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Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos
I guess I'm still missing the point. What does "making multi million dollar deals at a much higher level than retail" have to do with it? Do they drink more Gatorade while they are at it?
Tiger shills mass produced consumer goods to regular people. Do you disagree with this?
The money got really big when golf became ridiculously popular. Was there a giant increase in "ultra rich country club types", or was there a giant increase in normal people watching golf, in a large part due to this Tiger character?
They are relatively high-end when you don't compare them to anything but American cars. In other words, they are not high-end at all.
I gotta admit, I don't know much about golf equipment. Is Nike considered "top of the line"? Is Nike what the money-is-no-object crowd buys? I saw some Nike clubs and shoes at Sport Chek. Is that the best place for golf clubs? Is that where the pros, the millionaires and the ultra-rich shop?
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When I mentioned above retail I was thinking about the accenture like sponsors, companies that are/were using Woods as a means to inflate their presence and prestige in the business world. Accenture isn't marketing to the average joe, they're marketing to business owners and high level management, the type of people who are memebers at upscale golf clubs and who are often very image concious. The gatorade type deals are a totally different thing, but those companies also care about public perception.
Buick is pursuing the luxury market, those are the people they care about. I don't think Buicks are particualrly luxurious, but they are aiming for the same market that the likes of Cadillac have targeted. Aligning with Woods gives them exposure in that market. Let's not forget that golf is largely a rich white guy sport.
As for the clubs, Nike isn't all that great of a brand, but they sell way more clubs due to their alignment with Woods. The goal is to convince the people who buy clubs every year that they should get the same stuff Tiger plays with. While having the average guy buy those clubs is good, having the people who buy new clubs all the time be sold is much better.
Bottom line is that there are plenty of people out there who care about the image portion of this whole thing, it's not just about on course results. Different market segments value image differently, and the country club types are much more likely to care what wearing a TW hat conveys.