Tiger Woods’ bad drive. Enough said, probably. Still, it does afford me a valuable opportunity to talk/gossip about celebrity endorsement in this week’s blog…
What Katy did
In 2005, Kate Moss was photographed doing something she shouldn’t have been. Within weeks, she’d lost modelling contracts and big advertising campaigns with H&M, Chanel, and Burberry. Boo-hoo. After checking herself into a clinic and coming back ‘clean ’, Moss enjoyed a resurrection as the fashion darling and pocketed even bigger product endorsement deals than before.
Why did it work for Kate? Let’s face it: no-one was actually surprised. Not when we’ve spent years watching her fall in and out of love with bad boys and rock stars, and bad rock stars. Kate‘s well known for her party attitude, so she never really fell from grace. She was already branded bad. Her comeback was achieved not because the brands forgave but because her party image was fully aligned with her party lifestyle.
What Tiger did or didn’t do
When it comes to the marketeer’s dream, it didn’t come much better than the Tiger Woods proposition. Good looking, clean-cut, articulate, top of his game and previously scandal-free — $$$Chu-ching$$$ — brands like Nike have invested heavily in a close relationship with Tiger, an association which now may or may not pay off.
Rarely photographed out of his Nike shirt, cap or both, Tiger has become a bit of a Nike brand mascot. He even wears the swoosh when he’s pitching products from other sponsors including American Express, Accenture, General Motors’ Buick, Electronic Arts and Tag Heuer watches. With his recent behaviour so ‘out of character’ with Tiger Woods the brand - it’ll be interesting to see whether his brand tie-ups are more than fair-weather friends…
If you haven’t already see the Chinese CGI animation of the alleged incident, you can watch it here.
Baffled by celebrity endorsement?
Here’s how it works:
• Raising brand and campaign awareness
• Increasing media coverage
• Mobilising public interest
• Attracting new audiences
• Cementing key messages
• Contributing to brand repositioning
• Reinvigorating a long running campaign
Want to find the real advocates for your brand?
Every business can benefit from people who endorse their brand – and they don’t have to be celebrities. It’s about evidencing what you do. You can find advocates for your business in your customers, your staff, your partners – and a few words from the right people can help you carve out a unique position in the market.
Chu-ching, chu-ching, chu-ching
To find out more, give us a call.
Laura, Inspiration Inc