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: Marketing
AP – Amid rift with China, will the NBA be forced to apologize?
When major corporations have done something to anger Chinese authorities in recent years, the playbook has called for one thing: an apology…
“Dean Crutchfield, CEO of the crisis management firm Crutchfield + Partners, said Morey’s tweet, well-intentioned as it was, could cost the NBA billions. He wondered if a parting of the ways between Morey and the Rockets would appease China.
“You need to fire him and you need to fire him fast,” Crutchfield said. “China needs a statement, and for him to still be in his job is remarkable. I think Silver did a remarkable job with his statement, but this is a senior official, well aware of the importance of the Chinese market. One man, one tweet.” Here’s a link to the article.
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.
FT – Nike risks being dragged into China NBA dispute
Financial Times reports on a new perspective on NBA v. China spat…Few western companies have more at stake than Nike in the fallout from an American basketball executive’s tweet about Hong Kong.
Here’s a link to the article. My POV is that “despite demands from the likes of Mr Rubio, he would advise the company to stay quiet. “Nike didn’t create this war,” he said. “Any crisis manager would say the same: avoid, avoid, avoid.” The episode could yet work to the company’s advantage, he added. “If they play it right, they’re going to sell a lot more merchandise.”
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
Subway Reveals Major New Brand Look
Looking to connect with younger guests and cement its role as a fresh-food leader, Subway changed its logo, store design, and so much more.
Subway’s revamped design was built with the customer, and the future, in mind. Consider it Subway’s new duds to the biggest party in foodservice.
On Monday, the chain with 45,000-plus units globally unveiled what it’s labeling the most extensive launch in company history: a massive brand evolution that affects everything from pictures and colors to function and form. The hefty investment, which began in earnest around two years ago and will take “multiple years to rollout,” will help Subway remain at the forefront of a category it has historically fronted—freshness and quality—and broaden its appeal with younger customers, says Chris Carroll, Subway’s chief advertising officer.
“We can now go in with confidence and get more aggressive in our engagement,” Carroll says. “It’s like going into a party when you have a new outfit on. You feel more confident than if you were in an old pair of jeans.” Read more here.
PUNCH & KISS 