Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey apologized on Twitter over a now-deleted tweet that spoke in support of Hong Kong protesters. Dean Crutchfield, CEO of crisis advisory firm Crutchfield and Partners, and CNBC’s Eric Chemi join the “Power Lunch” team to discuss. Here’s the link.
Category: Branding
PR Week – How the NBA made a no-win situation worse
“Agency experts, including a former communications executive with the league, say its initial public response inadvertently juiced the crisis….
With that in mind, Dean Crutchfield, CEO of Crutchfield + Partners, says the NBA should have exercised another option: dismiss Morey. Crutchfield says other employers would find rogue commentary of a sensitive geopolitical nature grounds for termination, especially if it was about a critical and growing geographic market, regardless of how well-meaning the message.
“If a senior executive and important representative of Apple came out with a remark like that about their most successful business unit, that executive wouldn’t be there anymore. It simply wouldn’t be tolerated in a corporate environment,” states Crutchfield. “It was one man, one tweet; they should have fired him and fired him fast.”
If they had, instead of making a statement about democracy and free speech, the NBA would have addressed business protocols and guidelines in relation to social media.
“The statement would read something like, ‘This is not how our people behave on social media, uncontrolled and with no regard for their professional responsibility. His personal opinion should have been kept to himself given the platform he has being part of this organization,’” says Crutchfield.
CGI models and future of fashion industry
Fad Or Fixture: How Relevant Are CGI Models To The Fashion And Beauty Industries?
The question is, do CGI models hold true value for such businesses, or is this just a fad? Is such a move merely about gaining from some of the hype such models currently present? Or can it in fact drive ROI for the brands making use of them long term?
Following on from the Fashion shows in NYLON I spoke with CGTN’s Rachelle Akuffo about growing popularity of CGI models. Here’s the link.
Unilever CEO wants brands with purpose or they’re out
Bloomberg News “As chief executive officer of Unilever, Paul Polman transformed the sprawling maker of Dove soap, Knorr stock cubes, Cif cleaning sprays, and Hellmann’s mayonnaise into a test bed for the idea that companies can benefit from affiliation with social causes, such as improved hygiene or better access to toilets. While investors and analysts were initially skeptical, Polman was ultimately lauded for redefining the corporation as something more benign than a purely profit-driven enterprise, even as margins edged up slightly from the midteens to almost 20% during his tenure. Now, Alan Jope, the Scotsman who succeeded Polman in January, is amping up the strategy. Article here.
Rebranding? Keep An Eye On These Eight Important Things
Great article from Forbes that sheds some useful insights on why and when to rebrand…
“Rebranding can be a good way to better reflect your company’s current focus and growth, but the process must be handled with the utmost care. Otherwise, you risk alienating your existing customers while failing to attract any new ones.“
Flags, Race, Liberty
Was pulling the sneaker the right thing to do? For some, it was a racist sneaker for others an icon of history. Did Nike do the right thing? Why did they get there in the first place? So many questions and so many media impressions. Here’s what I shared on CNBC Squawk Box.
Brands are not owned they’re borrowed from the customer
Here’s Who Could Lead Uber Out of its Scandals
…Who can steer Uber into a new chapter? JP Mangalinda at Yahoo asked me who should be the COO Travis was looking for. I recommended a woman. Here’s why:
Read more with Yahoo Financial.
Taxi!
How Uber Can Fix Its Reputation
“An arrogant behemoth”
From Yahoo Financial:
Dean Crutchfield, a New York-based branding specialist, struck an even more dire tone than Kerris.
“The first thing they have to recognize is that brands, like people, get sick,” Crutchfield explained. “Uber needs to admit it’s slightly broken. This was a cool, game-changing brand, and now it’s an arrogant behemoth. It sort of lost itself in its success. One has to respect customer and driver’s emotions, and I think they’ve forgotten about that. It’s a problem not just of their business, it’s a problem of the leadership. That leadership reflects poorly on the brand.”
Crutchfield pointed to United Airlines’ (UAL) recent controversy, in which a passenger was forcibly removed from a flight. United CEO Oscar Munoz exacerbated the public backlash by initially blaming the passenger for the brouhaha. United subsequently issued several apologies and promised a sweeping review of policies, particularly around crew behavior and passenger incentives.
“[T]here was a real arrogance where the CEO did not recognize their weaknesses and faults,” Crutchfield said.
Uber, for its part, knows it has a serious problem on its hands. Kalanick told employees in March he planned on hiring a COO “who can partner with me to write the next chapter in our journey.” Uber board member Arianna Huffington, meanwhile, is helping lead an “urgent” investigation into one engineer’s sexual harassment claims against the company.
But while that’s certainly a start, it’s clear company-wide changes to Uber must go far deeper. Full article.
It’s Not Just You: Advertising Insiders Think Pepsi’s Kendall Jenner Ad Was A Disaster
…By Vanessa Wong at Buzzfeed
…The protest alluded to “emotional events and very significant issues that affect the core of American society,” brand consultant Dean Crutchfield told BuzzFeed News. “They piggybacked on a crusade and didn’t have permission to do so. People found it tasteless and crass. It was trivializing grief.”For Pepsi, the debacle adds to a much bigger and more existential problem: Its core product is getting less popular by the day. Soda has become one of the main targets of public health advocates, and cities are starting to pass
For Pepsi, the debacle adds to a much bigger and more existential problem: Its core product is getting less popular by the day. Soda has become one of the main targets of public health advocates, and cities are starting to pass taxes on sugary drinks. Even diet sodas are in decline.
“This is the last thing they need. Their business is pretty fragile now,” said Crutchfield. “This is very embarrassing for the brand.”…
PUNCH & KISS 