For me, the most compelling question to arise from the tawdry Tiger Woods scandal isn’t whether his wife will leave him, but whether his corporate sponsors will.  In particular, the management consulting company Accenture.

We’re not talking energy drinks or golf shoes here, Accenture is a starched white collar Fortune Global 500 firm that, excuse the analogy, is figuratively in bed with Tiger.

In the words of Accenture’s own Web site:  “Since 2003, Tiger Woods has been the centerpiece of Accenture advertising and representative of its brand image. As perhaps the world’s ultimate symbol of high performance, he serves as a metaphor for our commitment to helping companies become high-performance businesses.” A metaphor for your commitment to helping companies? Well Accenture, I’m thinking that right now Tiger Woods is not exactly the paragon of commitment.

Yet, a visit to accenture.com a full week after the scandal broke revealed he is still gracing the company’s home page. The headline, over a big color image of Woods apparently looking for a misplayed shot, reads: “Opportunity isn’t always obvious.” Which, like virtually any headline used with Tiger these days, can be followed up by a punchline. (Sure, opportunity isn’t always obvious. Sometimes you have to go to the back room of a Vegas lounge to find it!)

Naughty behavior is always a danger when using a celebrity as your spokesperson. But the fact is, when using a celebrity, even one as previously squeaky clean as Woods, you’ve got to be prepared for a worst-case scenario.

In this case, I think it would have been smart for Accenture to put Tiger on the shelf for at least a few weeks or months until the scandal blew over. Accenture’s TV commercials used to end with the line “Just another day in the life of a Tiger”.  And if that becomes the perception of the company’s attitude toward the Wood’s scandal — that they’ve chosen to ignore the negative implications of being tied to the Tiger — Accenture is going to turn off more than a few current and potential clients.

Editor’s note: As this post was being finalized, Gatorade announced that it was discontinuing its Tiger Woods sports drink.

Tom Rapsas is 20-year direct and loyalty marketing veteran and heads up Creative Services at Hanifin Loyalty. He can be reached on Twitter @tomrapsas

For me, the most compelling question to arise from the tawdry Tiger Woods scandal isn’t whether his wife will leave him, but whether his corporate sponsors will.  In particular, the management consulting company Accenture.

We’re not talking energy drinks or golf shoes here, Accenture is a starched white collar Fortune Global 500 firm that, excuse the analogy, is figuratively in bed with Tiger.

In the words of Accenture’s own Web site:  “Since 2003, Tiger Woods has been the centerpiece of Accenture advertising and representative of its brand image. As perhaps the world’s ultimate symbol of high performance, he serves as a metaphor for our commitment to helping companies become high-performance businesses.” A metaphor for your commitment to helping companies? Well Accenture, I’m thinking that right now Tiger Woods is not exactly the paragon of commitment.

Yet, a visit to accenture.com a full week after the scandal broke revealed he is still gracing the company’s home page. The headline, over a big color image of Woods apparently looking for a misplayed shot, reads: “Opportunity isn’t always obvious.” Which, like virtually any headline used with Tiger these days, can be followed up by a punchline. (Sure, opportunity isn’t always obvious. Sometimes you have to go to the back room of a Vegas lounge to find it!)

Naughty behavior is always a danger when using a celebrity as your spokesperson. But the fact is, when using a celebrity, even one as previously squeaky clean as Woods, you’ve got to be prepared for a worst-case scenario.

In this case, I think it would have been smart for Accenture to put Tiger on the shelf for at least a few weeks or months until the scandal blew over. Accenture’s TV commercials used to end with the line “Just another day in the life of a Tiger”.  And if that becomes the perception of the company’s attitude toward the Wood’s scandal — that they’ve chosen to ignore the negative implications of being tied to the Tiger — Accenture is going to turn off more than a few current and potential clients.

Editor’s note: As this post was being finalized, Gatorade announced that it was discontinuing its Tiger Woods sports drink.

Tom Rapsas is 20-year direct and loyalty marketing veteran and heads up Creative Services at Hanifin Loyalty. He can be reached on Twitter @tomrapsas

Atlantic City, the famed gambling Mecca about an hour down the coast from me, is on a nasty losing streak. A recent story in the NY Times quoted a top gambling executive as saying “the city is in a death spiral.” Few disagreed.

It seems that after a rough couple of years, 2009 is looking even worse. Every Atlantic City casino but one is seeing a double-digit drop in revenue. The lone exception being the glitzy, feels-like-you’re-in-Vegas Borgata, which is down about 5 percent this year.

The reasons for the decline are many: the rotten economy, competition from newly opened gambling operations in nearby states, and the fact that Atlantic City, like the dwindling number of day-tripping seniors who bus into the city each day, is feeling old and tired.

The most-talked about solution: a cash infusion of a few billion dollars to build new hotels, new attractions, new anything that can start pulling in people again. Which, with the current economic environment, is as likely as me filling a double inside straight flush at the poker table. Or not very likely.

