SponsorSLIPS
After Sunday’s stunning victory at the 2019 Masters one could forgive Tiger Woods for wanting to personally sit in on all his upcoming sponsorship negotiations - and enjoy the moment. They will come thick and fast but I hope that Tiger Woods gives the brands that stuck with him, or came onboard during his long and difficult comeback, priority.
When his fortune reversed the speed at which brands dropped him set records and that is now the pattern. Brands are quick to latch on to the hottest property and move equally fast when there is the slightest hint of an issue. Clearly that’s the safest option and often using the ‘morals clause’ is a way of offloading an ambassador who was performing less well than expected but it can also backfire where a brand and ambassador have become intertwined - ditch the talent and perhaps your most loyal customers will ditch you.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, despite a strong minority view that Tiger Woods would succeed in his fight back others were not convinced and Adidas was one of those, eventually offloading their TaylorMade golf club division to a private equity firm (KPS Capital Partners).
Guess who TaylorMade signed as an ambassador ?
And guess who used TaylorMade clubs on Sunday ?
Someone, somewhere made a very smart decision to buy, not so much on the selling side.
But then sponsorship always appear easier than it is - when it comes to sport the choices are driven by expertise - if you are a worldclass basketball player then you are going to be snapped up because of that, and probably by a sporting goods company or brand that you actually use (Tony Parker and Tissot is an example of a long term commitment that works).
The secret is to avoid the temptation to go large and superficial - watch brands usually fail hopelessly here, driven by their ‘celebrity’ CEO (all the luxury conglomerates have this not-so-rare breed) who yearns for a bit of ‘red carpet action’.
Exhibit A - Hugh Jackman and Montblanc
This is the classic ‘we need a famous actor to wear our watches’ discussion and then the brand trawls through a list of who fits the demographic and how much they cost to hire. There really is no true connection and the consumer sees through the ruse.
Exhibit B - Hugh Jackman and RM Willams
Same actor but what a difference. He’s Australian, they’re Australian. He does outdoor stuff, RM Williams make boots and clothing crafted for the outdoors. Moreover he invested in the brand. It drips authenticity.
The cut through is streets ahead of Montblanc, indeed it elevates a brand which is still relatively unknown out of its home markets.
Sponsorship is not easy but some brands make it much harder than it should be - select the talent wisely and settle in for the long haul.
About the Author
The author is a brand consultant and founder of Mission Critical, a high focused and curated weekly briefing for time poor and information hungry decision makers.
