I just heard a PR expert say that Tiger Woods is in a world of hurt.
According to the expert, Woods needs to employ the three As of damage control.
- Admit
- Apologize
- Advance (the story)
Unfortunately, this hackneyed advice keeps the really bad PR people employed.
Tiger Woods is a golfer. That’s his job. We don’t know anything about Tiger’s real life outside of work — except for the fact that he has a wife, a couple of kids, and he hit a tree and went to the hospital.
Regardless of what happened, Tiger doesn’t need to admit to anything, apologize to anyone, or advance the story.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard, “This story isn’t going away.”
Yes it is. It goes away when we want it to go away, when we ignore it, or when something else happens. We have a choice, people.
No drama, no story, no PR jobs.
It’s that simple. Really.
{ 30 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh my goodness- everywhere I look now I see this Tiger Woods fiasco. So ok- the man hit a tree and hurt himself- he’s alive and he’ll recover. All this nonsense about proving he’s now ‘mortal’ and speculations of an affair.
I’m especially disappointed in the major news networks i.e. CNN, Time etc for proliferating this and turning it into something it’s not. It’s not a hero falling from grace- it’s a man who happens to be one of the best sportsmen in the world getting into a fender bender….
He’s not really a golfer though. He’s an endorser. Golf is just the thing he does to get the endorsements. The endorsements are what paid for the Escalade and the big house and stuff.
So the endorsers—they have PR people too. And if those PR people tell the mucky-mucks in the company that they can’t have this guy because people think he’s doing something bad, that costs money. So from an income-protection standpoint, that hack PR guy may be right.
I don’t get annoyed with the PR people. I get annoyed with the fact that we have 24 hour news channels (lots of ‘em), and they fill them up with this crap. The president decides to send more troops to Afghanistan, and we’re talking about some guy’s car accident. I don’t give a shit WHAT happened in this guy’s house or car or street or what-the-hell ever…but a lot of people must, because otherwise those networks would be talking about something else.
I agree with Kerry, the moment Woods accepts the dirty money of advertising he enters into the world of brand and not the world of sport.
He is the face of a brand because he is seen to embody certain principles. The rumours that come from his continued silence are damaging these principles and so he either needs to get on the front font (a la the three As) or he accepts that his earnings may become reduced to hitting a ball with a stick whilst taking a walk in the countryside (plus his autobiogrpahy when he tells us the “true” story).
Live by the sword, die by the sword. I have no sympathy. And as we say here, “today’s news is tomorrow’s chip paper” – work that one out if you can……
+1 to what TheHRD said, Tiger reresents many brands to the tune of 100 million a year. Those sponsors expect him to maintain his private life in a manner that reflects possitively on their brand.
For 100 million a year my wife can beat me with a golf club in the privacy of our home.
A lady at the gym was insisting that he has to talk to the cops at least and I was telling her that no, he doesn’t. He does not have to talk to the cops. Even if he is arrested. Even if he is put on trial. If he doesn’t have to talk to the cops, he sure doesn’t have to talk to the press. It’s none of our darn business.
Even if America loves nothing better than a repentant sinner who goes on Oprah and sobs and begs for forgiveness, it’s none of our business and as long as he keeps playing great golf and keeps his pants zipped in the future (if that is even what this was about), this will probably go away.
And if it doesn’t? If he loses the endorsements? Big deal. He’ll still be playing great golf and living off his savings and will be the one celebrity who didn’t air his dirty laundry in public, for which I will thank him.
I see what others are saying about Tiger Woods, The Brand ™. But Laurie, I agree with you – he isn’t obligated to do much else than (as the news keeps telling us) show the cops his license and registration.
But I think he did drop the ball, so to speak, in that he didn’t grab hold of the situation and just OWN it and SHAPE it, however he wanted to, sooner.
In the absence of that…well, there’s the old saying about nature abhors a vacuum. So do gossip columnists, PR hacks and bored people who surf teh Interwebz. And now, in addition to dealing with the actual accident, Woods and his team have to deal with all of that radio noise, too.
The reason it is still a story is that Tiger stiffed the cops the first 2-3 times they tried to talk/investigate. The cops, trying to save face, are pushing the issue now.
And you have to admit, there’s a whole lot that just doesn’t add up here.
1) The initial reports said that “alcohol was not a factor” in the crash, but that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t involved in the overall incident — perhaps by someone other than Tiger.
2) Why break out the back window of the escalade to get him out of the drivers seat. Unless perhaps the window was broken BEFORE the accident (see No. 1).
3) the crash was at such a low speed (less than 30 mph) that the airbags didn’t deploy. But yet he was banged around enough to be drifting in and out of conciousness? Really?