Harrah’s Entertainment ups the ante

In years past, I’ve frequented the Borgata where I’m a member of the My Borgata Rewards program. But on my last two trips into Atlantic City, I ventured to the swanky but hip Caesars, where I joined Total Rewards–the casino loyalty program from  Harrah’s Entertainment, the company behind the Harrahs, Caesars, Bally’s and Showboat casinos.

It appears that Total Rewards has upped the ante over the My Borgata program, by rolling out the red carpet for program members. My evidence here is strictly anecdotal, but I (and a good friend) recently received a bump up not one, but two tier levels to Diamond status. I also received a pair of free weekday hotel stays. (Surprising because, trust me, a high roller I am not.)

It’s obviously a play by Harrah’s Entertainment to get past customers back to Atlantic City and it’s either a smart move or a desperate move, depending on your perspective. I say smart—because rather than gamble on an expensive, and to my thinking, ultimately wasteful mass media campaign, Harrah’s is appealing directly to its customer base for more business.

Granted, they’re digging deep into the base by giving a two-time visitor like me special favors, but my guess is they’re mining the data for a few things: the recency of my visits, my perceived spend level, and my zip code, which tells them I live nearby and should be at a certain income level.

So can Total Rewards really save Atlantic City? It’s a lot to ask of a loyalty program, but it strikes me that Harrah Entertainment is playing the hand it was dealt—and reaching out to its customer base may be its last, best hope. I, for one, hope it works. In fact, I’m about to book a free night for my wife and I right now.

Now, a few words about the Total Rewards communications

The first good thing I can say about Total Rewards is that they actually have a communications program in place. As a member of the My Borgata program, who opted in for e-mail, I cannot recall receiving the first piece of communications from them, digital or otherwise. (It’s good to be King!)

While the Total Rewards postcard and e-mail creative is perfunctory, they do some small but important things right. They recognize me by name and tier level, and occasionally by the casino I visit, Caesars. They’ve also made attempts to cross-sell me into other areas of the property, including their dining and entertainment venues.

But the Total Rewards communications could go even further. A few thoughts, for the people behind the program:

1. Pump up the engagement: I checked and Total Rewards has a presence on both Facebook and Twitter. Why not add these links to every e-mail? And while you’re at it, add an “invite a friend to join” link to each e-mail, as well.
2. Talk to my preferences: I know your part of the Harrah’s empire, but frankly I only joined the program because I like and visit Caesars. So more info on Caesars and less on Vegas and the other brands please.
3. Leverage the community: I know starting your own online community may be a hassle you don’t want to contemplate, but why not use some of the glowing testimonials found on social travel sites like Kayak and Virtual Tourist. This both encourages loyal customers to return and invites them to join the conversation.

Tom Rapsas is a Creative Director/Writer/Strategist. He can be reached at tomrapsas@gmail.com and via Twitter @tomrapsas.

Thoughtful preparation of an editorial calendar helps to keep a blog on track, but a compelling news item or article can seize the blogger by the throat and scream “write about me“!

Such was the case when I opened the Wall Street Journal yesterday and spied “An open letter from Las Vegas“. Lately I have read letters pleading for the saving of Darfur, the US banking system, and even Rod Blagojevich (at least two of those three were worth the read), but I did not expect to see a similar plea from Vegas.

Stricken by the economic downturn, the letter cited recent cancellations of events in Sin City due to the perception by corporate America that “Las Vegas is a “fun” trip or an unwarranted extravagance.” Our open market economy endows the right for any business to make its case and Vegas went on to emphasize that the scope of it infrastructure provides the perfect backdrop for conventions and drives enormous economic impact for the City.

The message was acceptable until it cried “at a time when America is getting back to basics, there is no room for playing the perception game”. This tugged on the generational message that “perception is reality” and guess what, Las Vegas ad campaigns over the past 5 years have pounded home nothing but the perception that it is a place to go wild and tell no tales. “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” – we’ve all seen the humorous ads over the years and the message is clear.

Teenagers tend to flatly deny reality, the truth, when they are threatened and Las Vegas is invoking a similar defense. “I know it seems like I did ______, but it’s really not true” pleads the teen when caught “nearly” in the act of something they should not be doing. Well Vegas has been smugly pounding its chest for the past several years touting the wild and woolly. That campaign came on the heels of failed attempts to create the perception that Vegas was really a family destination.

I’m not passing judgment on Las Vegas, just on their approach to building brand. Whatever money they are spending on current campaigns to convince business planners to book conferences in their town, they might as well be themselves. It would make a more appealing message.

As for me, I like Vegas because every time I speak at a show there, I get my highest marks. You see, the attendees who do show up quickly check off all the “5’s” and then leave to play golf.

Viva Las Vegas!