Learn how Tiger's reputation has been impacted by the accident and news of the affairs through an analysis of conversations about him in social media. Analytics by Social Radar

1. Contact: Suzanne Zurn, VP
(202) 289-4001
szurn@xenophonstrategies.com
Social Media Monitoring Case Study
Tiger Woods: Damage to Personal and Sponsorship Brands
Update to December 3 findings
Dec. 16, 2009 Update: Immediately following the news of Tiger Woods being hospitalized with
serious injuries from a car accident the world felt sorry for Tiger, wished him well, and waited in
anticipation for news of his recovery. Three weeks later the world has a different perspective.
As details began to spill, the world had learned that his car accident was the alleged result of
Tiger fleeing from his wife as she chased after him, bashing his car with a golf club from news of
his unfaithful behavior. How did the public react? How has the sentiment changed? What
impact is Tiger’s behavior having on the brands he represents? Let’s update the research from
the buzzstudy.com’s report on December 3.
Timeline of Key Events
The past three weeks have been a public relations disaster for the shamed sports icon. Reports
of multiple alleged affairs, speculation about abuse of the sedative Ambien, rumors of a new
pre-nuptial agreement for his wife to stay, and dropped sponsorship deals culminated in Tiger’s
announcement on December 11 to take an “indefinite leave” from professional golf to work on
being a “better husband, father, and person.”
• Nov. 25 – The National Enquirer publishes a story alleging Tiger Woods was having an
affair with New York nightclub hostess Rachel Uchitel.
• Nov. 26 – Thanksgiving Day
• Nov. 27 at 2:25 am – Tiger is in a single car accident outside his Florida mansion.
• Nov. 28 – Police attempt to interview Tiger, but his agent says he’s not available until
the following day.
• Nov. 29 – Tiger breaks his silence and posts an announcement on his Website where he
takes blame for an “embarrassing” crash, which left him with cuts and bruises.
• Dec. 1 – Reports of multiple alleged affairs begin emerging.
• Dec. 7 – Speculation about potential abuse of the sedative Ambien.
• Dec. 8 – Gatorade announces cancellation of Tiger-branded sports drink.
• Dec. 11 – Tiger announces an “indefinite leave” from golf.
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2. • Dec. 13 – Accenture drops sponsorship deal with Tiger citing, “he is no longer the right
representative for its advertising”.
Tiger Woods Topics - Before Car Accident
In the week prior to the car accident on November 27, the discussion topics about Tiger were
positive in tone and centered around golf and his good reputation as a world class athlete. We
do see the first name of an alleged mistress surface in the conversation during this period (no
doubt a result of the National Enquirer article on November 25).
Tiger Woods Sentiment - Before Car Accident
In the month leading up to the accident, the sentiment of the conversations about Tiger were
80% positive/neutral.
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3. Tiger Woods Topics – After the Accident and Before News Broke of Alleged Affairs
Within the 24-hours following the crash, the online public was in distribution and consumption
mode of the breaking news, led by the first reports from the BNO News Twitter account
@BreakingNews (thanks to Twitter, thousands of people had access to this information about
45 minutes before it appeared on CNN or ESPN, the “worldwide leaders” in news in their
respective fields). People were concerned about what happened, and the discussion had not
yet turned to speculation about the events leading up to, or potentially contributing to the
accident.
Tiger Woods Topics - After News Broke of Alleged Affairs
When news about alleged affairs started flowing, the conversation topics changed dramatically
and the sentiment towards Tiger shifted almost immediately from mostly positive/neutral in
tone to more negative.
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4. Tiger Woods Sentiment - After News Broke of Alleged Affairs
After news of the first affair came out, Tiger’s negative sentiment level skyrocketed 34 points to
54%.
Next, we measured the topics being discussed the most around Tiger Woods chatter. Below are
some of the topics we analyzed including the top brands who are (or were) recently
represented by Tiger.
Tiger’s infidelity is the most talked about topic, next to the car accident event itself, within Tiger
Woods chatter. However, there has been an uptick in discussion volume concerning whether
any companies will drop their endorsement contracts with him. When it comes to celebrity
chatter, sex and money always generate lots of discussion. But what is useful to know is
whether specific companies have suffered in the sphere of the public conversation.
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5. The Effect on the Brands
NIKE
The volume of discussion about Nike and Tiger Woods climbed dramatically after news of the
first alleged affair broke.
Tiger Woods Mentions Within Nike Conversations
Nike Sentiment Within Tiger Woods Conversations
Has there been any real effect or association of this negativity with their brand?
Nike BEFORE:
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6. Nike AFTER:
Nike’s negativity has increased these events unfolded, but have remained at constant levels
from the initial findings on December 3.
ACCENTURE
On December 13 Accenture announced it was dropping their sponsorship deal with Tiger,
citing, “he is no longer the right representative for its advertising.” In the five days leading up
to this announcement, the conversation volume about Tiger within Accenture discussions
climbed almost 60%.
Tiger Woods Mentions Within Accenture Conversations
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7. Accenture Sentiment Within Tiger Woods Conversations
Accenture was feeling the pain of Tiger’s woes. Sentiment towards Accenture because of Tiger
reached 35% negative between the crash and the date Accenture announced they were
dropping him. This compares to pre-incident levels that registered no negativity at all.
After Accenture Dropped Tiger
Since the December 13 announcement to drop Tiger the negativity towards Accenture is
showing early signs of improvement.
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