4) Let’s say it was a domestic disturbance. Generally when there is violence involved, someone is going to jail. One part or the other, someone is going to jail. Unless a story about it being a driving accident is concocted (see No. 1).
Look, if this incident had take place at my house instead of Tiger’s gated community, each of the above questions would still be raised about the case, they just wouldn’t be on the evening news. That’s the only difference. And we are a nation of rubber-neckers which feeds the continuous news cycle of coverage.
Helen Philpot, of the Margaret and Helen blog, once said “News as it is happening is not news. It’s an observation without much thought.”
Amen! I understand the whole personal brand thing, but he’s a person and to state the obvious, WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES! Once everyone decides that it’s his life and they need to let it go the story will die and Tiger can get back to his life and deal with it like a normal, unfamous person.
Most of us make mistakes but they go unobserved or unnoticed, which is not the case with some one like Tiger Woods and people are bound to speculate till he puts these queries and gossips to rest by issuing a clear and honest statement to the Press about his perspective of the incident.
I truly believe open communication holds the key to solving most issues and controversies.
Two of his biggest sponsors are Nike & Gatorade. This is nothing compared to the antics of their other spokespeople.
I’m with Karen and Kerry. When this story is considered the main story over the murder of 4 police officers and foreign policy of Afghanistan, that’s really disappointing.
Concerning this story, I actually heard a news announcer this morning using The National Enquirer as a credible news source?? huh??? That’s the state of our media– tabloid press. The majority of people in this country are stupid and will follow/watch/buy anything that remotely looks like a car wreck.
And it’s Tiger Woods– it ain’t Joe Smackafrazwitz down the street.
And again– it’s Tiger Woods– arguably the greatest golfer to ever live! He’s not losing ANY sponsorship– are you crazy? A PR guy would be laughed out of the conference room for suggesting that.
With more than a decade of PR experience in Silicon Valley, I can tell you that stories – all stories – eventually fade. Many have legs and resurface as different slants are used (What Tiger Had For Dinner That Night, Tiger’s Favorite Driving Shoes, Tiger’s Wife Endorses Golf Club Brand She Used to Break Car Window, etc.). But most have the shelf life of broccoli.
That advice from the PR maven would be more applicable if someone else had been injured in the accident. He injured himself, will pay for the fireplug damage and get a new car. No way does this constitute Nike or any other sponsor dumping him at this point. But Kerry and TheHRD really get it – Tiger is a brand himself.
The media’s all-consuming interest? What’s the real backstory on their marriage and home life? Is there an alcohol or drug issue? They’re just looking for dirt – and, from their point of view, it’s anything different from his squeaky-clean, near-perfect public persona. Not saying it’s right, just sayin’…
You are right, the story will go away. We just need a Jonas brother to get married or something. He obviously doesn’t want the public to know details—so all people can do is speculate. And we all LOVE to speculate…
Where’d Tiger’s wife find a golf club anyway??? Does he just leave them lying around the house?
I don’t care about this story much, but it may have been helpful for him to get out in front of this two days ago just because we’re all just a bunch of hungry hungry hippo gossip monsters who want to create a story if we can’t get an official one. He certainly doesn’t *owe* the public an explanation, but he’s been a celebrity long enough to know that the media beast will eat him alive if he doesn’t get in front of it (until they find someone else to munch on).
using The National Enquirer as a credible news source
John Edwards. Affair. Love child. Nobody else would touch it.
@Karen I saw Wolf Blitzer interview Pat O’Brien, yesterday, and I thought — how lovely, two old men talking about the downfall of a younger guy. Sad.
@Kerry I’m not annoyed with good PR people but I hate these celebrity PR hacks. It makes sense that Cadillac and Gatorade want to protect their brands, I guess. Maybe we should talk about whether or not celebrity endorsements mean anything, anyway. I saw this information about drugs and advertising. There’s no difference and it makes drugs more expensive. Dump Tiger and bring down the cost of Tag Heuer watches.
http://consumerist.com/2009/11/new-study-suggests-drug-ads-ineffective-but-expensive-for-consumers.html
@TheHRD Or could Tiger Woods set a new standard on how to handle this?
@JohnC What’s the least amount of money you’d take? I’ve got $20.
@Class Factotum Someone on my blog called this “F-k you money.” Tiger has enough f-k you money to walk away. I love that phrase.
@Patrick Nature abhors a vacuum, yes, but we have a vacuum of information around so much stuff — Afghanistan, poverty, the war on drugs. I hate that we’re not all over those stories.
@Robert Let’s say none of this. Tiger isn’t compelled to talk to anyone, and really, all of this is just speculation.
