Ambush Marketing, Boston Globe, Crisis Management, MLB, Tennis

Great Example Of How Far Women’s Brands Have Come…For the Better…Serena Williams and Tampax

It was not too long ago, 1997 to be exact, when the WTA Tour, the worldwide governing for women’s tennis, faced an issue of crisis with regard to budget, branding and perception. The Tour, after taking the media power of William Morris for years as the Virginia Slims Tour, was suffering from a lack of identity, and for that matter a lack of sponsors and interest. Octagon and IMG were both tasked to help the Tour, which at this point was in between its young guns on the horizon and its recently retired stars, find a title sponsor to replace the dollars and branding muscle of Virginia Slims. The best option, one that would provide marketing dollars, a healthy lifestyle platform, and the ability to give the Tour room to explore more traditional secondary branding categories, was presented by Octagon…Tampax. By far the leader in feminine hygiene, the brand was looking to take the category out of the traditional area and attach itself to vibrant, global accessible female athletes who could grow with the brand. The dollars would dwarf other potential suitors and could create a revenue stream to help the Tour, which was struggling to find its identity, move forward as a viable sports brand.

The deal never happened. The pushback from players, the WTA board and other advisors was very strong. Many felt at the time that associating women’s tennis with a feminine hygiene product as its title sponsor would cause tennis not to be taken seriously as a sports brand and would slow the growth of the sport into the mainstream,. Furthermore, the ability for Tampax to market in certain territories where feminine hygiene products were not socially acceptable to talk about or use as a media brand would also create problems. Also it was felt that in many societies where female sports at the time were viewed as secondary to anything a male would do, that the sport would be pushed even further to the back burner. The dollars and branding opportunities, from retail to direct marketing to player endorsements, were shelved, and eventually the Tour, through IMG, landed now-defunct software maker Corel as its title sponsor, a spot which has been a revolving door as a chief revenue supplier for women’s tennis even to today’s title sponsor SONY Ericsson.

Now having a feminine hygiene product as an individual athlete sponsor was not all that uncommon in the 1970’s and 1980’s. However to make the leap forward to so closely tie with Tampax at the time was stretch that even the strongest of women’s brands at the time, the WTA, chose not to make.

Fast forward to the world we live in just 12 years later. Women’s athletes are powerful role models and health and well being for women and girls is much more prevalent an issue than ever before. Social causes with regard to women and girls around the world are the norm rather than the exception. So it came as no surprise or even with any stigma at all that the same brand…Tampax…on Monday announced a multitier partnership and awareness campaign with Serena Williams. The irony of the whole situation is that the WTA at the time had easily taken millions from a brand for years…Virginia Slims (a cigarette brand)…that was obviously harmful to women. Yet when a brand came along that could promote healthy lifestyle and self esteem, the Tour backed off. Virginia Slims’ slogan for years was “You have Come A Long Way Baby.” That phrase could even apply to today’s Tampax partnership, perhaps even more so in a positive way. Women’s branding, self-awareness and healthy lifestyle pushes continue to go a long way, with brand development partners along for the ride.

Some other good reads…two good stories from AP…one on the continued interest for young people to be journalists at any cost…second on the cutbacks the military are making in marketing because of over enrollment and recruitment…and Crain’s Chicago’s Ed Sherman has a good luck at the Cubs ownership under the Tribune...