Tag: Brand Reputation

3 Tactics for Brands to Successfully Work With Creators | Entrepreneur
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
If you are reading this, you’re likely aware you need to invest in creator talent to curate a more relevant brand presence. You also realize that there is no clean-cut playbook to building creator relationships with creators and, moreover, effectively working with them.

Creators are becoming a high-demand resource as brands are in dire need of “creative directors” that can curate an online presence that’s authentic, purposeful and relatable. And for a reason — they are unique entities that extend beyond vanity likes and views. They are creative production powerhouses invested in providing valuable content to their highly engaged communities.

The role of a creator has evolved quickly over the past few years. We’ve observed the slow death of the Kardashian-esque “influencer” — and the rise of a more approachable “creator” (think: MrBeast, Dylan Mulvaney or Alix Earle) has been the response to the large-scale rejection of influencer figures. In a way, influencers have morphed into creators — at least those who’ve embraced this major shift in user expectations — as authenticity, raw aesthetics and niche communities become the new staple.In other words, users are tired of associating influencers with unattainable lifestyles and unrealistic expectations — and the creators are here to fill the need for connection and community where influencers fell short. And brands need to keep up, whether they like it or not.

Not only have the expectations changed, but the path to becoming a creator has become more accessible than ever. Compelling storytelling skills, a niche perspective and a smartphone with a camera are virtually the only qualifiers for anyone to dip their toes into content creation — a radical change from the requirements of becoming an influencer from a decade ago.

Yes, there is a plethora of talent out there. With the rise of TikTok and content formats like short-form video, the barrier to entry into the world of content creation is lower than ever.

But just because the pool of talent isn’t shallow doesn’t mean that finding the right talent and engaging them well becomes easy. So here are three strategies that will help streamline your work with creators.

Related: Why the Creator Ethos Is Key to the Future of Work

1. Do your research on the creators

Creators are, essentially, spokespeople for brands. They become the face, the manifestation, the representation of the brand through short-form video — which means that choosing who to work with is a point of a lot of pressure for brands.

There are a few ways to take a deep dive into the who, what and why behind each creator. To begin with, taking a look at their current social media presence is a simple starting point. But in doing so, look beyond the vanity follower number and ask yourself instead:
- What is their engagement across platforms? How is the community reacting?
- Do they strike a chord with the community they plug into or foster?
- Do they have a unique point of view or storytelling ability?
Going a step further, it’s essential to leverage tools such as the TikTok Creator Marketplace that will give brands insight into demographic data and account performance. This allows brands to understand what kind of audience the creator has created, how exactly the audience engages and what overlap there is between the brand’s ideal audience and the community in which the creator has established a presence.

Last but not least, it’s important for brands to learn to leverage TikTok SEO to identify what creators already capture the high-intent traffic that they seek to capture. Specifically, identifying key search terms for TikTok Search and identifying creators who currently rank for them.

Establishing such alignment between the brand and the creator is key to a successful partnership in the long term.

Related: How and Why Luxury Brands Should Embrace TikTok

2. Consider working with in-house creators

With the rise of creators, brands striving for a strong social presence, and short-form video in general, user attention has become the hottest commodity on the market — and the competition for it is fierce. This means that brands are under pressure to maintain a high quality and quantity of production to ensure they consistently deliver on the communities’ expectations for engaging and valuable content. This also encourages brands to provide timely commentary on relevant conversations across platforms, further humanizing them and offering them a seat at the table for ongoing community discussions.

This means that content creation is moving from a nice-to-have to a must-have — and a sure way to ensure a full-time dedication to upholding the volume. This model (a shift from the traditional campaign-based partnerships) is still on the rise and is only becoming more and more popular as creators on their end also begin to seek more stability, long-term brand partnerships and professional growth. Whether it’s bringing a creator in-house or working with an agency offering in-house creator capabilities, brands need a strategy to help them stay competitive in an oversaturated content space.

3. Strike the balance between creator freedom and brand control

One big challenge for brands is to manage trust in the creator’s creative process while publicly safeguarding the brand’s persona.

Working with a creator requires brands to push the boundaries of their comfort zone because the winning content always carries an element of the creator’s personality or unique delivery — and it’s up to them how they ease a brand’s message into their own community and style. It can be challenging for a brand to experiment with humor, timeliness, vulnerability and authenticity. But this kind of relinquishment of creative control — a shift in the power dynamics of the brand’s narrative — is crucial to effectively partnering and building a sense of kinship with creators and, by extension, their own communities.

