Callaway and Lamborghini Form Strategic Partnership

The world-renowned R&D teams of Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. and Callaway Golf have formed a unique and powerful alliance. The first collaboration of this strategic partnership is a co-developed material called Forged Composite, but the origins of this elite relationship date back many years. Through constant pursuit of lighter and stronger materials that improve product performance, Lamborghini and Callaway cultivated similar areas of expertise. Development of advanced composite structures was a major point of convergence and goal for both organizations. These advanced materials – comprised of turbostratic carbon fibers – feature superior strength and performance characteristics in comparison to the metal alloys generally used in the automotive and golf industries. For Lamborghini, lighter and stronger composite materials enabled their designers to create important components of their technological demonstrator, "Sesto Elemento," featuring unforeseen power-to-weight ratio and acceleration capability. For Callaway, employing carbon composites in place of steel and titanium offered engineers the ability to design increasingly advanced clubheads with a greater transfer of power upon impact with the ball and more accurate trajectories. Forged Composite, which debuted at the 2010 Paris Motor Show and in the new Diablo Octane Driver, is the first collaborative element of the Callaway and Lamborghini alliance.
 

Study: Standing by Tiger Helped Nike's Bottom Line

Marketer Lost Customers, but Losses Would Have Been Worse if It Had Abandoned Golfer

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- Nike's decision to stick with Tiger Woods through his messy sex scandal may have paid off -- at least in terms of golf-ball sales, university researchers have concluded.

Nike lost 105,000 golf-ball customers in the six months after the golfer's philandering went public. But the losses would have been even greater had they ditched him and would have cost the company $1.6 million in profits, according to the study released Thursday by Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business.

The scandal hurt Wood's ability to attract customers, but "it wasn't so bad it eroded all his endorsement effect," said Timothy Derdenger, assistant professor of economics and strategy and a study co-author.

"So they did make the correct decision to stand by Tiger," he said.

But the study also illuminates how the downfall of one endorser can drag down an entire industry. Some people simply stopped playing golf in reaction to the scandal, leading to a loss of $7.5 million in profits for all golf-ball companies, researchers concluded.

The study -- which used advance techniques to isolate Tiger's endorsement effect on consumer behavior -- found that Nike gained 4.5 million golf ball customers and $60 million in profit since 2000, when Woods first endorsed the golf balls. Researchers did not look at Nike's other Tiger-endorsed products, but concluded that if Nike got similar returns across product lines, the company has more than recouped the estimated $200 million in endorsement fees it has paid the golfer in the past 10 years.

Still, golf ball sales trends -- used partly because data was readily available -- are not necessarily a good measuring stick for the Wood's many endorsement deals, many of which ended in the wake of the scandal.

Woods brought value to golf equipment because his game is highly respected, even post scandal -- although his on-course struggles of late might dampen even that effect.

By contrast, other non-golf brands were "using the goodwill of association and positive image associated with Tiger to sell products that Tiger really had no role in developing," said Marc Ganis, president of SportsCorp, a Chicago-based sports business consulting firm.

That goodwill, of course, faded after Tiger's affairs came to light, and endorsers were "better off [moving on to] positive-imaged athletes," Mr. Ganis said.

The companies dropping Woods include Gatorade, AT&T and Accenture, costing the golfer an estimated $22 million.

FOR NIKE, THE TIGER WOODS BRAND WAS TOO BIG TO FAIL...

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- In the viral video that rocked adland last week, Tiger Woods' dead father declared that he was "more prone to be inquisitive and to promote discussion" and, boy, did he succeed: Millions of people are, in fact, discussing what Nike was thinking.

Nike, Gillette, EA Sports Rally Around Beleaguered GolferThere's no question that Wieden & Kennedy's "Earl & Tiger" created a genuine phenomenon. According to Visible Measures, in less than 48 hours, it was viewed online more than 2.2 million times, drew 6,700 comments and generated more than 40 parodies that themselves drew more than 200,000 views. The ad also ran on ESPN and CBS (not to mention all of the free media impressions it generated by making news internationally).

The ad, critics charged, exploited a dead man to go through the motions of chastising Mr. Woods in order to get over the scandal and back to the more important business of selling Swoosh-bearing items. Yes, it went viral, but -- given the scandal's unprecedented juxtaposition of tawdry sexual details with the world's most famous athlete and golf's most prestigious tournament -- what ad wouldn't have?

"Someone at Nike should have said 'Just don't do it,'" reads one of 70 mostly negative comments about the spot on AdAge.com.

But senior agency executives queried by Ad Age about whether they'd recommend a similar approach to clients took a more positive view. After all, Nike has typically been rewarded for standing by controversial athletes and -- in the case of Charles Barkley's famous "I am not a role model" ad -- using its ads to make them even more controversial.

Bravery

"It's not something I'd recommend for all of my clients," said Val DiFebo, CEO of Interpublic's Deutsch, New York, which handles brands such as Kodak and PNC Bank. "But if Nike was my client, I'd have hoped to have thought of this."

Michael Hart, co-founder of MDC Partners' Mono, Minneapolis, said, "They're brave to put it out now rather than to wait until he wins."

Standing by Mr. Woods likely didn't risk anything with the target demographic of male golf fans. Footwear analyst Matt Powell, of SportsOneSource, said that Nike Golf's loyalists were likely to find the pseudo-flogging/apology compelling enough to keep buying Nike apparel. In fact, they may not have needed the apology at all: His study of scanner data from golf retailers showed that sales of Nike Golf footwear, apparel and equipment declined by 3% in the 13 weeks before the scandal began in November, and fell by the same amount in the 13 weeks following. "It's the sort of thing that lets you put your own spin on it," he said. "If you thought he was dirt before, you still do. But if you were inclined to forgive him or move on, you did."

