Posts Tagged ‘Branding’

1. Tiger Tiger burning bright…and crashing*

   Published on Friday, December 11th, 2009
   While the media still can’t get quite enough of the story, some quarters have gone quiet on Tiger Woods. 

   After his ho-hum apology, Tiger is giving the world the silent treatment in a strategy to deal with the ruckus over the snowballing allegations of multiple infidelities. Keeping Mum is not a bad idea, in truth, particularly while the appetite for scandal is still sky high, and anything he says will have news editor eager to keep him selling papers. 

   Bizarre indeed was the sight of the feckless cocktail waitress, one of his alleged partners in this concupiscence, publicly apologising to Tiger’s wife on global TV for her part in the dalliance.  Just what Mrs Woods wanted, I’m sure.

   But there is another quarter that appears to have quietly turned its back on the sport star – and these are his sponsors.

    According to a report in the LA Times data compiled by the Nielsen ratings company, no Woods ads have appeared on television since Nov. 29, two days after he crashed his Cadillac SUV outside his home in Florida.

   This has got to hurt. Forbes have his sponsorships worth $110 million.
   
   Across a range of big swinging brands like Nike, Gillette, PepsiCo Inc.’s, Gatorade and Tag Heur, the sponsors’ response plan appears to be to keep aspirational images of Tiger out of the public’s face until this blows over.  Given their substantial investments in this “property,” brand managers are holding their breath and hoping like mad that the worst is over for the golden boy of golf. Meanwhile golf viewers are switching off in droves – TV ratings for golf down 50% – affecting advertising revenues.

   Which reminds me, golf is what Tiger does exceptionally well.  Before he became the pin-up boy for multicultural morality and family values, perhaps we could all return to the real game, please?

   * apologies to poet William Blake

2. Just how can Phil Goff win the hearts and minds of Labour voters?

   Published on Thursday, September 17th, 2009
   Phil Goff has surely got the worst job in New Zealand politics right now?  Taking over the leadership of a party that was soundly trumped in an election is bad enough. But inheriting this role from St Helen, whose new position in the UN only serves to entrench her legacy as PM, makes his situation even more difficult.  

   The magnanimous way he was appointed as leader makes it even harder to use a new broom, and clean house. This was evident in his somewhat half-hearted speech during the party conference when he apologised for his then-government appearing to be distracted by small matters such as light-bulbs, smacking and Electoral Finance Acts. 

   The position he finds himself in now is potentially tainting how he goes about developing his own brand as leader of the opposition, and I am wondering if it is part of the reason for his somewhat lack lustre performance in media interviews. 

   It looks to me like he is saying what he thinks people want to hear and how they want to hear it.  The result is a Mr Goff who looks more like a friendly and polite church vicar than a political party leader. 

   Unfortunately in politics today, the brand of the leader reflects on the popularity of the party, and for Mr Goff that brand is yet to be revealed. Or is what we are seeing now all we are going to get? 

   Where is the man who was Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade? In this role he was one of the most interviewed politicians of his day, and I was always impressed with those media performances where he came across as passionate and committed. He was forceful and dynamic in his responses, and you really did feel he was representing our interests on the world stage. 

   Mr Goff now needs to set about showing that same passion and commitment in his new role and demonstrate that he is the real deal. It remains to be seen if he will prove the neigh sayers wrong, and establish his own legacy as leader of the opposition. Or will he simply be the temporary custodian that many say he is?