For brands to satisfy their need to drive the narrative, however, it’s important to develop a clear briefing process that guides the creator rather than controls them. A few key elements a successful brief should include are:
- Ideal brand audience
- Key product/service value propositions
- Previous successful content pieces
- Key talking points
- Any rigid don’t’s that creators should steer away from
Marina Chilingaryan

Source link
May 8, 2023
Facing a PR Nightmare? Here’s What to Look for in a PR Firm for Reputation Management and Defense | Entrepreneur

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Every executive’s worst nightmare is that your brand or someone in the company makes a reputation-destroying blunder. Whether intentional or not, the damage is done and executives must take immediate action. The best way to handle this situation is to hire an innovative, tactical public relations firm with a strategy-based method to counteract negative press.

Too many times, companies look to their internal marketing team for solutions. Yet, these teams are too close to the problem to implement solutions that an outside firm could implement more efficiently. But what should an executive look for when choosing a PR firm?

Related: What to Do When You Wake Up to a PR Crisis

Tactical strategy

When choosing a PR firm, it is crucial to find one that will provide more than just press releases, as the firm will need to develop an overarching strategy for reputation management. Your chosen PR firm should be able to anticipate potential risks and plan for potential opportunities. They should also be able to monitor and respond quickly to new developments and changing circumstances. A good PR firm will understand how to effectively manage the media while developing relationships with journalists and influencers who can help spread positive messages about your company.

Industry experience

Finding a PR firm with experience working in your particular industry or sector is also essential. This way, they will understand the industry’s nuances and any prevailing trends that could benefit your situation. Working with an experienced PR team can ensure that your messaging is on point and appropriate when addressing specific issues within an industry niche or target market segment.

Related: A 3-Step Plan for Handling Any PR Crisis

Ability to craft a unique strategy

No companies are alike, and different situations require different tactics. The chosen PR firm must be able to craft a unique strategy tailored specifically to your company’s needs rather than using an off-the-shelf approach that does not consider individual nuances. A good PR firm will begin by understanding your brand and learning about its history, values, mission statement and goals before crafting a plan based on all these factors, industry trends and insights from its research teams.

Working on PR strategy is about more than PR campaigns. Developing a sound PR strategy also involves identifying leaders who could be likely to make mistakes that could have implications for the company’s reputation and PR strategy. Continuous PR blunders can be detrimental to companies, disrupting the message pushed through current PR strategies and leading to further confusion in PR efforts. Thoughtful reputation management means ensuring all voices, from C-suite executives to employees, stay aligned with the PR goals of the company. Companies must implement preventative measures that uphold their public image and minimize any mistakes, particularly when it comes to leaders within the organization. These preventive measures must be part of the strategy offered by the chosen PR firm.

Understanding of digital platforms

Any chosen PR firm must understand social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc., as well as SEO optimization techniques that help increase visibility on search engines like Google. It is also vital that they understand various analytics tools that can evaluate performance across different platforms and measure success against predetermined goals in the initial strategy plan they craft. These metrics are invaluable in helping gauge progress throughout any reputation management campaign, so make sure your chosen agency understands how to track success through data-driven methods.

Methodology

It is also important to inquire about their specific methodology when it comes to handling your particular situation. Understanding a PR firm’s methods in the reputation management campaign is paramount. It is critical to seek out PR firms that can tailor their approach to fit your objectives, whether bolstering an existing positive reputation with an online article campaign or constructing a series of interviews to get new messaging out to the public. As such, ask each PR firm what methodologies they will employ to ensure that you hire the best-suited PR team to meet your needs and secure lasting success.

Communication style

At times like these, communication is critical, so be sure to ask potential PR firms about their communication style before hiring them. Do they provide regular updates on progress? Are they available 24/7 if needed? Can they quickly adjust the message strategy if required? These are all questions you should ask yourself when considering different PR firms for reputation management services; open communication between both parties is essential during times like these to ensure success.

Related: The Much-Anticipated “Great Recession of 2023” Is Coming. Here’s How To Leverage PR During Economic Uncertainty

Track record of success

Finally, select a PR firm with a proven track record of success. Ask them about their big or small victories and how they achieved those outcomes for their clients. A good PR team will be able to share stories about how they were able to successfully turn around bad press or create positive sentiment around difficult situations. This proactive approach can mean salvaging your reputation or watching it burn.

Conclusion

Overall, when searching for a PR agency for reputation management and defense, there are several key factors that you should consider, including tactical strategy, industry experience, and past successes. The right agency will be able to develop an effective plan based on these criteria – ensuring quick action while mitigating further damage from negative press coverage or public scrutiny. By choosing wisely now, you can save yourself from much pain later.

