By Katie Paine
You know it's a big deal when an admission of guilt on the part of a baseball player makes it into the first presidential press conference of a new administration. But when a Washington Post reporter asked newly elected President Obama what he thought of Yankee Alex Rodriguez's (aka A-Rod or A-Roid) admission to taking steroids, you could hear the gasps as far away as northern New Hampshire.
Was it really worth a question at the first presidential news conference? And, if so, why hadn't anyone asked for the president's response to another equally famous athlete's confession--that of Michael Phelps? Is it due to the fundamental differences in perception (marijuana = fun; steroids = cheating)? Or is it, as we suspect, the difference in the image of the people confessing, and each individual's relationships with his fans?
Relationships, whether they are between organizations and the public, athletes and fans or man and wife, are essentially based on a variety of factors, the most important being trust. What happened was that Rodriguez violated the implicit contract between star and fan, not by taking sterioids, but by lying about it and then confessing years later. After the initial trust was shaken, fans were still committed to the relationship because they were satisfied with his denials and with his performance. With his recent confession, he was admitting not just that he broke the law and violated the rules of the game, but that he wasn't deserving of the trust we placed in him. The principles of the relationship had broken down, so President Obama spoke for most fans when he said that it was disappointing.
On the other hand, our relationship with Michael Phelps is still pretty much intact. As the most honored Olympian the United States has ever had, he still comes across as a handsome, clean-cut cross between a human and a fish. His whole image was classic Olympian--earnest, dedicated, hard-working, all-American guy. And like lots of all-American guys- -including our last three presidents--it turns out he might like to inhale when he's not in training. So when a picture of him indulging in such behavior surfaced on the Internet, it was something of a shock to his fans and sponsors. But really, was it that shocking? Sure, it brought him down from those Olympic heights, but in my mind it made him seem more normal, more human, more like your typical American celebrity. He wasn't behind the wheel of a car, or responsible for small children, unlike most celebrities that get into trouble. He quickly apologized and the fundamental relationship--the trust factor--was still intact.
And, in fact, his fans further demonstrated the strength of that bond by starting a boycott of Kellogg's cereals in protest of the cancellation of their sponsorship of Phelps, adding fuel to what should have been a fire long since doused.
The point is that in any crisis, what needs protecting is not just the image of an organization, but its relationships. PRN
CONTACT:
Katie Paine is the CEO of KDPaine & Partners. She can be reached at [email protected].
| Alex Rodriguez | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Criteria | Grade | Comments | Advice |
| Extent of coverage | F | You can't get much more visible than a presidential press conference. The question forced all the networks to then run clips of his actual interview/confession. | If you want to get visibility for your crisis, draw it into a political situation. The White House press corps is generally looking for something, anything, that isn't routine. |
| Effectiveness of spokespeople | C | A-Rod came across in the interview as sincere and contrite--two of the most important characteristics in any crisis. While his message of "I'm sorry" was pretty clear and succinct, the apologist-in-chief had already said it a few times too often the week before, so it diminished the impact. | Always consider the context. If someone else has been out there saying "I'm sorry" all over the major networks the week before, whatever you say will be seen in comparison. |
| Communication of ?key messages | B | By becoming a feature of the press conference, A-rod's apology message got far more coverage than it would have normally. | The message shouldn't just be "I'm sorry," but should explain why we should trust you in the future--what's been done differently that will reassure us to once again have faith in the relationship. |
| Management of ?negative messages | D | Pretty much every story linked A-Rod with Barry Bonds and the whole generation of ballplayers. | Don't expect to escape the past. You can do good deeds for a decade, and some reporter will always dig up that bad thing you did 10 years ago. |
| Impact on customers | F | It's too soon to tell, and we may never know. If ticket sales are down in 2009, is it the fault of A-Rod or the economy? | Not every fan or customer votes with his/her pocketbook, but there's more likelihood now with the proliferation of social media that fans will organize, be it for or against him. |
| Overall score | C- | His confession didn't impact his reputation much either way. It certainly didn't help, but getting his message out nationally probably didn't hurt him too badly either. | One might argue that if you're going to issue an apology, time it so that the maximum number of people hear it. |
| Michael Phelps | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Criteria | Grade | Comments | Advice |
| Extent of coverage | A | The story quickly spread from a British tabloid to worldwide news, thanks to Phelps' fame as an Olympian and his clean-cut image. | There's probably a fame-to-exposure index that would indicate the higher up the exposure/fame ladder you go, the faster and further you topple, with a multiple for the dissonance factor--for example, how unlikely is the celebrity to be accused of the crime? |
| Effectiveness of spokespeople | A | Phelps came across as honest and forthright; in essence, he was true to his image, which made him highly credible. | While it helps to have a highly articulate spokesperson, it is actually better to have a sincere one. |
| Communication of ?key messages | A | Phelps' contrition was heard around the world, and the quote still gets pick-up as the media continues to track the fallout. | Remember that whatever confessional sound bite you use will be the one that will most likely get picked up in all subsequent media coverage, so make it count. |
| Management of ?negative messages | A | Other than the photo itself, there was little discussion of any other bad behaviors; whatever else he might have done wasn't discussed. His sponsor Kellogg had a worse time with key messages than Phelps did--already more than 6,000 have signed a petition and agreed to boycott their products in response to their decision to drop Phelps. | Don't overreact. While it is almost always important to get a statement out quickly in the event of a crisis, you first need to make sure that it's the right statement. The alacrity of Kellogg's decision to drop Phelps meant they probably didn't spend a lot of time weighing any pros and cons. As a result, they created an image crisis of their own. |
| