Nearly two weeks after the 2:30AM car crash that has led to the acknowledgment of infidelity by the world's richest Golfer and best known athlete, Tiger Woods, we still don't fully know what happened to cause this to become the most notable celebrity misstep in years maybe decades.

What I do know is that the damage is significant and the Tiger Woods Billion Dollar brand is in free-fall. His agents and handlers are of course saying any loss of endorsements is pre-mature but I'll bet senior marketing management and lawyers at Tag Heuer, AT&T, NIke, Accenture, Gillette among others are up sleepless nights trying to figure out how to manage this PR disaster and discern whether or not they can can him. (I'll bet GMs decision to drop Tiger last year as an endorser of the Buick line because of financial difficulties at the automaker is heralded as "brilliant" somewhere inside that company).

Tiger announced today that he is leaving the game of golf "indefinitely" to figure out his life. A little late for that huh? You should have done some figuring before Thanksgiving and leaving all those emails and voice mails. Was Tiger so naive to think none of these women wouldn't go public for big money?

One TV pundit I saw insisted that he "knew" the contracts with Tiger were "ironclad" and nothing could force sponsors to stop paying him. I find that hard to believe. Virtually all endorsement contracts I have seen or have worked on in my career always had a back door out clause if the celebrity failed to perform or caused the sponsor's company or brand harm by his actions. Even if this were true..that all deals were unbreakable....it doesn't stop sponsors from not using him in their ads (I think all endorsement uses of TW have been stopped to my knowledge as of this point) and I do not expect them to use him in anyway for an indefinite period of time.

Wood's story continues to get worse and the lack of information keeps the story top news and only causes more financial harm. He is the butt of late night comedians and the internet is on fire with "have you heard" jokes about Tiger. Certainly no longer the perfect sports role model.

Speaking of which, because Tiger Woods was the single largest sports endorsement brand on the planet (as far as I know) this completely unexpected incident will certainly make all companies that use celebrities, especially sports stars re-evaluate hiring these folks in the first place. If Tiger can fall so hard and fast it proves the risk/return is becoming too great. My understanding is more companies are sponsoring sports teams or events rather than specific performers to reach their targets with far less risk. It is clearly possible the fall out from Tiger Woods infidelity may change an entire industry permanently. 

The Tiger story goes way deeper. It impacts Television sports, ratings and revenues. Tiger helped build this sport into a more democratic one bringing millions of new fans and dollars to the industry of Professional Golf. When he last left the game for medical reasons, TV viewership dropped dramatically as did ad revenues. This will happen again, except, if and when Tiger does return to televised golf, the ratings will likely soar, at least in the short term and golf on TV will be hot again. It does remain a serious question: Might Tiger give up the game permanently to find "religion, healing, forgiveness and family"?

Watching out for you everyday.

Eli

UPDATE: As of late today, both Gillette and accounting consultancy Accenture have announced they will put their marketing efforts behind Tiger Woods on hold indefinitely with Gillette indicating it will phase out use of the golf phenon relatively quickly. $$$ signs are dropping. I'm expecting more fallout within days. Word also has it that Tiger's yacht "Privacy" docked at Miami Beach Marina is being prepped for departure. Access to its dock has been restricted/keys changed even name on boat is being covered up. Privacy at sea shortly? Likely

So, it may be surprising to learn that the "bunny" brand is trying to team up with lux hotel Sagamore in famed South Beach Miami to get back into the hotel business.

Years ago Playboy was a fixture around the globe with hotels and lounges extending the magazine into three dimensions. As a kid I remember how cool it seemed to know someone who had access to a Playboy "key" to gain admittance to one of the famed locales to see the bunnies up close and personal. It was the era when the old James Bond character and his bed hopping swinging lifestyle was the envy of most men.

The brand has suffered as culture changed and competition increased.

The Sagamore Hotel, known as the "Art Hotel" in South Beach for its prized art collection, boutique size and more low key orientation than its grand neighbors such as the Delano and Shore Club, is unable to pay its mortgage. The recession has hit lux hotels around the US including in popular South Beach hard. Once rooms were easily fetching $400 or more a day. This past year many lux hotels in this market were lucky to get $200 and were losing lots of money.

It is reported that to "save" the Sagamore, a hotel I found very comfortable and highly enjoyable when I stayed there 7 years ago, the owners and loan holders are talking with Playboy about a brand merger. There would not be a casino, like Playboy would like to have and is associated with at the Palms in Vegas, but it would have all the rest of the Playboy trimmings, bunnies included.