Adam Horlock

Source link

February 24, 2023
How to Build a Reputation That Leads to Success

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

As Robert Greene wrote in his book, The 48 Laws of Power, “… your reputation is the cornerstone of your power. It will protect you and help influence how the world judges you, at least to some extent. Reputation is like a wizard: With a wave of the wand, it can double your power and drive away your pursuers. Whether the same deeds look great or terrible depends a lot on the reputation of the doer — who, in our case, is an entrepreneur.”

How can you create your management philosophy, master the ability to make an impact beyond your business and make it work for you? All of it is about building a powerful personal brand, which reflects who you are and what your company is. Your reputation may even determine the business value for investors or partners. The importance of embracing personal branding is noticeable to many well-known entrepreneurs, athletes and even scientists. So, here are a few tips for building a reputation that will become a real asset for you:

Related: Before You Grow, Focus on Building a Strong Reputation

Create a dream

Think beyond just selling a product, concept or service, but lifestyles and dreams as well. For example, WeWork isn’t just a coworking space — it is, as per its ex-CEO Adam Neumann, a place where you can create the life you want, join a community, develop friendships and even meet the love of your life. At least that’s what Neumann was telling everyone (new hires, potential investors and his wife, Rebekah). The approach certainly paid off.

Of course, there is also Elon Musk, who has forever been focused on conquering space. He’s selling a dream of interplanetary travel through SpaceX — and successfully, as the company just recently managed to raise $750 million at a $137 billion valuation.

But we have to exercise some caution … dreams can play tricks on us. Mark Zuckerberg’s vision of a meta-universe where billions of people spend hours working, communicating and playing games in virtual and augmented worlds has yet to be proven. Meta’s flagship VR game, Horizon Worlds, remains glitchy and unpopular, and investors are concerned that the company is spending too much on its metaverse gamble. Still, Zuckerberg seems confident the strategy will pay off, with long-term project investment planned for the foreseeable future.

Numbers and statistics matter of course, but so does your dreamy vision. Unless you’re straight-up lying about your project’s KPIs, focusing on the bigger picture instead of profits is a wise choice. Ultimately, it’s the investors’ job to check the viability of your business idea.

Find your strengths, and use them as your business card

Don’t be ashamed of the qualities that make you stand out from the crowd and attract attention. These qualities will become your business card and assist you in successfully navigating difficult situations. For example, your reputation as an honest businessman can provide you with powerful advantages ready to be leveraged against rivals or in negotiations.

Musk has always been focused on breakthrough innovations, positioning himself as a man with no limits. His core value and strength is seeing the impossible and taking it as a challenge, continuously pushing the boundaries of what was believed possible. This consistent approach, even when combined with impulsive decisions, has allowed him to establish his personal brand as one able to move the stock market with just one tweet.

Become Googleable

One main indicator of a successful PR strategy is being able to Google yourself or your brand and find convincing results. What counts as “convincing” depends, of course, on your goals. If you need the ability to borrow a lot of money, make sure the media portrays you as a trustworthy and prospective entrepreneur.

“Google me,” says Neumann (ex-CEO of WeWork) to the bank clerk in the show WeCrashed after being offered a ridiculously small loan. After a quick search, the clerk sends Neumann to one of the bank’s top managers, where the entrepreneur immediately becomes a VIP client — and secures a line of credit worth millions. “Google me, boo,” says singer, actress and entrepreneur Patti LaBelle to those who doubt that she’s still working at the age of 78.

I personally received accreditation for a significant business event, thanks to a publication in Entrepreneur. The event organizers could Google me and see who I was and what I represented. Many of my past clients have also found information about my agency through expert comments I’ve posted. My own example clearly shows that people tend to trust people familiar to them. A personal brand allows someone to “know you” — to remove the stranger status and replace it with a trusted one. All other things being equal, we will always prefer investing our time and money in someone we know.

Related: 4 Mistakes You’re Making That Can Jeopardize Your Reputation

Stay committed and don’t try to please everyone

Staying true to yourself and being able to speak your truth boldly is the core around which you can build a personal brand in any field. This approach inevitably both attracts and scares people away, but the alternative is much worse. Once you settle on pleasing everyone, you become interesting to no one.

Cristiano Ronaldo has always been deeply committed to his standards of excellence and has made sure to live up to those values. Early in his career, he was perceived as arrogant because of his strong belief in his own abilities and big dreams. Despite all the criticism he received, he remained true to those values and never settled for less to please others. His results speak for themselves.

