Your Brand is Your Character - So Don’t Tarnish It

Written by Kevin Levi
on April 18th, 2007 / Leave a Comment / Print this

The recent slurs by Don Imus remind us that both bigotry is alive and well in the U.S. and that your brand and your reputation go hand in hand. Once you tarnish either, it is hard - if not impossible - to recover. Take Enron and Arthur Andersen, two bellwethers of their day that sunk like a lead brick in a bathtub. Despite the decades of above-board client service and corporate stewardship, all it took was one allegation, and it was all over.

I have been in Public Relations for over 12 years and have seen my share of good press and bad press. While the good press can raise stock prices, increase market share, boost sales and the like, negative publicity can diminish customer confidence, drive away loyal customers and reduce sales or a stock price. The often referred to phrase, “any press is good press”, in my opinion, is just bad advice and ignorance. Trust me when I tell you that bad press is just that - bad.

Let’s draw an analogy of a new company on the market and a new student in high school. Both are brimming with potential from the start but can easily falter with one or two bad decisions. Suppose a high-profile investor courts the new company, while a popular cheerleader cajoles the student. Then, let’s assume something goes terribly wrong in both situations, for whatever reason. Let’s say the new company has a president that was accused of embezzlement but later acquitted, and the investor found out. In the same vein, the boy was tried but acquitted of stealing money from his church, and the girl suddenly learned of this. In either case, this new dose of bad news would most certainly drive the other parties away. The would-be investor would likely walk away and tell others in the industry what he has learned about the new company. Likewise, the cheerleader might tell the guy off and also notify all of her friends. Both the new company and the new student lose, big!

While only examples, these scenarios demonstrate the sensitivity of one’s reputation, or one’s brand. These characteristics by which you or your business is known, or comes to be known, are what define you/your business. If it’s positive, coddle and protect it as much as possible, because it can be your golden jewel and propel you to success. If negative, do everything you can to turn it around. It can be your black widow and keep you down - all the way down - and never let you back up again.

In the end please remember these two phrases, they might just save (or drive) your reputation:

1. Bad press IS BAD!

2. Any press is only good if it is positive

Kevin B. Levi
Winning Message LLC.
www.winningmessage.com