Since this past Thanksgiving, the public has been enthralled with the story of the Tiger Woods affair. While I am sure that there is a healthy portion of the population who finds the saga interesting for gossip-purposes, there is also a very notable component that goes un-discussed on programs like Headline News or Entertainment Tonight: the idea of the Tiger Woods brand being tarnished, and potentially beyond repair. In a recent blog post, Gwen Knapp of the San Francisco Chronicle made a recommendation to Tiger Woods: “Stop being a control freak.” I wonder if his control is the only thing that made his brand stick for so many years.
Unfortunately, it seems that Woods has backed himself into a corner. He forced his brand not only on the public, but also on himself. As the Brand Personality framework notes, one of the key facets of a successful brand personality is sincerity. Tiger Woods “family man” brand was incredibly successful because he truly seems to love his wife and kids; yet he tarnished his brand when he failed to live it.
As I discuss in How to Start Your Business with $100, your brand should be a way of life, and therefore your [...]
