Tiger Woods: Corporate Sponsors Dream

Tiger Woods, the 21-year-old phenom who won the Augusta Masters golf tournament with a blazing record lead on Sunday, is the hottest commodity in the American market as Tiger mania engulfs the US.

Woods, lowly on Forbes magazines list of the 40 top-earning athletes last year, is set to catapult into the superstar league with millions of dollars in potential endorsements just a signature away.

Hes a corporate sponsors dream come true: young enough to appeal to the key high spending youth segments, talented enough to have pros such as Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus leading the applause, smart enough to maintain a clean image.

 

And thats not even counting his biggest marketing plus: Woods is of mixed African American and Asian (his mother is Thai) heritage.

The unusual combination lets Woods appeal across both racial and age barriers, reaching out to the 90 per cent of America that does not play golf.

By winning the Masters, Woods underscored the sheer talent that underlies the marketing. He is the first non-white to win a major professional tournament.

His 12 stroke victory was the biggest winning margin ever on American soil. He is also the youngest person to have won in Augusta something which led some sports marketing gurus to predict that Woods could revolutionise golfs image as a fuddy-duddy game.

The new champions stupendous deeds left Nike smiling. The shoe manufacturing company, whos already got basketball icon Michael Jordan in the bag, has Woods on a five year $40 million contract signed last year.

Golf shoes account for only a minuscule two per cent of Ikes total sales, but Tiger fans are now likely to throng the stores.

Woods also endorses golf club manufacturer Titlist, is co-owner of a restaurant, and has the International Management Group (IMG) to guide his sponsorship choices.

So far, he has been restrained in accepting offers. He has so much time. Why rush it? his agent Hughes Norton told Forbes last year.

The times may have changed. Woods is now a media darling Maybe he is from another planet, gushed the New York Times and a mega star who can count even First Golfer Bill Clinton (the US president, an avid but not too competent golfer, watched the entire tournament and called Woods to congratulate him) among his fans.

Theres a Tiger Woods chat room on the Internet, a Tiger Woods unofficial home page where the dedicated can swop minute details of their hero, theres instant name recognition. Can Tiger Woods apparel really be all that far behind?

Just how much can Woods earn, if he continues his spectacular performance and ends by winning not just more Masters, but the golfing Grand Slam?

Heres a clue: Last year Michael Jordan pulled in more than $52 million, mostly through endorsements.

If he plays the marketing game as well as he does golf, Woods could soon be rewriting more than sports records.