I am confident in saying that most everyone in my generation will remember where we were when we found out about the terrorist attacks to the World Trade Towers on 9/11/01 and most of our parents will remember where they were when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 and further still most all of our grandparents will remember where they were when Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japanese in 1941. It seems as though for every generation there is an iconic, life-changing event that carries with that generation for the rest of their lives.
Although it may be hard to believe now, as it seems like every news station is covering Tiger news 24/7, ten years from now I don't think that anyone will remember where they were Thanksgiving Day 2009 when Tiger Woods, the face of Nike and a hero and idol in the sports world at the time, crashed his black SUV outside of his Florida home and his secret double life was revealed to the entire world. I don't think anyone will remember where they were on Friday, February 19, 2010 when Tiger came out of month's of hiding in rehab and delivered a 14-minute apology on national television.
Tiger Woods has become just as much a part of the Nike brand in the eyes of many consumers as the "Swoosh" or the tag-line "Just Do It," and I think Nike did the right thing by sticking by Tiger during this time, despite the fact that they were one of the only sponsors to do so. Amy Reynolds, a top executive at Nike, was present in the front row next to Tiger's mother during his speech last Friday and Tiger acknowledged Nike during his speech thanking the company for its support. Tiger's estranged wife Elin has even been spotted wearing Nike clothing, a sign that she too is sticking by the company.
Nike understood that events such as these come with the territory of have major athletes and international superstars represent your brand and I'm sure they simply launched a previously established crisis management plan for this type of situation as soon as it occured.
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