BRIDGESTONE
Tiger Woods used a Bridgestone Tour B XS ball to win the The Masters, and now the ball maker is "saying congratulations by releasing a special box of those balls," according to David Dusek of GOLFWEEK. The commemorative TW Wrap box ($44.99) will "hit store shelves" on Friday. Bridgestone said that it "started selling the special boxes to stores last week, and within 24 hours they sold out." In fact, Bridgestone said that "every Tour B XS ball it has made has been sold to retailers" (GOLFWEEK.com, 4/22). ESPN.com's Tom VanHaaren noted Bridgestone "doesn't yet know whether its exposure in the Masters and with Woods will translate to long-term sales, but it is anticipating increases based on the consumer interest displayed already." Bridgestone Golf President & CEO Dan Murphy said, "We're pretty excited to see the order bank starting to increase. I'd say for the specific models that (Woods) plays, we're looking at 20 to 30 percent we can bump up the sales on that product." After the Masters, Bridgestone saw a 209% increase in engagement on Twitter, a 400% increase on Facebook and a 205% increase in website traffic as compared to last year's Masters week (ESPN.com, 4/22).
PATIENCE PAYS OFF: SPORTS BUSINESS JOURNAL's Liz Mullen notes Woods' longtime agent Mark Steinberg is "focused on rewarding the sponsors who weathered the golfer’s tough times" more than looking for new partnerships. Steinberg said, “We have a number of things in the works." He added, “Rather than what we are going to do going forward for future partners, to me, it’s about the existing partners. The people who have stuck by him and given him the love and given him the respect he deserves. So we want to continue to give back to them" (SPORTS BUSINESS JOURNAL, 4/22 ISSUE).