But the scandal could complicate Nike's attempt to boost its sagging sales to women (some of whom still remember how the marketer stood by Kobe Bryant during his sexual assault trial). Nike's share of women's footwear declined by a whopping 15% in March as its sales slipped and its competitors (led by Reebok) surged, according to SportsOneSource.

And then there's the issue of the dead man narrating the ad. Many critics of the spot have lashed out at the exploitation of Earl Woods to sell shoes, but virtually everyone agrees that it poured gasoline on a fire Nike was looking to start -- and did.

"It's a fascinating, creepy document, and I don't know whether I love it or hate it," said Steffan Postaer, chief creative officer at Euro RSCG, Chicago. "But I do wish I'd made it."

NIKE USES SUPER BOWL STYLE COMMERCIAL FOR "THE MASTER'S"

Earl and Tiger @ Yahoo! Video

TIGER WOODS RETURNS WITH SPONSORSHIP SUPPORT

Nike, Gillette, EA Sports Rally Around Beleaguered Golfer

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- Tiger Woods is returning to golf, and many of his biggest backers are coming with him.

APBY returning to the Masters, golf's biggest stage, Tiger Woods is guaranteeing an enormously bright spotlight from the start. -->Nike, Gillette and EA Sports all expressed support for Mr. Woods' now public plan to play in April's Masters, although none except EA Sports -- which has already gone ahead and launched a Woods-themed video game for the coming year -- has indicated if or when Mr. Woods will return to a front-and-center role in their marketing messages.

"We look forward to Tiger's return to the Masters and seeing him back on the course," Nike said in a statement.

Added Gillette: "Like many sports fans around the world, we're looking forward to seeing Tiger back on the course."

Neither company addressed whether they would resume airing creative featuring Mr. Woods, who has been bumped in favor of other endorser athletes by both companies.

To recap, Mr. Woods had been the center of a slowly calming media storm after details of his numerous marital infidelities surfaced following a one-car accident he was involved in on Thanksgiving night. Last month, the golfer publicly apologized for his transgressions in a televised news conference, adding that he was taking a break from the sport. Expect that storm to once again intensify.

So if Tiger is back, and his big sponsors -- sans Accenture and AT&T -- are still with him, does that mean our long national nightmare is over?
Not quite.

Public-relations experts say that in order to fully bury the story, Mr. Woods needs to start winning again. If his performance falters, it could fuel speculation that the circus surrounding his infidelity and subsequent rehabilitation is throwing him off his game, which could give the story new energy.

"The circus is going to continue for the first couple tournaments he plays, and it won't be fully over until he wins a tournament or two," said Pete Marino, president of Chicago-based Dig Communications.

Mr. Marino notes that Mr. Woods may have given himself some "wiggle room" by choosing to return at what may be golf's most competitive tournament. "If he'd come back at a smaller tournament like Bay Hill that he wins every year, any struggles would be magnified," he said.

At the same time, however, by coming back on golf's biggest stage, Mr. Woods is guaranteeing an enormously bright spotlight from the start.

Brad Adgate, research director at Horizon Media, predicts CBS's Sunday audience for the tournament could rival the 20 million viewers who tuned in to see Mr. Woods win the tournament as a 21-year-old in 1997. The tournament's closing day drew about 13 million viewers a year ago.

That would be a major boon for the three primary sponsors of the broadcast, which is presented with limited commercial interruptions; the three advertisers are likely to see a huge boost in their returns thanks to the attention.

The three advertisers are Exxon Mobil, IBM and, ironically, AT&T, one of the two major sponsors to drop Mr. Woods since the scandal broke.

GATORADE PARTS WAYS WITH TIGER...

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Seems Gatorade was less than impressed with Tiger Woods' public apology.

The sports-drink giant has dropped Mr. Woods, who in a televised news conference last week publicly apologized for his transgressions after details of his numerous marital infidelities surfaced following a one-car accident he was involved in on Thanksgiving night. The beverage brand is the third sponsor to walk away from the embattled golfer, who also said he was staying off the links.

APTiger Woods was Gatorade's first golf endorser. -->"We no longer see a role for Tiger in our marketing efforts and have ended our relationship," said a Gatorade spokeswoman. "We wish him all the best."

Gatorade first brought on Mr. Woods in 2007. He was the beverage brand's first golf endorser, and the deal was reportedly worth $100 million over five years. "Gatorade has been part of my game plan for years, whether I'm training or competing, so this is an ideal match," Mr. Woods said at the time.

Late last year, Gatorade decided to discontinue the Tiger Focus line of beverages, a decision it said was made before the scandal erupted in December. The company said at the time that it had ditched the line to make room for "our planned series of innovative products in 2010."
The Tiger line had not been performing well, with volume down 34% in the first 10 months of 2009, according to Beverage Digest figures.

The Gatorade spokeswoman said the brand's partnership with the Tiger Woods Foundation will continue.

Accenture and AT&T have also dropped Mr. Woods. With Gatorade now out of the picture, Procter & Gamble's Gillette brand is one of a handful of major corporate sponsors still standing by their man, even though the brand has scaled back on advertising that utilized Mr. Woods. On his personal website, tigerwoods.com, Mr. Woods lists his official sponsors as Nike, EA Sports, Gillette Champions, Tag Heuer, Golf Digest, NetJets, Upper Deck and TLC Laser Eye Centers.

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