Tiger and his handlers worked very hard to keep his dalliances secret. He agreed to appear on magazine covers in return for not publishing certain photos. He apparently engaged in a series of cover-ups. This is not acting with integrity.
Mistake #3: Running away. Instead of directly addressing the accusations, Tiger has responded to the crisis by simply running away. He was slow to comment at all after the car crash and has yet to appear in the public eye. Last I heard he was on a boat heading out to sea. This is not a smart way to respond to a crisis. Running away doesn’t stop the chatter and it doesn’t make the problems go away.
In 2010, let’s all resolve to act responsibly and with integrity, and to directly confront our challenges.
Happy New Year.
An interesting question! Should Tiger try to preserve the old Tiger brand, or evolve it into a more, well, worldly brand? There are some clear pros and cons. One issue: I’m pretty confident that many of his sponsors signed on for the well behaved Tiger.
My thought: the faster Tiger gets back in the public eye, playing golf and winning the sooner his brand will bounce back.
Yesterday I saw an article on Tiger with his shirt off looking insanely beefcake and I wondered if perhaps this is the start of the “rebranding” – Tiger Woods as sex symbol.
I do think that his brand has suffered, but I’m not so sure it will take a long time to recover. He’s still the best golfer in the world, tournaments will make more money with him than without him and he’s hardly the first sports star to have an affair (or twenty).
@shiraabel