Interesting story about Lance Armstrong. Accused of doping during his bike races at the Tour de France. Stripped of his medals. Stripped of his sponsorship by Nike. Voluntarily left the head administration at the Livestrong foundation. What does this tell us about marketing?
First, Nike was cautious to continue a retired cyclist who is also accused of doping in fear of the sponsorship hurting their brand. Yes, Nike has kept on other athletes in the past who have gone through similar situations, but the previous athletes were not nearing/at retirement and also had incidents that happened on the personal scene rather than the athletic scene. Though it is interesting that Nike continues to support the Livestrong foundation. Thus a reason that it is good Lance stepped down from the Livestrong foundation because otherwise it might appear that Nike is inadvertently supporting Lance by supporting Livestrong. I am happy to see that consumers are not revolting against the Livestrong foundation which is providing much help in cancer research and instead separating the two elements (Lance and the foundation). A word to the wise for companies - be ready for instances like this and no beforehand how you plan to handle them.
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