A look back at Tiger and Buick

Posted by guest blogger Michael Chase

At first blush, I, as many others in the sports marketing world, was concerned about the news that Buick has chosen to end their relationship with Tiger Woods. Another chilling development with how the sports business world is being impacted by the current economic woes.

However, by most accounts, this is a no brainer for Buick and GM. The PGA will feel the economic downturn more directly than most major sports as the lion share of its sponsors are luxury brands and financial service companies. Tim Finchem is trying to boost confidence by stating the 2009 schedule is still intact, but there is little doubt the Tour will look and feel leaner.

All that said, Tiger has made the PGA what it is today by bringing in significantly more viewers, sponsorships and revenue streams that could have never been realized without him. And he will continue to do so for many years to come, barring any career threatening injuries. So, it is always alarming to see such a long standing sports marketing relationship go away, but this one makes sense.

I would also argue that Buick never realized the full potential of what they had with Tiger. The best thing that came of their relationship was being able to get Tiger to commit to a much larger number of their PGA sponsored events than he would have, helping the profile and profitability of these events. However, Buick failed to crack the code on how best to use Tiger as a pitchman.

Through the 9-year relationship, I thought there were only two advertising efforts that were done well. The first was the on-line campaign called Tiger Trap where Tiger randomly joined groups of golfers, much to their surprise. Tiger is the best golfer of all time. He is not the best actor of all time. In this effort, he was in his element and because he was not trying to force or carry a performance, he came across as very funny and enjoyable.

The other was actually a promotional TV ad where Tiger tackled a guy trying to steal his famous Buick staff bag. The physical comedy was shot well and it was even more impressive when it was revealed that not only did he perform the tackling himself, but it was an unplanned stunt that was hatched the day of production. Kudos.

Even though Tiger is one of the most sought after endorsers in sports, it is important to understand the best way to use him to create effective communication. Nike has done a great job and I would argue that Tiger's marketability has benefited tremendously from his efforts with them. Tiger had been seen as a very intense, unapproachable and somewhat aloof athlete. Thanks to commercials like Hacky Sack, his work with Charles Barkley and more recently seeing him win the British open as a child (see below), he has been taken off his pedestal and seen as likable and relatable. Not to mention, they found ways not to rely on Tiger as an actor.



Something the Buick advertising could only do in rare occasions.