The Growing Risks to Brand Reputation Could Become a “Game-Changer”
We are seeing it everywhere today – social activism and the misconduct of celebrities, CEO’s or politicians which provoke both shock and anger among their constituents. It could be sexual harassment, outlandish and incredible accusations, or any kind of behavior that is unexpected and inconsistent with their personal brand image. We have witnessed this with Weinstein, Elon Musk from Tesla and several congress people recently. In every case, their misconduct has negatively impacted their personal brand reputation and even their associated organization. The growing risk from a tarnished...
Read MoreA Branding Perspective – Why Nike Supports Kaepernick
The announcement that Nike is now using Colin Kaepernick, one of the most divisive American athletes in our time, to promote its brand was stunning, and guaranteed to further polarize a very partisan society. Most major companies steer away from stances that will surely anger so many constituents. Then why did Nike introduce such a controversial figure in its new “Just Do It” campaign? I’m not taking a position on whether this was right or wrong, but Nike’s action does represent an interesting case study on the strategic thinking for sustaining a proven and successful brand image. A...
Read MoreShould A Brand Take A Stand On Social Issues? When? Why? How?
Every CEO today is feeling the growing pressure to take a position on some social or cultural issue that has become mainstream in our digital, partisan world. It is a quandary for many companies. Why stick your neck out by initiating a point of view if no one has protested yet or your brand has not appeared in the news. Yes, every brand situation is different and there is never a clear path to take, but here are some pros/cons on relevant options to consider: Biggest “hot button” issues today – A 2018 study by Cone/Porter Novelli found that 71% of Americans expect companies to connect...
Read MoreHow CEOs Can Restore Their Company Brand Trust
You just can’t win, say many CEOs. Take a stand on almost any socio-economic issue today and you will delight many, but offend others. While our society has become so polarized and reactive, there is also a growing desire by most consumers, employees and investors for CEOs to take more proactive action to improve society. The dynamics of any journey to build trust and credibility are often confusing and conflicting. The latest Edelman Trust Barometer study found that the credibility of CEOs reached an all-time low of 37% in 2017, although it jumped up to 44% in 2018, followed by a rating...
Read MoreWill Growing Income Disparity Force CEOs To Re-Brand?
It is an event that has been dreaded by corporate executives for years. The pay ratio disclosure rule in the Dodd-Frank law is now being fully implemented, effective May, 2018. While Congress has chipped away many of the regulations of this law, it has retained the part that requires publicly traded companies to calculate and reveal the ratio between the CEO’s compensation and the median pay of the companies’ employees. This could be a huge challenge to the brand image for these chief executives and implicitly a risk for their company brand. Income inequality had been growing for...
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