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Jud Tigerman
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« on: March 04, 2010, 03:29:16 PM » |
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Tiger Woods Mea Culpa Failed to Improve Standing, Study Shows
2010-03-04 05:01:00.18 GMT
By John Helyar
March 4 (Bloomberg) -- Tiger Woods’s televised apology for
infidelity on Feb. 19 failed to reverse his plummeting stature
with the American public, according to a survey by a unit of
Omnicom Group Inc.
Davie Brown Entertainment found that the 34-year-old
golfer’s appeal as a corporate spokesman reached a new low after
national polling in the week ended March 2. Once ranked sixth as
a celebrity endorser by the firm’s Davie Brown Index, he now
ranks 147th.
The index is used by advertising agencies to gauge the
ability of celebrities to influence consumers. Eight surveys
conducted since Woods’s Nov. 27 auto accident, which led to
revelations of extramarital affairs, have chronicled a steady
decline in Woods’s stature.
“Companies have to decide whether the damage will spill
over to their brands,” said Rick Burton, the David Falk
professor of sports management at Syracuse University in
Syracuse, New York. “Some of the decision is driven by
research, some of it reflects chief executives’ values.”
On Feb. 26, Davie Brown client Gatorade, a unit of
Purchase, New York-based soft-drink maker PepsiCo Inc., became
the latest company to drop Woods as an endorser. Jennifer
Schmit, a spokeswoman for Gatorade, wouldn’t discuss the reasons
for the decision.
‘Outpouring of Support’
Glenn Greenspan, a spokesman for Woods, said that Woods’s
apology has helped.
“It is becoming clear that the public listened to Tiger
with an open mind and we have had an outpouring of support in
letters, calls and e-mails to our office,” Greenspan said in an
e-mail.
Greenspan cited a Feb. 19 HCD Research survey of 1,090
people who watched Woods on TV, of whom 31 percent came away
with a more positive perception of him, 17 percent a more
negative perception, and 52 percent were unchanged. Survey
results are posted on the Web site of HCD’s MediaCurves.com.
“He spoke genuinely and from the heart, but as he pointed
out, people should make up their own minds based on his
sincerity and his actions,” Greenspan said.
Matt Delzell, a Davie Brown group account director, said
Woods’s inability to turn around his public standing in the
firm’s index was best measured by one of its eight components:
trust.
Ozzy Osbourne Levels
Woods once ranked 117th among the firm’s celebrity
universe of approximately 2,500, putting him in the company of
singer Reba McEntire and comedian Robin Williams. In the latest
survey, Woods ranks No. 2,378, in the company of rapper Lil’ Kim
and rock star Ozzy Osbourne.
“He appeared to be a great family man with a perfect
life,” Delzell said. “When you shatter that, it’s hard to
regain. Anybody can come out and make a statement. People are
going to want to see about his actions.”
Woods’s overall DBI score would have been lower, according
to Delzell, if not for his high recognition rate -- 99 percent
of the latest survey’s respondents were aware of him. That
figures heavily into the DBI.
Woods’s “attribute average,” combining measures of such
characteristics as appeal, influence and trust, has declined
from a score of 74.32 before the accident to 52.2 in the latest
survey. The score blipped up to 53.28 from 51.77 in a survey
completed Feb. 8, but resumed its decline after the TV
appearance.
Nike Inc., which produces a line of Tiger Woods golf gear
and apparel, has stood by him and will continue to do so, said
Beth Gast, a spokesman for the Beaverton, Oregon-based company.
“Our position remains unchanged,” she said in an e-mail.
Burton, the Syracuse professor, said Woods can only reverse
his DBI numbers and other public-approval ratings by getting
back into competition and playing at a high level.
“He’ll have to win a tournament, and then win over and
over again,” he said.
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