Focus on building your own reputation rather than ruining others’

Oftentimes critics and competitors will do or say things that make us want to hit back and try to ruin their reputation. But you better think twice before taking any action.

The famous inventor Thomas Edison believed that any mechanism could work using direct current. When the Serbian scientist Nikola Tesla announced that he had managed to construct a mechanism running on alternating current, Edison was outraged. He decided to trample on Tesla’s reputation.

To do this, he was going to publicly prove that alternating current machines were hazardous and blame Tesla for it. Edison subjected many pets to fatal AC shocks. This did not seem to be enough, so he approached the New York State Prison authorities with a proposal to execute a criminal using alternating current as a demonstration of its lethality. However, he miscalculated the voltage, and while the criminal was electrocuted, he did not die. The execution had to be repeated.

Edison’s reputation suffered greatly as a result, and Tesla’s notoriety only increased. Don’t go all in on these disparaging attacks — they will likely draw far more attention to your vindictiveness rather than the qualities of the person you’re attacking. If your reputation is strong, you can use more subtle techniques like satire and mockery to weaken your opponent. It pays to be charming and witty.

Know when to fade into the shadows

It’s true that for someone to get results, they must not be afraid to shine brightly. However, history shows that sometimes it’s an equally good idea to dim the lights a little.

Nicolas Fouquet was the Superintendent of Finances in France from 1653 to 1661 under King Louis XIV. His political career was brilliant … while it lasted. Fouquet’s rapid ascent up the political elite’s ladder, combined with his wealth and unconcealed ambition, raised his prestige but made him countless enemies at court. Ultimately, he lost favor with the young king of France, probably as a result of his extravagant display of wealth and increasing societal influence. The king imprisoned him from 1661 until his death in 1680. The lesson here is that sometimes it pays to lower your own brightness to achieve your goals.

Neumann, at one point, very clearly used his fame to influence his partners’ decisions. However, when his reputation got out of control, his misdeeds began to embarrass investors. As the company began to prepare for their IPO, the board of directors decided to put him in the shade and take on a CEO without such a controversial personal brand.

Related: Reputation Management In An Increasingly Transparent World

All in all, building a personal brand is crucial for everyone — you never know when it will come in handy. If you are an entrepreneur, your reputation will make it easier to attract funding. For a top manager, it will help increase value in the hiring process. The more people in your target audience that know about you, the more benefits you can realize in the long run. And that’s equally true for someone who wants to launch a rocket into space or the person looking for a job to build it.

Evgeniya Zaslavskaya

Source link

January 30, 2023
7 Secrets of Truly Successful Personal Brands

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

The choice to launch your brand is noticeable. But creating a solid brand is essential. Authenticity, consistency, initiative, confidence, courage, and time are required to complete everything.

Personal branding is not a thing to do because social media says so. Today it’s an essential element in your communication strategy, used by not only famous and influential people and big businesses but also every individual that wants to be seen, heard and ultimately valued.

Globally, everyday people are already creating their own brands. The corporate branding machine enslavement is too much, so many professionals are leaving employment. It is crucial to build your brand authority because other than leading to commercial and reputational opportunities, it’s also positive for your self-expression.

Better clientele, industry recognition and financial gains result from it. Due to declining trust in our institutions, customers trust individuals more than businesses; therefore, you should concentrate on establishing your personal (and business) brand as part of your elevation strategy.

Check out these seven personal branding success secrets:

1. Find and curate your “A-Team”

A new brand’s path can be pretty tricky and resemble an endless race of overcoming technical, emotional and personal obstacles. A key component of overcoming these obstacles is finding and building a solid team that shares your vision and mission.

Co-founders, workers, advisers, consultants, mentors, coaches and even dependable family members may be a part of your team — link your team selection to your values and ideals and favor compatibility above competence.

Related: I’ve Interviewed and Hired Thousands of People. Here’s What to Keep in Mind Before Offering the Job.

2. Tap into future trends and needs

Adapting based on future trends and customer needs is pivotal because the world is evolving daily. For example, if Jeff Bezos tried setting up an online bookstore today, he would most possibly fail miserably. However, his foresight to know what customers need drove Amazon to a global ecommerce store today. Timing is everything!

Likewise, knowing the market’s future can help your brand make the right moves and become successful. But it doesn’t imply it’s impossible to foresee how the corporate world will develop. What matters most is how analytically sound you are and how well-equipped you are to anticipate future events.

Even though it won’t always be exact to a tee, this will give you a solid idea of where things are going. Making assumptions about future trends carries some calculated risk, but staying safe will never help you or your brand grow.

