Excel Sports Management agent Mark Steinberg said of potential sponsorship deals for client Tiger Woods, "We’re not going to do three more deals in the next two months just because he’s No. 1 in the world and we want to strike while the iron is hot. That’s a fairly archaic way to approach a business as sophisticated as his. Tiger and I have gotten to the point where he has the proper balance in his life. ... He already has a lot of sponsors. We’re looking for maybe one more large global deal" (BUSINESSWEEK.com, 4/4).
GREAT SCOTT: Uniqlo yesterday announced that it has signed a multiyear endorsement deal with Adam Scott, marking the first time the Japan-based retailer has partnered with a pro golfer. Scott will wear Uniqlo apparel in all competitions, starting with The Masters. He also will take part in a range of promotional activities, including a global polo shirt campaign launching in mid-April. Scott is currently ranked No. 7 in the world (Uniqlo).
PERCENTAGE PLAY: SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL's Michael Smith writes the TaylorMade marketing team in the span of less than three weeks from the end of January into February "blew up one advertising campaign, created another one and launched it with the help of ad agency NYCA." TaylorMade spent the fall of '12 "planning a campaign for the R1 driver built around the club's adjustability." The campaign was "themed '80%' because TaylorMade contends that 80 percent of all golfers play drivers with the wrong loft." But the R1 "took off even faster than expected," and by the second tournament of the PGA Tour season, the Sony Open, 21 players "had put the R1 in their bag." Just two weeks into the season, the "story had changed." It "wasn't just about the logical '80%' anymore." The story was about how the R1 had "taken the tour by storm" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 4/8 issue).
ADVERSE EFFECT? ESPN's Curtis Strange said of Rory McIlroy's new Nike clubs negatively impacting his play, "Nike has matched the clubs to the exact dimensions that the Titleist were." He added, "If there’s an equipment issue, it could be the Nike ball is a little, little, little tiny different. I don’t think it’s enough to make a difference. I don’t think you can tell to be honest with you. I’ve read all of this in the last month, two months, because Rory hasn’t played well, and I can honestly tell you I thoroughly believe it has nothing to do with the equipment." Strange: "I think it’s really overblown, and I think, quite frankly, [CBS'] Nick Faldo and [NBC's] Johnny Miller, who have the stage to say things right or wrong about people, have been a little bit misleading because they’ve been so negative on it, and they both switched clubs" (JACKSONVILLE.com, 4/6).
