By Suzanne Vranica and Khadeeja Safdar
Nike Inc. stood by Tiger Woods during a lost decade for the
golfer, when a sex scandal and physical ailments derailed his
career and prompted sponsors from Gillette to Gatorade to drop
him.
On Sunday the apparel giant's loyalty was rewarded when Mr.
Woods won the Masters, capping a surprising turnaround that
marketing experts say could restart Mr. Woods's endorsement machine
and provide a boost to Nike's golf business.
Preliminary television ratings reflect the 43-year-old's
enduring power over the business of golf. Despite an early start
time that forced West Coast viewers to rise just after 6 a.m. to
watch Mr. Woods tee off, the live coverage and rebroadcast of the
final round of the Masters on CBS drew a combined 11.1 rating and
29 share in the biggest markets, according to Nielsen. The rating
is the percentage of all possible TV households in the country
during that time, and the share is the percentage of households
actually consuming television at that time.
Since the earlier start time allowed CBS to rebroadcast the
event, comparisons with previous years are difficult. The live
telecast of Sunday's Masters drew a 7.7 rating and 21 share
compared with last year's 8.7 rating and 18 share. The number of
households using television during Sunday's telecast was also down
21% compared with last year because of the earlier start time.
Mr. Woods was one of the most powerful brand endorsers on
Madison Avenue before marital infidelities surfaced almost a decade
ago. Amid the torrent of damaging revelations, blue-chip brands
pulled their support and the tens of millions of dollars they were
paying him. AT&T Inc., Accenture PLC, PepsiCo Inc.'s Gatorade
and Procter & Gamble Co.'s Gillette dropped Mr. Woods and
others, like Tag Heuer, later declined to renew their deals.
In 2010, the golfer's endorsement worthiness score was 51.27,
which is comparable to the current rank of actor Charlie Sheen and
disgraced former cyclist and onetime Nike endorser Lance Armstrong,
according to an index put out by the Marketing Arm, which polls
consumers to evaluate celebrity appeal, image and influence on
consumer buying behaviors.
Over the past few years, Mr. Woods's endorsement score has
improved somewhat, reaching 56.6 in January, but remains well below
its peak.
The sneaker giant was one of the very few companies that stood
by the fallen athlete. In his memoir, Nike founder and former CEO
Phil Knight said Mr. Woods was like family and one of the first
people who called him after news broke of Mr. Knight's son's fatal
scuba diving accident. "I will not stand for a bad word spoken
about Tiger in my presence," he wrote.
While Nike removed the names of cyclist Lance Armstrong and
college coach Joe Paterno from buildings at its Beaverton, Ore.,
headquarters following scandals, it kept Mr. Woods's name on one of
the most prominent buildings on campus.
Over the past few years, Mr. Woods has signed a few new
marketing deals, including with Monster Energy drinks and Rolex
watches. But his endorsement power had been hampered by his poor
play and a series of injuries that called into question whether or
not he would compete again, let alone win.
Sunday's win raises the possibility that Mr. Woods could regain
his place atop a sport that sports-marketing experts say is eager
to embrace him.
"Sports fans have proven to be very forgiving of athletes that
have disgraced themselves," said Bob Williams, chief executive
officer of Burns Entertainment & Sports Marketing.
Some experts say that while they expect new endorsements, they
don't believe Mr. Woods will be able to recapture the number of
lucrative deals that he was able to lure in his prime. It will
still be "tough for him to land ultra conservative companies," Mr.
Williams added.
Before the scandal, Mr. Woods earned roughly $90 million a year
from his marketing pacts and was seen as the most powerful
endorsement property in sports. Now, Mr. Woods earns an estimated
$42 million in endorsements, which include Nike, golf equipment
maker TaylorMade, golf ball maker Bridgestone and motorcycle
manufacturer Hero MotorCorp., according to Forbes.
Nike gained a following in golf largely because of Mr. Woods's
late-1990s star power. But as participation in the sport and sales
slipped, Nike said in 2016 it would stop making golf clubs and
balls to focus on apparel and footwear. It continued to feature Mr.
Woods in its marketing and sell a line with his "TW" logo.
In addition to Mr. Woods, who wore his famous red Nike mock
turtleneck at Augusta on Sunday, the company also sponsors several
young golf stars, including Rory McIlroy, Jason Day and Michelle
Wie.
Golf was one of the smaller sport categories at Nike, accounting
for about $700 million in sales for the fiscal year ended in May
2016 before Nike ended equipment sales. Overall, Nike had more than
$32 billion in revenue that year.
On Sunday, Nike wasted little time in trying to capitalize on
Mr. Woods's victory, posting an online video that highlighted Mr.
Woods's win and his journey in the sport. As of midday Monday, it
had been viewed more than 20 million times.
--Joe Flint contributed to this article.
Write to Suzanne Vranica at suzanne.vranica@wsj.com and Khadeeja
Safdar at khadeeja.safdar@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 15, 2019 14:15 ET (18:15 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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