Call a spade a shovel

I couldn't believe it. I read that there's a PGA golf tournament coming called the Quail Hollow Championship in Charlotte, NC. So what? Well until this year, it used to be called the "Wachovia Championship."

Oh, I get it (so I thought), Wachovia backed out and the locals decided to run the tourney anyway, right? No. The truth is that Wachovia is still sponsoring it and paying millions of bucks for it but they don't want their name promoted because it might be viewed negatively.

Is Wachovia right? Would there be bad press if the tourney remained The Wachovia Championship? Is it better that they still spend the money but don't have their name on it?

I am not making a judgment on Wachovia, rather I'm wondering if there is too much fear and not enough common sense. The idea is that sponsoring the tourney is good business for them, that it actually would help their sales and brand awareness. Taking their name off the title, won't help that.

Now, if the idea is that if they take their name off the title, that people may not know that they paid millions for the tournament, then that's another story.

In my opinion, as a friend of mine said, "You need to call a spade a shovel." Wachovia is living up to their promise to sponsor the tourney and they deserve to have their name on the tournament.

What's your opinion?


Barry LaBov, CEO
LaBov and Beyond
www.labov.com