Golfer Jordan Spieth "now ranks No. 5 when it comes to endorsement value among nearly 4,000 celebrities," and when it comes to “I want to be like him,” only Tom Hanks, Bill Gates and Kate Middleton "track higher," according to data from The Marketing Arm cited by Cheryl Hall of the DALLAS MORNING NEWS. Just before The Masters, Spieth "wasn’t a standout in any of the eight attributes of The Marketing Arm’s Celebrity DBI." Although he "still has some work to do with name recognition," he was as of Friday "among the celebrity elite in every category but one." Marketing Arm Managing Dir Matt Delzell said, "Golf has never been considered influential or trendsetting. To see Jordan at No. 10 in trendsetting with Katy Perry, Macklemore and Emma Watson, and then to see him rank 12th in influence next to Justin Timberlake and Ellen DeGeneres, that’s crazy for a 21-year-old golfer. Simply astounding." Delzell said that he "expects Spieth's numbers to erode a bit." He added that other "young turks -- including Rickie Fowler, Jason Day and Adam Scott -- had decent marks but not star potential." Hall notes Tiger Woods' "bottom-feeder numbers for just about everything but awareness don’t bode well for a comeback as a product spokesman." Hall: "He’s one of the most recognized celebrities on the planet, ... but almost no one trusts, likes or wants to be him." The Celebrity DBI is "based on an online survey that asks consumers around the country how they feel" about top PGA Tour golfers, with 1,000 responses for each (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 4/22). Spieth, prior to his win at The Masters, ranked No. 5 in SBD's exclusive survey of the most-marketable golfers (THE DAILY).
UNDER OVER: Under Armour Senior Category Dir for Global Golf & Tennis Ryan Kuehl in a Q&A with GOLF DIGEST STIX said of Spieth -- who extended his UA deal in January -- winning The Masters, "We were running along pretty good already. We’ve had a good 18 months with our golf business doubling in that time. But last week we were up 140 percent from the previous week. We sold out a bunch of Jordan shirts, and our limited-edition Masters shoes sold out on our website in under 48 hours." He added, "We can use Jordan and the hero imagery of his win to really draw eyeballs. From a brand marketing perspective, there’s interest in getting Jordan’s brand more exposure to help grow the game. To me that’s always been sort of a broader goal: How do we help the game?" Kuehl said of possibly having the conservatively dressed Spieth try bolder looks, "We love his style, and we love his take on apparel. It really comes across as clean, classy and athletic. That’s how he wants to be perceived, and that’s how we think a lot of golfers want to look" (GOLF DIGEST STIX, 4/22 issue).