Related: Looking for a New Business Idea? Here’s How to Identify What People Really Need

3. Unlearn outdated trends to make way for the new

For a brand to flourish, it is vital to unlearn in business. We can only build something fresh and distinctive if we let go of our outdated attitudes and practices—discovering a new project or closing a transaction with unexpected customers results from curiosity.

Unlearning is a systematic strategy to advance and overcome barriers one at a time.

Entrepreneurship success is composed of 20% learning and 80% unlearning. Remove the restrictive presumptions to make room for helpful information.

4. Think fast for solutions and act fast

One of the secrets to a great brand is having the capacity to think and respond quickly. Since environmental issues are worsening, the brand must move soon, seek eco-alternatives and sustainable solutions that reduce their adverse effects, and convey the concept of conscious living to the next generation as quickly as possible.

Simply acting quickly and moving quickly to find answers can give you a competitive edge. If you are not in a technology-dominant business-like distribution, manufacturing, or something not typically controlled by technology firms, your rivals are probably advancing slowly. We must make many daily decisions, but some are more crucial than others.

For example, eating is essential, but whether you choose a salad, chicken or a Big Mac is less important at the moment. You can think more rapidly if you can swiftly pick what to eat. Even if your choice weren’t the best, the effects would be minimal in the short term.

5. Be adaptable and flexible

Being an entrepreneur entails weighing possibilities and dangers equally. This will help you create a distinct brand and ensure its long-term survival and competitiveness. Many new brands tend to concentrate on a single item or service.

Meanwhile, they frequently need to see the value of brand creation right away. Startup brands often think that the benefits of their products are evident and that the brand can speak for itself. You can only place that much faith in some potential consumers.

You must include the development of your brand skills in your content strategy and make sure that the visuals reflect this.

You must evaluate new items in light of your company values as you grow. Check to see if your objectives are compatible, and if not, make any necessary modifications.

6. Become an autodidact

After college, education for most people typically comes to an end. However, your reputation will continue to rise if you develop a passion for studying and being an autodidact.

However, in this day and age of information overload and many online distractions, being an effective autodidact can be taxing. Therefore, staying focused on your mission is more crucial than ever.

Some people contend that the age of the autodidact, or self-directed learning, is currently upon us. After all, the internet is brimming with tools for self-learning that you can utilize to build your brand. However, beware that some may lack substance and are merely shiny bells and whistles.

Related: 6 Little-Known Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs

7. Be street smart

Being “street smart,” or able to foresee and handle unexpected everyday business issues, is generally seen as a crucial ability for brand owners and entrepreneurs.

Most investors claim to be able to spot this capacity when they see it, but the experience is necessary to describe it. To be a street-smart person, you need to comprehend your brand’s surroundings or condition well.

You are consciously aware of your surroundings. Moreover, you can see what’s happening around you even when you can’t see it. You can form opinions about the situation based on lived experience, the environment and the people in it, giving you the confidence to put your faith in these opinions.

Related: Are You ‘Intelligent’ Enough to Be an Entrepreneur?

Conclusion

To succeed at personal branding, you must be a brand new, evolving you. In a world full of imitators, be genuine and authentic to yourself.

Authentic personal branding is more than simply self-promotion and marketing commonly seen online. It focuses more on making a courageous difference in people’s lives and inspiring them to live better lives. It can also be about inspiring humanity to do good. After 33 years in this game, I believe and practice that “doing good” is all possible.

You must invest time and effort to be the “go-to” authority in your chosen area. All things worth doing must be done well; therefore, it’s better to make the most of that time and effort!

Applying the seven tips above will help you create an authentic personal brand that is true to you and enjoy the success that will inevitably follow.

Jon Michail

Source link

December 3, 2022
Don’t Overlook The Warning Signs of a Controversial Brand Partner Like Kanye West
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Ye, also known as Kanye West, has been a problematic public figure for years. From the time he wore a White Lives Matter shirt to the time he said slavery was a “choice” in a TMZ newsroom, Ye has always hidden behind the guise of “free thinking” to spread discrimination, alternative histories and controversy that pose a threat to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) as we know it.

Ye isn’t the only public figure leveraging media as a way to enable harmful “free speech.” After months of Elon Musk performing political theater around purchasing Twitter to reclaim “free speech” on the platform, Ye threw in his hat and offered to purchase Parler, a social media alternative to Facebook and Instagram.

Public figures like Ye and Elon are opening the floodgates for hateful speech and violence to arise. Given the red flags, why do brands continue to ignore the dangers of partnering with public figures with controversial pasts with DEI? My theory is they looked past harmful rhetoric and move forward with business contracts for one main reason: profit.

