Tiger Woods' commitment to GM's Buick brand under his
recently signed five-year endorsement deal will begin at
Torrey Pines (CA) in February, "where he'll defend his Buick
Invitational title," according to Bernie Wilson of the AP.
During yesterday's press conference announcing the deal,
Woods said that Buick "clearly hopes to draw younger
customers" with him as a spokesperson, as he noted "how
Buicks have been 'something more for parents' than young
people." Woods: "I'm hoping to broaden that scope ... and
that is [to] make Buick more of a youthful brand. That is
our goal and it's a market we can capitalize on, that we
haven't touched yet." A Buick exec "promised that somewhere
down the road, Woods will get to suggest some design
touches" to what will be called the "Tiger Special Edition."
Woods "wouldn't divulge specifics of the deal," other than
he'll play "a couple of (Buick) tournaments" a year. Buick
execs also "wouldn't discuss details" (AP, 12/16). GM
VP/Corporate Advertising & Marketing Phil Guarascio said,
"Tiger's popularity is not confined to the [U.S.]. Outside
the U.S. we hope to leverage Tiger's prominence and presence
with other GM brands" (DETROIT NEWS, 12/16).
MOVE OVER MICHAEL? In N.Y., Richard Wilner writes that
Woods has "moved into Michael Jordan's neighborhood," as his
$20-25M Buick deal pushes his "worldwide endorsement
portfolio close to" $200M, at "roughly" $40M a year. But
Wilner calls the deal a "bold move by Buick to jump-start
sales among young adults, typically its weak spot" (N.Y.
POST, 12/16). Buick GM Roger Adams: "We want to be able to
take that incredible popularity and the kind of things Tiger
stands for -- sportsmanship, golf, commitment to a cause --
and help that personality reflect on our brands to help us
connect more closely with customers" ("Biz Buzz," 12/15).
