Though tempted, I won’t comment here on the morality and integrity of Tiger Woods.  I’m only writing about the Tiger Woods brand.  And there is much to learn about marketing from watching Tiger’s response.  One of my favorite of the 7 Habits of Highly Successful People from Stephen Covey was “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”   Tiger’s response in the first few days demonstrated a real lack of seeking to understand the public reaction to his mess.   Rather than immediately and sincerely apologizing for his actions, he gave a response that angered many, including his sponsors AND his customers (the public that buys everything from Brand Tiger).  By acting defiantly toward the media and by failing to apologize sincerely, Tiger further eroded any brand equity he may have still had.  One lesson: before communicating for your brand, make sure you understand your customers…and their potential reaction to your communication.