Brands put profit over ethics all the time and the consequences are often a tarnished public image and a growing distrust amongst consumers. Brands that have looked the other way are now in a situation where they have to publicly cut ties to protect their image.

Could brands have seen the red flags and denied a partnership with Ye from the beginning? Yes. Did they probably know the risks? Yes. Did they make the right choice to stick it out until it backfired? Only time will tell.

No matter what, it should not have taken years of hateful comments for brands to step away from Ye. His most recent anti-semitic comments unearthed a disturbing rise in hate crimes directed towards Jewish people in recent years.

Related: Kanye West Was Just Escorted Out of Skechers’ LA Office: “We Condemn His Recent Divisive Remarks”

The recent rise of anti-Semitism shouldn’t be ignored

Before Ye’s inflammatory comments about Jewish people, hate crimes against those in the Jewish community were at an all-time high. An estimated 1 in 4 American Jews say they experienced anti-semitism in the last year. In 2021 alone, there were a reported 2,717 anti-semitic incidents in the US. With such an obvious rise in hate crimes, why aren’t more DEI practitioners and businesses focusing on it?

My theory is that folks of Jewish descent have often been associated with “white people” and are grouped that way in national census data. Therefore, other minority groups may not know that Jews experience an elevated level of hate crimes. Other minority groups may be so focused on their own mistreatment and trauma that it’s hard for them to imagine why someone who is categorized as a “white person” would experience what they do.

The truth is that some Jewish people may have very different lived experiences depending on where they live, how deep their Orthodox traditions are, and how their lifestyles contrast with the surrounding culture.

Above all, we know Jewish folks have been persecuted for centuries with anti-semitism coming to a head in WWII with the forced relocation and violence against Jews from Germany and other parts of Eastern Europe.

Since then, Jewish folks have come a long way in owning high-yield businesses in banking, finance and the entertainment industry. No matter their economic status or position in the business world, they’re human beings and should be treated with respect without having to sacrifice their safety in the process.

With the rise of hate crimes against Jewish folks and the continual threats faced by women, racial minorities and other groups, there’s never been a better time for businesses to put a magnifying glass on the DEI practices of public figures and influencers who they wish to partner with.

Don’t turn a blind eye to DEI red flags for profit

Brands that partnered with Ye already knew he was controversial, but they were blinded by dollar signs and wilfully ignored his controversial history for profit. As a DEI consultant, I work with big and small businesses that are often straddling the line between profit and ethics. If your leadership team has to rethink working with a public figure because of their checkered past, take a pause and look at why that is.

It’s one thing to work with a public figure who had a controversial past, owned up, apologized and is ready to make amends. However, looking away and working with figures who continue to commit harmful actions and speech toward minority groups is the fault of brands that have chosen to ignore those red flags and assume the risk.

If the idea of working with a public figure triggers a gut check with members of your team because of the person’s past comments and actions, reconsider whether you want your brand to be connected to that person. The more we look the other way and fund figures whose comments create, perpetuate and prolong violence against another group, the more the brands that partner with them put their reputations at risk.

DEI red flags to look out for when considering partnerships with public figures include:
- Hate speech towards certain groups and a lack of remorse for or continuation of that speech.
- Ongoing lawsuits against that figure with multiple witnesses and trials.
- No public statements or apologies condemning their past behavior or speech.
- No visible action to make amends like volunteering, donating, partnering or reconciling with those they’ve harmed.
- Continued association with others who perpetuate harmful behavior and speech against groups without publicly condemning their actions or disassociating with them.
These red flags are obvious signs that the public figure your brand is about to work with has a problematic past that may harm your brand’s reputation and longevity in the future. So, beware.

Consider risks of partnering with public figures who have checkered pasts with DEI

Who your brand associates with can speak volumes. Let’s say your brand chooses to partner with Ye, Harvey Weinstein or others who have perpetrated harm against others and chose to show little to no remorse or desire to make amends. Your brand will face the consequences.

Loyal followers and customers may cancel your brand just for association with figures like Ye. It may seem unfair but it’s actually right on the money. Consumers today have a renewed interest in the ethics and honesty of brands and can see right through businesses that claim to be ethical or on the “right side” of justice but choose to associate with controversial public figures who do the opposite.

Of course, there is a difference between brands and their partners, but we know consumers are observing brands like Adidas, Balenciaga and Vogue very closely. Associations with public figures who have used racist, sexist, anti-semitic, transphobic and ableist language will be held accountable in the court of public opinion, and the consequences will be financial.

