Trinkets, trash and adult colouring books
Your brand is your user experience
Merry Amex-mas (Augmented Fun From Down Un)
Where do you stand on SOPA and PIPA?
So Tiger is a bust. His squeaky clean image is broken and it turns out he’s not perfect after all. In fact, he may have done some pretty despicable things. Should Nike, Gillette and AT&T bail out – or can they ride out this storm?
I believe my previous advice still follows: before aligning your brand with a celebrity you need to do your homework. Now let’s say you’ve done all that and your celebrity still comes off the rails. Let’s talk about damage control.
Do you have a plan for navigating through this difficult time? Should you comment publicly and support your star or do you watch from the sidelines as the carnage plays out. It’s a difficult position to be in, but having a plan of attack is critical.
A few ideas:
1. Gather as much information as possible from your contact (the source, agent, PR manager, lawyer, others) about the real story. Is there more to it than the media is currently reporting? Things not made public yet, but that will be coming shortly? What is the star’s communication strategy in this situation? As a paying customer, you have the right to know.
2. Bring together key internal stakeholders to determine your position – is the celebrity’s transgression a deal breaker? Could the association be negative for your brand (with consumers, employees, shareholders, key partners, etc.)? How will you measure that on short notice? An internal survey amongst your employees and best customers may help you get a quick gauge of public perception.
3. Develop a plan to communicate your company position internally and externally. What will you say and when? Who will send the message? How will they send it and to whom (email, blog, press release, phone, media)?
4. Continue to monitor the situation and be ready to re-evaluate and course-correct as required.
Having a plan makes good sense. But to be effective it needs to be well thought out – not reactive. Take a few minutes when you begin your celebrity relationship to consider what could go wrong and develop a road map for how to deal with it.
Ian Mackenzie
December 4, 2009 @ 5:08 pm
Great post Steve.
Do you know of any examples of brands that have actually stepped up in defense of their celebrity endorser who’s come under fire? Or somehow turned it into an opportunity?