Nike: the great winner with the return of Tiger Woods’ triumph
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With the golfer's last achievement, Nike won 23 million dollars in exhibition according to the analysis of Apex Marketing after the triumph in Augusta
The shape of an empire
In 1996, Tiger Woods signed the most lucrative contract for a golfer in the history of sports with Nike, Titleist, American Express, among others, when he was 21 years old. From the beginning, Woods became the most 'marqueteable' golfer. In 2001, Woods renewed the contract he signed with Nike for five more years, for a figure of 105 million dollars. This contract meant the largest number for any athlete in the world.
The link between Woods and Nike helped drive the brand's line, Nike Golf, and thus became one of the fastest growing brands, with an estimated $ 600 million profit. Woods began to earn a percentage of sales for being the official image of Nike Golf, being the sponsor of the athlete in all sports events and public appearances.
Nike, however, after having made Woods the image and emblem of the Nike Golf line, in 2016, influenced by the scandals of Woods driving while intoxicated, decided to remove several products from the brand, reducing it considerably to golf shoes and clothes. Since then, Woods uses Taylormade brand sticks and Bridgestone balls, as CNN indicates.
Revolutionizing the market
According to Bloomberg reports, the impact that Tiger Woods has on golf is of the same legendary status that Michael Jordan has. This, because his game is able to influence the world around him, especially the advertising and the stock market. On Monday, following Woods 'triumph, Nike grew by 0.6% in its shares and the Japanese brand Kowa, Co., a company that produces analgesics and Woods' sponsor, reported a 23% share growth on Monday morning.
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Nike did not hesitate to reaffirm its alliance with Woods and make it practically unshakeable. They published a video in social networks congratulating Tiger Woods, making an account of the dreams that Woods had when he was 3 years old, and how now, at 43, he has been pursuing the same dream for forty years.
The company has sought to position its brand as synonymous with 'heroism and courage', according to Vox reports, as the brand that invited women to the street clothing culture, or the brand that invited Serena Williams to invite female athletes to "dream crazier", now this feat of Woods adjust beautifully.
As Vox points out, "Nike wishes to remind the public that it was not one of those big corporations that abandoned Tiger Woods." At some point, Tiger Woods was the highest paid athlete in the world, receiving $ 110 million annually, and 30 coming directly from Nike. After the 22 million dollars generated by Nike in exhibition, it is compared that, in another year, the Patrick Reed, winner of a Masters and sponsored by Nike, did not generate more than 12 million dollars in exhibition, according to Eric Smallwood, CEO of Apex.
A strategic relationship
The relationship that athletes and companies have is of constant influence, when brands influence athletes, and athletes in the performance of brands. From the start of the tournament to Woods' triumph, the company grew two points and ended up adding $ 2 trillion to the value of Nike in the market.
While the relationship between Woods and Nike has been financially tidy for both parties, there are indicators of how endorsements can play tricks on brands. In February, the college basketball star Zion Williamson, in the middle of a game broke one of his Nike shoes in a slightly absurd way, causing an injury. Immediately Nike shares suffered a detriment, by the injury of Williamson and the ineffectiveness of the shoes, and lost $ 1.1 trillion of value in the market.
This shows that brands are completely subject to the performance of their customers, and will prosper as long as the athletes prosper. Therefore, it is easy to identify which brands support the best athletes in the world. Nike has lifetime contracts with Lebron James and Cristiano Ronaldo, worth a trillion dollars each contract. Lionel Messi with Adidas, Steph Curry with Under Armor, and Roger Federer, who left Nike for the Uniqlo brand, when signing a contract for 300 million dollars, are other athletes with large endorsement contracts.
LatinAmerican Post | Juan Pablo Heilbron
Translated from "Nike: el gran ganador del regreso de Tiger Woods al triunfo"
