Many millions have been following the rise and fall of Lance Armstrong and wondering if he’ll rise again after his illegal drug usage stripped him of his seven Tour De France titles, delivering a devastating blow to his reputation.
The road to reputation repair is long and slow.
His road to repair has begun (pun intended) with this video he did for Outside Magazine demonstrating how to fix a flat tire. But does it work?
It’s too soon to tell what Lance will do to regain favor and if he ever will. The tactic itself felt like an overly scripted attempt. When your audience can see through your actions, it…er…falls flat.
Reputation repair is a long and relentless effort; as hard if not harder as it was to build it up the first time. And it takes more than an apology. An errant tweet or disgruntled employee is one thing. But role models admitting to illegal drug usage, vehicle recalls threatening the safety of families, and fatal Tylenol poisoning are much more difficult to recover from.
1. Self-deprecation works only sometimes.
In the video, Lance jokes about his 7-time Tour De France wins as an asterisk pops on the screen with a sound (indicating his illegal drug charges) and he exclaims, “Hey, I didn’t write the script.”
His actions have caused a great deal of pain and distress for many people. He’s lied, attacked and counter-sued people. He’s accused teammates and burned bridges. Making light of any of it even after the fact is not the way to win back your audience.
On the other hand, self-deprecation is a good tactic for RadioShack. In their Superbowl ad earlier this year, they make fun of their reputation of being out of date, and show they are changing their ways.
“The eighties called. They want their store back.”
Admittedly, it might be too late. Timing is critical but the ad is funny, and created buzz for them. The ability to laugh at ourselves is a good one, when appropriate. It’s something with which the public can empathize.
2. They think being real is a good idea.
It’s common advice to be sincere and empathic in situations of crisis and reputation repair. The problem is, sometimes, being real isn’t good depending on the personalities in question.
No one can accuse of Paula Deen or former BP CEO Tim Hayward of not being real when they openly expressed their opinions. Paula revealed her own prejudiced views and Hayward showed lack of compassion when he said “he wanted his life back too,” when others lost their loved ones forever.
If the face of your brand can’t be real without controversy, he or she shouldn’t be real. Media training and talking points on being real will be necessary. (Or perhaps a new face of the brand.)
The key is in not making your plan look like a concerted effort.
When JetBlue found itself in trouble after a storm left many travelers stranded for days, the CEO demonstrated real everything in the below video apology: concern, empathy and determination to fix it. Currently, JetBlue leads the airline industry in customer satisfaction.
3. They put their head in the sand.
When I was a kid, I used to pretend I was asleep if a guest came over I didn’t want to talk to. Too bad we can’t use that tactic as grown-ups. We have to face adversity and show our vulnerability.
In 2010, Toyota faced serious threats to its reputation of safety and reliability amidst several vehicle recalls. Their audience took to social media with questions and expressions of dismay. At first, they didn’t get a response and that’s because Toyota didn’t have answers yet. And then Toyota made their executives available by way of Digg where consumers could ask questions of North American president of sales, Jim Lentz. The dialogue received 1.2 million views in one week and was an important piece of what helped return them to the top of the industry in terms of customer loyalty by 2012.
4. They think words are enough.
We all know actions speak far louder than words.
An apology is not enough when we’re talking about major crises. When Under Armour came under attack by the 2014 US Olympic Speedskating team who blamed their uniforms for their underperformance, Under Armour didn’t defend or counter-attack.
When the team switched back to older uniforms, and didn’t perform any better, Under Armour CEO was asked if he felt vindicated. He explained he’s a patriot first and CEO second. He wanted to see the team win just like the rest of us. They soon thereafter announced they’d double their sponsorship of the team.
Want more examples? In 2008, Toyota bought back rusted trucks at one and half times their value. After the Tylenol tragedy in 1982, Tylenol did more than apologize. They introduced tamper proof bottles that are now an industry standard.
Let’s hope you never have to deal with a crisis of this magnitude. But if you do, the road to repair is much smoother if you take your problems seriously, make your plan not look like a plan, be transparent in times of adversity, and let your actions do the talking.
What would you add?
Lisa Gerber is the founder of Big Leap Creative, where she helps organizations and executives take their big leaps by communicating their ideas.
For more marketing advice from Lisa Gerber, click here.
Image: Luc B (Creative Commons)
