Celeb Endorsements: Damage Control

THE STRATEGY PART 1

NO POINT CRYING OVER SPILT MILK: Reshape the way you communicate through the celeb that is of course if you vouch for staying put.

WHAT CAN'T JUST WORK? Old taglines/communication which used to exemplify the celeb's positive attributes (which are now taken as cant), which your organization might have associates with.
For ex: We know what it takes to be a tiger. The best a man can be. Work done for Character building of children by Tiger Org.

BANISH AND PROBLEMS WOULD VANISH?? Not necessarily true. One has to start a campaign afresh and the hidden connotations with previous ones should be taken care of. The faster you get rid of the past the better in this case.
For Ex: Accenture's new ad: with a picture of an elephant on a surfboard targeting Big firms and communicating "performance delivered by Accenture", rather finely describes ( in viral world) the balancing act Tiger allegedly tried to perform for so many years. Do you consider this joke as publicity or degrading depends on the brand. In this case it is demeaning.
Now if you decide to stick around and continue with a rather fine looking campaign, which was never seen in any bad light before! Like for Tag Heuer, Tiger looking out in space, with a watch on his wrist is viral in internet as “so many girls- so little time”, this depends on their client base and their target.
So both negative and positive connotations out of the new campaign have to be taken care off.

IT ALL COMES DOWN TO YOUR TARGET MARKET AND VALUES- the former by and large underpins the latter. Again taking the case of Tiger: What should have happened and the whys.

NIKE, GILLETTE:
Temporary suspension, downgrade the value of long term contracts.

Keep his rehab work in the eyes of the consumer and let them come across the good image of Tiger and his family.
More visibility for Tiger Woods foundation and CSR of the organization.

Everybody likes a HAPPY ENDING- Just feature Product Innovation and Performance. ON RETURNING TO GOLF, Hire a consultant, a biggie and project as if the celeb is putting quite an effort to stand on his feet and then most importantly help them deliver with family/friends by their side.

PIN THE BLAME ON SOMEONE ELSE- another casualty of the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression or something likewise, will work in some cases. Associating with the commons builds the relationship.

MARRY THE BRAND with other popular brands ex: Tiger brand with Oprah, 60 mins.

WHY PLAY SPORT-THE NUMBERS GAME! Both these companies are primarily targeting male population and there is a need reinforce the un-obvious- males hormones are very less likely to be prone to loyalty games and high expectations, it has nothing to do with otherwise bizarre- we want to do it/ we don't care! Another case deserving mention is Michael Phelps and his association with Kellogs. The stat that about 50% have tried at least once marijuana doesn't help their case. Plus it endorses disloyalty in very competitive market. They might target the young, but do they make the buying decision?

MORE THAN MERE NUMBERS: A vital component of this decision is the communications that the organization has built upon with the customers through the endorser or without him over the years. That is why I would have made my peace with Gillette, a P&G Subsidiary going forward with outright decision to drop Tiger– they always communicate very high values not limited to office hours.

THE EXPERTISE OVERLAP: For Nike, Tiger Woods endorsement is an endorsement of direct expertise. Nike’s brand equity is based on understanding the needs of serious athletes. The Nike brand values are about commitment and intensity. And here we are taking for granted – tiger will come back.
Electronic Arts, PGA Tour, Golf Digest, Tiger Woods Dubai should stick with no marketing for current scenario. Re-negotiate the contract with a moral clause. EA, PGA has offered full support.

ACCENTURE:
MILK YOUR OTHER COWS TO CAPACITY: For a company that powers most of the Media worlds software’s, editorial sympathy would help and may come by easy!

THE VALUE-RISK MATRIX: Accenture had overstayed its joint branding with Tiger by a few years (this comes as a hindsight insight). “How long should a partnership last?” “When does the risk/cost start to outweigh the benefit of continuing? Again devil may care- but celebs are prone to all sort of transgressions and if you have milked the cow, don't be greedy for tons!

AVOID SHARP TURNS: They have come up with rather benign animals as their ambassadors. I would have rather called for high performance individuals like biz leaders, people working for social causes again. Also you can't have animals for infinitum and maintain novelty by changing banners/hoardings time and again; a fallacy which a human face has potential to transcend.


PEPSICO (GATORADE), NETJETS: suspension for foreseeable future: because they owe little to Tiger the sportsman (The issue of expertise).

TAG Heuer: depending on their historic response to TIGER brand.