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.

Did you see the video of the Toronto woman who loses control in a parking lot and launches her SUV over two parked cars and then speeds away, leaving in her wake two destroyed vehicles and two very unhappy owners?

Hyundai Canada did. And they jumped on its as an opportunity to provide one of the victims (who happend to own a 2004 Hyundai) with a brand new Hyundai Elantra Touring. They presented it to him at the scene of the crime and then uploaded the footage to Youtube:

Since being posted three days ago, Hyundai’s video has received nearly 50,000 views – and counting fast. It’s a great little story that will likely spread quickly for Hyundai.

I have to give Hyundai credit for jumping quickly on an opportunity and doing something good for one of their customers. In addition, I haven’t been able to find a press release yet, so it appears they have only announced this action through Youtube. Not trying to turn this into a typical PR story is another savvy move for Hyundai that’ll enhance their perceived authenticity. And I wouldn’t be surprised if they get far more media attention because of it.

What will become of the owner of the other car that was destroyed (it wasn’t a Hyundai)? Will their manufacturer step up and help out? Or will another brand step in for some attention. We’ll have to wait and see.

And by the way, Canada’s worst driver has since been caught and charged with failing to remain at the scene.

Nike’s been taking heat recently over its apparent sponsorship re-signing of convicted dog-fighting ring master and NFL quarterback Michael Vick.

The day after Vick’s agent announced the deal, Nike went into damage control mode: they did provide him with Nike-branded gear, a Nike rep says, but never offered to re-sign him to a sponsorship. Sounds reasonable, but the damage was done – and Vick remains, however tenuously, linked to the Nike brand.

Thinking about bringing in some star power to give one of your brands a boost? Learn from Nike’s mistakes. Here’s how:

1. Make a credible link between the celebrity and your product.
Your celebrity sponsor needs to embody values that are consistent with your core brand values. Ask yourself this: could I realistically imagine this person using my product? If the answer is no, you’re barking up the wrong tree. The Buick-Tiger Woods relationship, for example, has always been a stretch for me. I just don’t believe Tiger Woods drives a Buick Rendezvous on the weekends. And isn’t that the point of the relationship? To convince a younger audience that if Tiger Woods drives a Buick, so should you?

2. Align your brand with a stronger brand.
Does the celebrity you’re considering have a brand that is at least as strong (or stronger) than yours? Maybe it’s a gut check, but start with a quick survey to suss out public opinion/awareness of this person. The celebrity you choose has to be easily recognizable by your target or there’s no point.

3. Do a background check.
Do your due diligence to try and understand who this person is. Is there a controversy lurking in the shadows waiting to leap out and sabotage your campaign? Better to know sooner than later.

4. Be prepared for problems.
If the wheels come off, what’s your contingency plan? Think about what could go wrong and how you would handle it. Then make a plan.

5. Measure your success.
Set specific objectives at the outset and then monitor closely if the relationship is having the desired impact. If it’s not, adjust your tactics or cut them loose.

Just remember, like any relationship there are good times and not so good times. By making informed decisions before you get hitched, you’ll be much better positioned for a long and prosperous union.

My first job after graduating from university was managing a local branch of Enterprise Rent-A-Car. It was a challenging customer service job. It was good experience. And I don’t miss it a bit.

My boss at the time taught me a lesson that’s as useful today as it was when it was conceived at the dawn of marketing: “Keep it simple, stupid.” Basically, take the most direct route to get to what really matters. At Enterprise, that meant providing great customer service, on time, and for a fair price. And it worked.

Since 1957, Enterprise has grown from a seven-car lease fleet to being the single-largest rental car company in North America. And they got there by focusing on one simple goal: The replacement industry – providing cars through insurance companies while customer cars were in for collision repairs. Enterprise kept it simple and they’re reaping the rewards.

Here’s another example. A piece in last month’s Economist described LVMH’s (Louis Vuitton’s parent company) business model along four lines: Product, Distribution, Communication and Price. By their way of thinking, if they get the first three right, the fourth doesn’t matter.

Hard to argue with one of the most successful premium brands in the world.

Marketers often find themselves trying to accomplish more than one objective in a single campaign.

