Tiger's Sponsors... Come From Behind Victory? (NKE, ERTS, AXP, PG, ACN)

Tiger Woods is a unique athlete that put himself in a unique situation.  Today’s first round of formal apologies was effectively nothing more than a telegraph of more to come that so far raises more questions than answers.  If you just look at the statements Tiger made, it seems as though he gave an invitation to his remaining corporate sponsors to jump ship or to distance themselves further if they want.  That may just be a temporary event until he returns to the world of golf, but there was very little of today that was about business and this leaves either an exit or a slowing for the degree of sponsorship and potentially for compensation.

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) has so far stuck by Tiger, as has Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS).  Those issues might not be front and center as there are many aspects to bother companies way above and beyond Tiger Woods.  Neither company has indicated any change to the relationship.

Woods said today that he does not know when he will return to golf, but did specifically note that he was not ruling out a return to the sport this year.  His attack against the media is an understandable one because no one likes having their family’s life being monitored and their privacy invaded.  There is just one small problem, and that is that when you reach a celebrity status and make that much money off the public then that same privacy goes out the window.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) via Gillette has cut way back on promotions and Accenture plc (NYSE: ACN) dropped Tiger Woods.  PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP) also canned its ‘Focus’ brand, although there were reports that the brand was being squashed before the scandal hit.  AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) also ditched the PGA sponsorship at the end of last year, and American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) has backed off even before things blew up out of control here.

He did mention Accenture by name when he said, “I would like to thank my friends at Accenture and the players in the field this week for understanding why I’m making these remarks today.”  His friends at Accenture dropped him.

Today was an odd event.  It is very rare for the media to get a live conference like this with no questions and not a single media barrage from any of the reporters.  This was more like something you would see out of Washington D.C. or after a natural disaster rather than in the world of sports and entertainment.

In the realm of corporate sponsorships of athletes and entertainers, there are some clear winners and some clear losers.  In this instance, at least so far, these may end up being come from behind victories rather than the lay-up they were in 2009 and before.

JON C. OGG
FEBRUARY 19, 2010