According to news reports Accenture is the first of Tiger Woods’ big ticket sponsors to break cover and bring his sponsorship contract to an end. This will be a contractual right that Accenture has in the small print which allows them to pull the rug in circumstances which are described (something like) “if the person involved’s conduct is inconsistent with the brand being promoted”. This type of get-out clause can also appear in many Employment Contracts at a fairly high level. Whilst we can expect Nike to keep the faith given the fact that they will expect Tiger to be playing golf next year and will want their product to be back in the headlines I shouldn’t be surprised if other non-sporting sponsors follow Accentures lead.
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