Can the Playboy brand work in South Beach and at the Sagamore? I actually think yes. I think the retro nature of the Playboy brand albeit an updated one (culturally) which is more PC has a strong appeal and would attract audiences who come to South Beach to party hard and to see and be seen. The Sagamore was overshadowed by so many higher profile hotels in the area....new ones opening every year...(the W South Beach is the "it" hotel of the moment and booked) that it seemed lost among the frey. The Playboy association would give it new life.

Thus, I feel the Playboy brand is NOT dead just in need of a bit of retooling but its 60s/70s feel is consistent with other retro things happening in this country to a time of yore perceived to be more care-free and stable than today.

Watching out for you everyday.

Eli

In bad taste or is Tiger open for such abuse of sorts?

Watching out for you everyday.

Eli

Brand Tiger Woods has become the biggest athlete brand in history primarily due to his squeaky clean beyond reproach family man/super athlete identity. There have always been rumors here and there about women coming on to Tiger...quite frankly I am amazed he hasn't been the target of more damaging rumors earlier kudos to his extremely well oiled PR and management machine.

But now comes the real test. Had the incident occurred during "normal" hours of the day or even evening I would bet silence without deviating from "full speed ahead" would have made this matter disappear and Tiger would be completely unscathed. However, the time frame of 2:30AM (or thereabouts) really won't allow this matter to be just ignore and pushed aside. Everyone knows it was a very odd hour to be out and about and to be "unnerved" (for a guy with nerves of steel) enough to smash his SUV leaving him unconscious within a few feet of his own home spells big trouble.

Tiger is going to have to come clean one way or another with the public or at least with authorities. Unwillingness to talk in our culture equals hiding something.

A brand like Tiger's worth more than 1 Billion Dollars has a lot to lose so his crisis management team must not make any mistakes.

As with other athletes, sponsors have so far said they are behind their man. However, I believe, many will reduce their use of Tiger, even eliminate it, for a period of time hoping for a positive resolution soon. The longer nothing is said and public opinion creates its own spin on the events, the more damage to the brand and the more likely sponsors are going to suspend their relationship with him or even drop him altogether.

Since Tiger was so "clean" this event only magnifies the circumstances and every move is being watched and monitored by the press and public alike. We, the public, want to believe in his fairy-tale life and career and unlike some other athletes or entertainers who get into trouble, we really do want everything to be ok with Tiger and for him to still be the gold standard among athlete/celebrities. If anything, we can accept that he is human, as long as we are told some of the truth versus nothing that is believable right now.

One thing in his favor; he didn't (it appears so far) do anything illegal just possibly (if rumors pan out about an affair) something questionable to negatively impact his perfect very moral family values posture.

Come Clean Now Tiger, show us you are human, seek forgiveness and get back to what you do oh so very very well...play golf.

Watching out for you everyday.

Eli

I was surprised by this revelation, as it is not really anything new. Consumers have always made selections of goods based on what fulfills their needs, desires and emotions.

What seems to have changed is that consumer products' companies are waking up to the fact that just creating tons of "me-too" products that do not provide meaningful reasons for being in consumers' minds no longer works. These companies got lazy finding the robust economy would absorb many useless products and services that did not provide any differentiation from what was already available.

Differentiation and uniqueness along with tapping into consumers' emotional needs has always been key to successful products and services. Many of us call this "Branding": creating a core reason for being for any product. Too many companies cut back on R and D in the last recession and failed to bring to market anything very interesting and innovative to consumers. Sony Electronics is a prime example of this. A company once known for innovation, it became almost an afterthought in the past decade.

A few companies have always understood the need for meaningful differentiation. Apple tops the list in my mind and in many ways they have replaced Sony as the master electronics innovator. Actually, left them in the dust like the endless line of useless jets airlines no longer use that sit in the desert somewhere in the US west.

Contrary to the WSJ piece, we are not entering a new era of marketing. Rather, we are experiencing a re-awakening of marketers brains to the fact that "old school" marketing is still important...more than important...mandatory for success in the world of consumer products. I am relieved to hear this news. Faux branding is dead. Real branding is about to take its rightful place at the top of the marketing world again. Consumers rejoice.

Watching out for you everyday.

Eli