reputational damage as well as public
outcries on their continued association.
Nike was one of the few that decided to
stick with Tiger and sure enough in the
next few years the golfer was able to restore
his place in the game’s top ranks. When
Woods was forced out of the game again
due to continued challenges off the green
and back injury, there was speculation that
the golfer had finally seen his better days.
When in April 2019 Tiger won the
Masters in Augusta, Georgia he made
history by becoming the second oldest
individual to win the tournament. In
October, he equalled the highest number
of PGA wins at 82 with Sam Snead - the
latter doing over his 50-year golfing career.
From the look of it, Tiger Woods may
better this in the next few years.
His next challenge is the upcoming
Presidents’ Cup where he’s captaining the
US team. From media reports, all golfers
are hanging onto hopes of pairing up and
playing alongside this golfing great.
His impressive return to his prime has seen
a spike in viewership and live attendance
of golf tournaments. In 2018, America’s
sports channel NBC Sports recorded its
highest viewership for a PGA Tour season
in 12 years averaging at 3.6 million views
every minute throughout the year 2018.
The channel’s final-round coverage of
the Tour Championship in September of
2018 saw it peak at 10.8 million viewers
- thanks to Tiger Woods claim of his first
tour title in five years!
Going back to the Nike/Tiger Wood
partnership, it’s estimated that on the final
round of the Tour, Nike’s brand exposure
where Nike’s swoosh is seen on Wood’s
hat, shirt, pants and shoes is $ 22.5 million
(approx. Kes.2.3 billion) for one round of
golf! What’s that for value for money?
The Choice Is Yours
Many brands come into sport with
little or no proper backing of numbers.
Majority also wait for sportsmen and
teams to achieve before making good their
investment.
We have seen how rewarding it gets when
a brand is involved in the build-up, during
and post-event of a sports activity. There
are a myriad opportunities and sports
disciplines that brand custodians can
choose from.
Seeing what consumers are becoming,
heavily segmented and heavily distracted,
means a lot of work needs to be put into
investing your brand’s resources to sport.
Media platforms are either saturated or
equally varied and the discerning sports
fan is looking for the best offering on
whichever screen(s) he chooses.
It is also the choice for those with
influence at public office to use their
power to play sports as a main agenda for
both government and private companies
to wish to invest and see their investments
grow. We know what potent sports hold
for a nation’s psyche if Kipchoge’s exploits
are anything to go by.
While admirers and critiques keep
harping at the veracity, legitimacy and
even morality of many a sports event and
personality, who are we to judge?
Happy holidays and have a sporty 2020!
Richard Wanjohi is a marketing
enthusiast with interest in research
and sports. You can commune with
him on this or related matters via
mail at: RWanjohi@gmail.com or
check his tweets @rwanjohi.