Wednesday, March 17, 2010

“Golf-Tour looking for new sponsor after CA's Doral deal ends (Reuters via Yahoo! Sports)” plus 2 more

“Golf-Tour looking for new sponsor after CA's Doral deal ends (Reuters via Yahoo! Sports)” plus 2 more

Golf-Tour looking for new sponsor after CA's Doral deal ends (Reuters via Yahoo! Sports)

Posted: 17 Mar 2010 08:03 AM PDT

By Simon Evans

MIAMI, March 17 (Reuters) - The PGA Tour are searching for a new sponsor for the World Golf Championship event at Doral after software company CA chose not to extend their deal.

The business software company said in a joint statement with the PGA Tour that they were ending their backing of the event which was won on Sunday by South African Ernie Els.

"CA will be executing a new corporate marketing program focused on delivering more regional events and customer relationship programs around the world. As a result, we will no longer sponsor the World Golf Championships beyond 2010," said spokesman Bill Hughes in the statement.

PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said he hoped to find a new backer for the tournament, which is one of four annual events making up the World Golf Championships.

"We will move forward in securing a new title sponsor for the CA Championship. We are confident we will be at TPC Blue Monster at Doral next year," he said.

The event has been held since 1999 and was sponsored by CA from 2006. It has featured at Doral since 2007 having previously moved from different venues in the United States and Europe.

It replaced the Doral Open which had been part of the PGA Tour from 1962.

(Editing by Tom Pilcher; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

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Woods' return to golf a boon to sponsors (Sports Illustrated)

Posted: 17 Mar 2010 07:47 AM PDT

NEW YORK (AP) — Tiger Woods' return to the golf course is a long-awaited boon to sponsors that stood by him and marketers who stand to get big exposure from the big Masters audience.

Woods dropped out of the golf world last fall after revelations of his infidelities made him a mainstay of lurid headlines and left his value as a pitchman in shambles. Several of his sponsors, including accounting firm Accenture and telecommunications company AT&T, dropped him. But companies that banked more directly on his athletic prowess, such as Nike Inc. and Electronic Arts, stuck by him.

The payoff could be coming.

"He starts the journey back now," said Rick Burton, former chief marketing officer of the U.S. Olympic Committee and a sports marketing professor at Syracuse University. "Instead of being tabloid fodder for his non-athletic activities, he goes back to what he started out to be, which was an athlete."

Both Nike and Electronic Arts said in written statements Tuesday they look forward to seeing Woods return to golf. It's especially timely for EA, whose next edition of the video game "Tiger Woods PGA Tour" is in testing and scheduled for release in June.

"Nike can probably imagine nothing better than Tiger coming back, withstanding the pressure of everyone watching him and winning," Burton said. "This is going to be a heavily photographed, heavily videotaped, heavily Youtubed appearance. Tiger's Nike hat, Nike shirt and Nike ball are all going to get a lot of visibility."

Gillete, a unit of Procter & Gamble, said it has no immediate plans to change its advertising - which no longer features Woods. Damon Jones, spokesman for Gillette, said there have not been any decisions made about what comes next with the company's advertising.

The Masters get the best TV ratings of any golf tournament and will likely be much more watched this year - maximizing the impact of his return.

The tournament itself has just three major corporate sponsors - IBM Corp., AT&T Inc. and ExxonMobil Corp., though tight control of the tournament keeps their logos all but absent from the course. AT&T, a former sponsor of Woods himself, declined to comment and the others did not immediately respond to requests.

While most golf events allow sponsors to put their logo on nearly every surface and host exhibits on the course, the Masters is nearly devoid of visible corporate presence. Commercial time is extremely limited for the Masters. Between two days representing nearly 8 hours of coverage last year, there was about 36 minutes of commercials, according to Nielsen.

"It is the cleanest venue you'd ever see," said Paul Swangard, managing director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at University of Oregon. "The absence of corporate monikers is pretty striking for the NASCAR-ization we see in sports today."

It probably doesn't matter how well Woods even plays.

"When it comes to his brand it is irrelevant how he does," said John Sweeney, director of sports communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

He said the companies that have stood by him will continue to, but it will be be a while before he can lure any new sponsors.

"He is now a soap opera character in the tabloid reality show," Sweeney said.

---

Fredrix reported from New York. Skidmore reported from Portland, Ore.

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Woods Golf Hiatus a Nike ‘Non-Event,’ Researcher Says (Update1) (BusinessWeek)

Posted: 17 Mar 2010 12:10 PM PDT

March 17, 2010, 2:46 PM EDT

(Adds Nike spokeswoman declining comment in fourth paragraph.)

By Matt Townsend

March 17 (Bloomberg) -- Nike Inc.'s golf equipment and apparel business, built around Tiger Woods, was unaffected by his break from the sport and isn't likely to be boosted by his return, a research firm said.

There was little difference in sales of Nike-branded golf products in the 13 weeks before Woods's Nov. 27 single-car accident outside his Florida home and the 13 weeks after, during which he admitted to marital infidelity, according to data collected from retailers by SportsScanInfo, a unit of researcher SportsOneSource.

"People who buy Nike golf have been relatively neutral on the issue," Matt Powell, a Princeton, New Jersey-based analyst for SportsOneSource, said today in a telephone interview. "It's been a non-event for Nike."

A spokeswoman for Nike, Beth Gast, declined to comment in an e-mail.

Nike maintained its relationship with Woods, with whom it signed a contract in 1996, while sponsors such as AT&T Inc. and PepsiCo Inc.'s Gatorade cut ties after he admitted in December to cheating on his wife. Woods, 34, announced yesterday that he will return to the U.S. PGA Tour at the Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia, beginning April 8.

Woods's comeback probably won't increase sales of Nike golf products, Powell said. Golf equipment and apparel totaled $648.3 million in sales in the company's fiscal year ended May 2009, or 3.4 percent of total revenue.

No Big Lift

"I don't expect a big lift," Powell said. "Once he starts playing golf well again, people will forget all the silliness that they've been focused on."

Nike, based in Beaverton, Oregon, also maintained its relationship with National Basketball Association player Kobe Bryant after he was charged with sexual assault in 2003, Powell said. The case was dropped in 2004 and Bryant's popularity has rebounded since, as his jersey is now one of the best-sellers in the NBA, according to an NBA news release.

"Sometimes they will reduce their exposure, but they have a tradition of sticking with their athletes," Powell said of Nike.

Nike rose 54 cents to $70.92 at 2:23 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares had advanced 6.5 percent this year before today. The company is scheduled to report third-quarter results today after the market closes.

--Editors: Margot Slade, Andrew Dunn

To contact the reporter on this story: Matt Townsend in New York at mtownsend9@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jennifer Sondag at jsondag@bloomberg.net

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