Tight budgets tempt us into combining our marketing efforts so that each execution speaks to a wide range of targets about a wide range of products, service offerings, promotions and sales. In other words, “If you engage our brand and buy our thing and maybe do this other thing, you’ll get benefits x, y and z, and maybe a, b and c.”

But what would happen if – instead of diluting our message – we concentrated our marketing dollars around one goal, to one specific target, with one single message?

Think Dove’s “Campaign for Real Beauty”, Obama’s “Hope”, Bell’s “We are all connected.”

The lesson is still simple: when we stay focused on single, achievable objectives, we have a much better chance of actually realizing them.

. . . but it’s worth trying

From Loblaws’ wind turbines, to the LCBO’s war on plastic bags, and Land Rover’s carbon offset program – touting your environmental credentials has become an essential part of any large organization’s marketing mix.

And while it’s important to be part of the solution, many marketers are missing a big opportunity to lead. They’re spending their money on showy one-off tactics rather than developing robust, long-term sustainability strategies.

What’s at stake? Organizational credibility and a potential hit to the bottom line.

British Telecom (BT) is an example of an organization that’s getting it right. The telecommunications giant has set clear and measurable sustainability targets. And they’ve done a good job of communicating those targets both internally and externally. Most important, they are walking the walk and being recognized for it – placing seventh in a recent Times of London list of the UK’s Best Green Companies.

How did BT get there?

They created the single largest corporate wind power project outside the energy sector in the UK. They have engaged their employees to contribute by encouraging them to reduce their carbon footprint at home and in their communities by 20% by 2012. And they have a stated goal to provide consumers with products and services that will help them reduce their greenhouse emissions by 50% by 2020.

It’s an ambitious strategy – and it’s enabled BT to expand its portfolio to include additional revenue streams, such as through its carbon impact assessment consultancy.

Being green isn’t always easy, but by thinking beyond tactics and into the heart of the strategic opportunity, “Green” can be a credible PR push, and a new profit centre for your business.

General Motors’ “Reinvention” is well underway. And while its new equity campaign asks Canadians to “see, follow, join”, the auto giant may be missing a pivotal opportunity to connect with Canadians in a meaningful way.

Let’s step back and imagine the brief:

Situation: In the midst of a very public bankruptcy that will see both the Canadian and American governments take control of a diminished General Motors, massive job losses, dealer closures, and brand eliminations are capturing the lion’s share of consumer attention.

Goal: Convince consumers it’s still safe to buy/own GM products.

Target: Existing and future GM customers, males and females between 18 and 54.

How: Develop a TV ad and website to reach consumers. Use social media to connect with consumers on their terms.

Proof: Through bankruptcy-enabled restructuring, GM is rebuilding itself to be a leaner, greener and profitable company.

To that end, there is an anthemic TV spot with the obligatory on-the-mat imagery that suggests the path to Reinvention is as easy as picking up and dusting off:

The online component includes a website that’s packed with aspirational images and the promise of future innovation.

Social media brings up the rear with a decent hit of frontline personality – a nice change for this historically aloof organization. Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr – all used well enough, though by no means innovatively enough given the opportunity to lead in that space.

Then there was the poorly conceived and received “230” campaign, a “teaser” for GM’s 2010 Volt. The campaign has been widely criticized for being too obscure (not linking to product early enough), and for being a mid-stream teaser for a product they’ve already been talking about for a year.

So instead of getting “down to business”, as the campaign line suggests, this pretty much plays out as business as usual for GM.

Where are the real innovations a “Reinvention” invites? How about asking consumers to be involved in shaping the future of the company they now have a stake in? How about letting consumers vote on the direction for GM’s next ad campaign? Or better yet, how about an online platform that lets consumers have a hand in product design?

Jeremy Cato, an automotive journalist with the Globe and Mail, wrote recently that GM needs to stop focusing on products that are years down the road and start talking about products that are currently in market. Sounds like good advice.

Reinvention is a tall order, and a big promise. And it’s going to take more than Twitter feeds, obscure virals, and Facebook fan pages to dig them out of their crisis of consumer confidence.