The best way to avoid the downfall of brands, their reputations and their profits is to be very choosy about who they partner with and be aware of the consequences that may result. Brands that have seen Ye’s controversial approach to DEI and made conscious decisions to ignore it now see their reputations tarnished with the memory of his anti-semitic comments and distasteful behavior.

Related: ‘Had to Cut Ties’: Kanye West Breaks Silence on Adidas, Ye-Related Brands Fallout as Rapper Loses Billionaire Status

Holding people accountable for harmful actions is key to changing behavior in DEI

No public figure is immune to cancel culture. In fact, cancel culture is how consumers, followers and others find justice when public figures misbehave or practice harmful speech. It’s the broader population who seems to hold public figures accountable for their actions.

On social media, the response to Ye’s recent anti-semitic comments has been resounding. People from all walks of life and areas of influence condemn his comments and the result is, finally, the businesses, projects and partnerships he’s built are crumbling. As painful as it is to see folks fall, sometimes hitting rock bottom and letting the rug be pulled out from underneath someone is the only way for them to learn the gravity of their actions.

I’m not naive. I don’t expect Ye to change his hateful speech and rhetoric overnight. But I do hope he really feels the financial and social repercussions and that he chooses to move forward more mindfully with his platform. He, perhaps more than many other celebrities and public figures, should know that no matter how rich, famous or influential a person is, there is no escaping the consequences of hate speech and the price to be paid will likely be bigger than they could have imagined.

It’s up to individuals, brands and businesses to have a stance and express boundaries around hate speech — to not only condemn it but to commit to withholding support from those who practice it. An overt stance on DEI will signal to public figures that if they want to make music, art, do business or work in political spaces, there is a code of conduct they must adhere to with DEI and respect at the root. They should know that businesses and individuals will not work with them if their hateful rhetoric continues, no matter how much profit is on the line. Only through consequences will we see a change in how long public figures like Ye thrive in the business world. Public figures should only be able to thrive if their comments are rooted in respect for diversity, equity and inclusion. Not the opposite.

Related: How Brands Can Go From Performative Allyship to Actual Allies

Final thoughts

I’m not here to criticize Balenciaga, Vogue and Adidas for initially making a financial decision to partner with Ye in the first place. However, I find it surprising they failed to calculate and anticipate the social price they would inevitably pay for doing business with a figure who offends so many. Whether you’re a big or small business, keeping DEI at the forefront of your work will not only protect you from situations like the one we see with Ye but will also help you thrive in the long run. Don’t be a business blinded by the red flags of public figures because your mind is focused on the money.

Be discerning about the long-term consequences of partnering with problematic figures. Brands should think about how even one bad partnership with a very high-profit outlook can have devastating impacts on their reputation for years to come. Consumers, followers and others will begin to see brands as co-conspirators of hate speech and rhetoric as a consequence of their partnerships with controversial public figures.

Now is the time to put DEI first and make business decisions that are truly on the right side of justice. Use DEI as a tool to be discerning about who you work with and why. Only then can brands that wish to last a lifetime and remain influential stand the test of time in a world increasingly focused on ethics, justice and equity.
Nika White

Source link
November 4, 2022
3 Mental Blindspots That Could Explain Why Adidas Waited To Drop Ye

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

“Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech… the company has taken the decision to terminate the partnership with Ye immediately,” according to its October 25 news release. That statement conveys a principled and admirable stance against the antisemitism shown by the rapper formerly known as Kanye West after his antisemitic tweet on October 10 that he would go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.”

Yet Adidas waited much, much longer than other companies that cut ties with Ye. Even Ye’s own talent agency dropped him before Adidas. In fact, Adidas delayed so long that Ye taunted them on his October 16 appearance on the Drink Champs podcast, saying “I can say antisemitic things, and Adidas can’t drop me. Now what? Now what?”

Related: ‘Unacceptable, Hateful and Dangerous’: Adidas, Gap Among Companies, Athletes Dropping Ye-Related Brands as the Rapper Loses Billionaire Status

Adidas faced particular pressure to drop Ye due to its dark past. A German company founded by a former member of the Nazi party, Adidas had an especially strong reason to drop Ye earlier than other companies. Adidas faced mounting pressure from the Anti-Defamation League and other organizations to drop Ye given its Nazi past. A Change.org petition set up by the Campaign Against Antisemitism urging Adidas to sever ties with Ye had gathered 169,100 signatures by October 25.

Yet Adidas refused to drop Ye until all the other companies dropped him. Instead of getting ahead of the problem and dropping Ye immediately after his October 10 anti-semitic tweet, or even his October 16 taunting of Adidas, the company had to be shamed and pressured into cutting its ties with Ye. As a result, Adidas seriously damaged its brand, harming its reputation among anyone opposed to antisemitism.

