When sports stars go bad
Anuja Nadkarni takes a look at what it takes to lose a sponsor.
Sandpapergate, the recent debacle over the Australian cricket team cheating in the South African test series, has seen the Australian team lose a number of key sponsors and caused some deep wounds to its reputation.
But what determines bad behaviour? And what drives sponsors to cut ties with badly behaving sports stars raking in millions of dollars?
Public relations veteran Deborah Pead of Pead PR said cricket had been riddled with issues of matchfixing and sledging in the past, but what made the world take notice of Australia’s cheating scandal was based on values.
‘‘Bad behaviour is anything violates the values of a brand are important,’’ she said.
‘‘The Australian cricket team caught cheating isn’t a value that is respected, and they were representing an entire nation as a brand. This is why we’re seeing such a tremendous backlash.
‘‘In being a brand in themselves, they’ve embarrassed their team, sportspeople, their nation. They have to take the issue seriously to fix it.’’
Magellan Financial trashed a three-year deal that that Group with the team, sports apparel giant ASICS Corp dropped sponsorship of players associated with the scandal, and so did the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
AUT brand and sponsorship researcher Jessica Vredenburg said sponsorship contracts had moral clauses that enabled either party to walk away from the brand. if they engaged in action impact negatively on the business.
Vredenburg said following the rise of social media, brands dropping endorsers and vice versa had become more common.
‘‘In the past there wasn’t instantaneous spreading of what had happened. Brands had more time that might the image of to strategise, understand the issue at hand, before making a decision,’’ Vredenburg said.
‘‘Now, if something goes wrong, it’s not uncommon for a brand to drop a star fast.’’
In 2012, during Lance Armstrong’s doping scandal, the athlete lost about a dozen sponsors, including Nike and Budweiser.
But Maria Sharapova, the former top-ranked Russian tennis player who got caught up in another doping scandal, saw almost all of the sponsors that dropped her return to her when her 15-month ban was lifted.
‘‘It’s a moral grey area about what reaction is most appropriate for the circumstance by a brand – sticking by their side, going hush or terminating the contract.
‘‘Also whether it was off the field or on the field matters, like Tiger Woods for instance,’’ Vrendenburg said.
‘‘In Sharapova’s case, she came out and told the media she didn’t know the heart drug meldonium she was using was a banned substance.
‘‘In the case of the cricket, it was a more deliberate and calculated action.’’
Pead said when a scandal blew out of proportion, there was the chance the brand or star could redeem themselves, if they confronted their bad behaviour.
‘‘People are very forgiving and will give a hero the chance to come back. But they have to come back on very firm territory,’’ she said.
‘‘Now, if something goes wrong, it’s not uncommon for a brand to drop a star fast.’’ Jessica Vredenburg