Sometimes It Pays to Have a Tiger on the Prowl…

Even though this year’s Master’s was won by ‘The Field,’ Nike still managed to come out on top in the battle for exposure, largely a result of Tiger being in the tournament up until the very end. Nike received the most brand exposure during the final round broadcast coverage on CBS held on April 8, according to Brand Exposure Analysis, a digital monitoring and valuation service conducted by Chicago-based Relay Worldwide.

The Masters Tournament is considered some of the most valuable real estate in all of televised sports, with no on course branding and minimal commercial interruptions. The decision makers at Augusta National even go so far as to prevent beverage suppliers from placing logos on pull taps. Nonetheless, looking at television exposure, Relay's Brand Exposure Analysis is compiled using optical recognition technology that scans televised broadcasts for brand images and collects a series of data on each, including size, duration and location on screen. Based on this information, Relay computes a Viewer Engagement Index, which when coupled with spot costs for 30-second commercial units within the broadcast, provides the value for a brand's exposure.

Nike gained the top spot through its sponsorship of Tiger Woods, Rory Sabbatini and Paul Casey, while TaylorMade found itself at number two courtesy of Retief Goosen, Justin Rose, David Toms and Vaughn Taylor. Transamerica was the top brand on the list to sponsor tournament champion Zach Johnson, while curiously absent from the top 10 list was his apparel supplier, Dunning Golf, who likely missed out as a result of subdued logo treatments on sleeves and buckles.