What explains the poor decision-making by the Adidas leadership? It’s a classic case of the ostrich effect: A dangerous judgment error where our minds refuse to acknowledge negative information about reality. It’s named after the mythical notion that ostriches bury their heads in the sand at a sign of danger. The ostrich effect is a type of cognitive bias, one of many mental blindspots that impact decision-making in all life areas, ranging from the future of work to mental fitness.

The Adidas leadership buried its head in the sand. It refused to acknowledge the growing damage to its brand from Ye’s antisemitism, as well as his prior bad behavior, such as having models wear “White Lives Matter” T-shirts in early October.

Such denialism in professional settings happens more often than you might think. A four-year study of 286 organizations that had forced out their CEOs found that 23% were fired for denying reality, meaning refusing to recognize negative facts about their organization. Other research shows that professionals at all levels suffer from the tendency to deny uncomfortable facts.

Adidas’ denialism likely stems from the cognitive bias known as the sunk costs fallacy. According to Adidas’ statement, the termination of the contract is expected to “have a short-term negative impact of up to €250 million on the company’s net income in 2022 given the high seasonality of the fourth quarter.” Presumably, the impact will be much higher in 2023, over half a billion at least.

Related: Facebook to Ban Holocaust Denial, Citing Rise in Anti-Semitism

The partnership with Ye had a long history since 2013 when the company signed his brand away from rival Nike. In 2016, Adidas further expanded its relationship with the rapper, calling it “the most significant partnership ever created between a non-athlete and an athletic brand.”

In other words, Adidas invested a great deal of money and reputation into its relationship with Ye. That kind of investment causes our minds to feel strongly attached to whatever we put those resources into, and throw good money after bad.

You’ll see this happen often in major projects that are working out poorly, such as Meta’s Metaverse project. Several high-profile industry figures recently criticized Mark Zuckerberg’s efforts. That includes Palmer Luckey, the founder of VR headset startup Oculus, which Meta acquired in 2014 for $2 billion. Luckey said “I don’t think it’s a good product” about Horizon Worlds, Meta’s core metaverse product. He called it a “project car,” a fancy automobile that the owner spends a lot of money on as a hobby. So far, Facebook’s shift to building the metaverse has been costly, with the company last year losing $10 billion on it, and Wall Street analysts expect it to lose more than $10 billion again this year.

Similarly, you’ll see sunken costs in major relationships. That can range from marriages that lasted much longer than they should have to brand partnerships like the one between Adidas and Ye.

The final cognitive bias relevant here is called hyperbolic discounting. This term describes our brain’s focus on short-term, highly visible outcomes over much more important and less visible long-term ones. Adidas didn’t want to take the short-term financial hit to its bottom line by cutting ties with Ye. However, Adidas failed to give sufficient weight to the long-term damage to its brand from failing to do so.

Short-term financial damage is highly visible and painful, while long-term brand damage is much less visible and less painful. Yet realistically, such brand damage is much more important to the long-term success of Adidas.

In my consulting, I’ve seen many executives struggling with the same three mental blindspots when they face top performers engaging in bad behaviors, ranging from incivility to sexual harassment and discrimination. Leaders deny it happened because they have so much invested in the top performer, whether a star salesperson or top data scientist and they don’t consider the long-term consequences to the organization’s culture and employee morale.

In fact, it’s easy for anyone to fall for these three cognitive biases when someone whom you value behaves badly. Fortunately, forewarned is forearmed: Knowing about these three mental blindspots means you can watch out for these problems in your own professional and personal life.

Gleb Tsipursky

Source link

October 27, 2022
4 Tips for Responding to an Unexpected Media Inquiry

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Have you ever gotten an unexpected call from a reporter? What did you do first? If you answered, “panic,” you’re not unlike many clients I’ve encountered. Why is our first response to a media inquiry to panic? And how can we calm down and marshal our resources to answer their questions — without the desire to head for the hills?

Why do we panic when we have to talk to the media?

There’s something about an unexpected media request that strikes fear in people. It may be because we’ve all seen those “gotcha” segments on the news — stories in which a company or its spokesperson looks like the bad guy. When a reporter gets in touch unexpectedly, it can make someone feel as though they’re being put on the spot, and they worry they’ll say the wrong thing.
Even in industries that aren’t fraught with scandals, there are times when ANY business can find itself in the position of responding to a media inquiry they didn’t know was coming their way.

Michelle Garrett

Source link

October 7, 2022