Nike Golf ‘s Social Media Presence After Tiger Woods’ Crisis

In the end of 2009, Tiger Woods was involved in an infidelity crisis. Triggered by a car accident, more than ten women stood out later on claiming that they once had affair with the world No. 1 golfer. Because of this crisis, Woods' marriage was in deep trouble and it went to an end on May 2, 2010. Amongst many Woods' sponsors that dropped him as a spokesman, Tiger Woods' main sponsor – Nike – is standing by its man.

Phil Knight, the chairman and co-founder of the sportswear company, has given his unequivocal backing to Woods at a time when other sponsors are distancing themselves from the world's top golfer. Knight said: "When his career is over, you'll look back on these indiscretions as a minor blip." Knight brushed off the scandal engulfing Woods as "part of the game" of sponsorship deals.

Nike has been advocating transparency as its corporate value and been very active on its social media sites including Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, etc. I Took a look at its social media sites after the crisis, the result is interesting.

On Nov. 27, 2009, the day when Tiger Woods' car accident happened, Nike Golf posted on its Facebook expressing concerns and believed he would be fine. And this is the only post about Tiger Woods' crisis during the whole crisis period. Not even a word on Nike's support to Tiger later on.

later on, Nike Golf filled its Facebook posts with a campaign it launched for Christmas which engaged many audiences because they gave away free gift for the holiday. And this event last for nearly a month which, of coures, overlapped with Tiger's crisis. I think Nike regard it as a way of distracting - drawing people's attention to their products and business, rather than focusing on the crisis itself. 

On Twitter, Nike did the same thing. On Nov. 27, 2009, Nike tweeted the same content on Nike Golf's Twitter account:

Afterwards, Nike Golf's Twitter account was full with its product information, other golf tournament and athlete report, etc. Again, not a word on Tiger Woods.


On March 17, 2010, Tiger announced that he would make a return to professional golf at that year’s Masters Tournament. On April 7, 2010, Nike released an television ad featuring Tiger Woods, which was deemed as an indirect response to the crisis. But the general meaning is that Tiger will learn from his life and Nike still shows its loyalty to this World No. 1 Golfer. On September 15, 2010, Nike put Tiger on Twitter to chat with the audiences.

Now, Tiger Woods is still the background person of Nike Golf's Twitter account.

Celebrity endorsement benefits a brand but may also put the brand at a risk. When a crisis happens, a company should  response to the crisis asap. Inform the publics of their decision and rationales. Nike indeed made announcement of their position regarding Tiger Woods after the crisis, but didn't do well in explaining and communicating with the audience. Partly because of the Tiger is a high-profile spokesperson. But the audience opinions was kind of mixed, Nike could have done better on this. And social media, has definitely been Nike's expertise.