@ReviewSNAP Did he make a mistake? Maybe. I dunno. I just know he hit a tree. Even if he had an affair, is that a mistake? Maybe, but only to his wife. And maybe not. Maybe it’s okay in their marriage. I really don’t care, either.
@Swapna Thank you.
@econopete I’m more interested in the fact that Huckabee pardoned that murderer back in 2000.
@MattyMat I’m laughing because the enquirer is a legitimate news source down here in North Carolina.
@Marsha I know. Everyone talks about reality & the way things are… but I just wonder why things are the way they are… and it bugs me. Also, you have cool experience!
@InkedHR Brad/Angelia are going to break up.
@Glen I have them all over my house — @kenruet isn’t even a pro golfer.
@h.aria I know, I know. Hate the game, not the playa. Maybe he should get in front of the story, or maybe he could just give everyone the finger and walk away. I’d like him more if he told the world to shove it up its ass.
@class exactly.
I do think from a brand perspective he needs to do some kind of PR on this. However, if he doesn’t care about those contracts and just wants to be a golfer, this advice works.
Good brand PR = Tylenol poisoning case (they were open, honest & informative)
Bad brand PR = Ford tires (deny, delay, lose customers)
I’m not paying attention because I don’t really care about Tiger the brand. His endorsement does not affect my purchasing decisions. He’s just fun to watch swing a club. But if I was Accenture, Nike, Chrysler…I would have a different opinion.
I am tired of the 3 A’s. No one believes it when celebreties utter them anymore anyway. I’d prefer to hear him say, “I f-d up, now leave me alone.”
Truthfully, I am more worried about how his injuries may have marred his beautifully smooth complexion. Yeah, I do have some sexist qualities in me. I don’t want to see his cute face with scars…
We have so many more important things to be discussing as a country…what should we be doing in Afghanistan, what’s going to happen with healthcare, how will extending our safety net impact job growth (anyone check out the proposed increases to state UI, some are more than 400%), what is going on with our national (hello, Pelosi spent $30K of OUR money on SNACKS? In one MONTH???), state and local government? It is really sad that Tiger Woods is such a focus for the media and the public at large…
We. Are. Doomed.
The terrorists will not be our undoing, it will be our national persona as attention-challenged gossip mongers with shopping addictions.
[sigh]
Bad day for me over here.
@Laurie Now I’m very, very frightened.
btw– I’m looking for Server Admin people in and around the Durham area. You sound like you’d hang with the intellectual nerdy types– you know anyone??
Also…keep in mind that Tiger has been advised by, at the very least, his attorney to say what he’s saying. Possible that a PR person is also advising him and has done up a specific plan around this ‘crisis.’
Never be confused – a PR person will tell you they are influencing (read: manipulating) the media and that they want to tell their side of the story (read: control things). It appears harmless when the aim is publicity for a new style of basketball shoes, sinister when the goal is for a company to look nicey-nice after thousands die as occurred in the Union Carbide industrial gas leak in Bhopal, India.
“Nature abhors a vacuum, yes, but we have a vacuum of information around so much stuff — Afghanistan, poverty, the war on drugs. I hate that we’re not all over those stories.” This is why I adore you @Laurie.
Laurie, I forgot about that detail! I’ve been a little busy the past few days, responding to job inquiries mailed to me and trying to prevent another visit to the ER. I’ll do more research after I get some stuff out this morning.
Laurie – I am so with you on what makes valid news and what doesn’t. I hate that we don’t talk about Afghanistan, poverty, joblessness, etc.
It makes me sad that PBS just cancelled a couple of its shows (NOW and the Bill Moyers program) that actually did report on those things – and did a great job of really deeply exploring the subjects. A sharp contrast to the news networks, which have nothing but time (24 hours a day) and yet reduce everything to either (a) a soundbite or (b) two gasbags arguing, yelling, and farting words at each other.
Wow! Blogosphere commenting virus has purged all over this post @Laurie!
Let me add then.
Tiger’s other job is to be a spokesperson for the products he represents for, as-well-as for the many charities he supports. He owes it to them, not to the general public, to advance this discussion and begin making amends for his public profile. That is in fact an ethical requirement, IMHO. A-Rod did it. So can he.
Good enough?
No?
OK.
bllllluuuugghhhhhaaaahaaa *heave* *heave* *dryheave*
Sid. (kidding because he’s caring)
Tiger Woods… gettin’ his billion dolla’ schwerve on!! That’s some hella alimony/child support payments—
Bravo – well said!
Thank you, class factotum, but he doesn’t have to keep his pants zipped either. If he doesn’t break the law, his zipper is none of our business either.