By Lisa DiCarlo

It's no secret that Tiger Woods is a marketer's dream. No company has capitalized on the appeal of the good looking, clean-cut, articulate, scandal-free golf whiz more than Nike — even when it's not a Nike product that's being promoted.

In 2000, Nike , of Beaverton, Ore., agreed to a multi-year deal with Woods worth a reported $105 million, extending an earlier multi-million dollar deal which originated in 1996, the year the then 21-year-old Woods went pro. For its money, Nike has purchased almost every aspect of the Tiger Woods brand, and a piece of almost every marketing appearance of the golf star.

Nike has Woods adorned in its gear even when he's pitching products from other sponsors including American Express, Accenture, General Motors' Buick, Electronic Arts and Tag Heuer watches.

Woods is wearing Nike gear (a shirt or cap or both) with the swoosh clearly visible, often in close-ups, in print and television ads for these non-Nike products. What does all this cost Nike? Not a dime: Even though its contract with Woods is one of the richest in advertising, Nike is piggybacking on the ad dollars spent by other sponsors.

"I suspect that the nature of the relationship is such that he's obligated to wear Nike in any public appearance," says Gary Singer, chief strategy officer at Interbrand, a branding consultancy. "Tiger is so closely associated with Nike that whether you see [other] brands or not, you think of Nike."

A Nike Golf spokesman, Dean Stoyer, says there would be "some level of disappointment" if Woods did not wear Nike apparel in these appearances but there would be "no break in the contract."

He acknowledges that the partnership has benefited Nike Golf by "spilling over to [Woods'] other endorsements. This is an extension of our brand through all these other companies in their marketing, and it has certainly helped move us along."

Nike's shrewd bear hug of the golf pro is a rarity in marketing — it's even a rarity for Nike. The company had a wide-ranging deal with basketball great Michael Jordan (which has continued into his retirement), but Jordan didn't wear Nike in every one of this other marketing appearances.

This week, we're looking at three particularly smart, unusual or shrewd marketing tactics. Those promotional efforts are as important to a product's success as the product itself, since one of the primary goals of a marketing campaign is to create demand. Some people believe that Microsoft succeeded not because it had better products, but because it had better marketing.

Nike's appearance in other Woods commercials raises the question of whether audiences are confused about what they're being sold, and whether the prominent presence of the Nike swoosh overwhelms other brands in non-Nike advertising. Buick, for one, doesn't think so.

"It's a stretch to say that two brands are being pitched," says Buick spokesman John Wray. "People expect him to be in a Nike hat. It's natural."

Woods was originally signed to a five-year contract with Buick in 1999. In 2002, Woods was involved in every aspect of the launch of Buick's Rendezvous SUV. This February, Buick re-signed Woods for another five years, in a deal reportedly worth $40 million.

Wray would not confirm the value of the contract, but says that Buick is happy with its investment, pointing out that more than 130,000 Rendezvous vehicles were sold in 2002 and 2003. "That exceeded our forecasts," he says. "It has to be in recognition of Tiger."

While Woods is at the center of some cross-promotion — his golf bag features a Buick logo — Nike is promoted in nearly all his other advertising deals. In the world of high-stakes sports sponsorships, the depth of the partnership has no peer.

"Nike built their franchise on celebrity endorsements both big and small," says Singer. "The core of their soul is their association with outstanding athletes."

The strategy appears to be working. According to Interbrand, Nike's brand value, or the potential for future earnings, went up 6 percent in 2003 to $8.17 billion, making Nike the 33rd most valuable brand in the world.

The proof of the brilliance of Nike's Tiger Woods arrangement is that other advertisers don't seem to mind the presence of the swoosh in their ads. Then again, if they want to use Tiger, they don't seem to have a choice.

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