Branding
Brand bounce?
The profanity-laced tirade from Serena Williams this past week at the US Open has me wondering about the double-edged sword that is celebrity endorsement. Something that might have turned into a real PR and branding nightmare has dissipated significantly and the winds of negativity seem to have blown over. Serena handled herself well in the fact that she admitted that she let her emotions get the better of her. She took responsibility for her bad behaviour and apologized. She did not try to scurry away from the spotlight or place blame on someone or something else. To sum up, she simply “manned up”.
It serves to demonstrate that bad press following a negative celebrity moment does not necessarily sound the death knell for the relationship or the brand. As discussed above, the conduct of the celebrity has an enormous impact on if and how a brand can recover. A genuine apology, issued in a timely manner, employing humour if appropriate can go along way to making reparations. If handled properly, these incidents can be used for future advertising endorsements.
This story seems to have had a good ending. There are others that don’t end as well. Sometimes, there is no other choice for a company but to cut the celebrity loose. Take for example golden boy Michael Phelps. In this case, however, it is important to note that Kellogs was the only one of many of Phelp’s sponsorship endorsements to pull out.
While there may be no precise formula, there do seem to be a standard set of taboo topics that no amount of spin can contain, including rape, murder, and drunk driving. See Kobe Bryant.
For the celebrity, it can be perceived as a temporary lapse in good personal judgment. For the company and brands that employ these celebrities, it can be perceived as bad overall judgment of what their brand represents and who best represents it. There’s no real formula to determine how negative the impact will be, but how the individual and the company choose to handle the backlash can go a long way to limiting the collateral damage.
To Serena, I say “well done”. To Kanye West I say do yourself and everyone else a favour and take a page from Ms. Williams’ playbook.
Maple Leaf killed a bunch of people and they seem to be doing okay. Too big to fail?
Serena has always had a shaky reputation. It’s not the first time she’s threatened someone on the court and it probably won’t be the last. She’s a polarizing figure. This will just further polarize fans already in a “love” or “hate” camp (guess which one I’m in). As to the handling of it, her initial statement didn’t even contain an apology. Just an excuse. Oops. They corrected that a day later. That video will live on forever though.
Of course, Johnny Mac turned his infamy to his advantage years later… doing commercials where he made fun of himself. Funny. Then again, his rants, although just as emotionally intense… or more… where kind of funny by comparison. He never actually cursed or threatened physical harm to anyone… he’d just lose his mind saying “YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS” over and over again. LOL.
Who are these Kanye and Swift people? Never heard of ‘em
p.s. Nice title… brand “bounce”. Ha
not understanding why people have challenges/difficulties leting female athletes express themselves….This amazes me. For years people have complained about how boring tennis was because the players lacked emotions. I can recall people loving tennis when J.Mac played. and o please i really believe people went to watch great tennis yes but mostly to watch him get rude all fired up and abusive with the lines people. In any other sports people love all the action. Hockey they beat each-other up. Basketball the same. OMG they even go after fans. and everyone loves it!!!! I’m tired of the double standards… I could remember when women tennis players didnt get paid and that was changed. Thank you for standing up for what you believed in. But what i have noticed it seems to be ok when the Tiger has a fit on tv and all we he hear is beep beep beep….Stop sleping, wake up and make it happen people. Stop trying to control how women should look and act while playing sports. Shame on you. Yes Serena actions were not the best but like all the best she has great passion for tennis. So just fine her and move on. And please dont get me started about commiting felonies and still allow to play. I would hate to think that this is all about her being a lady and black…..how sad. Viva Serena.
Well said! I really enjoy this blog. I especially agree that bad press does not always = the end. A similar article I came across today reminds me of quite the same argument, entitled “How (Not) To complain” and the image left to salvage in dealing with press time gone wrong. http://! blogs.harvardbusiness.org/quelch/2009/09/how_not_to_complain.html
Side note: poor taylor!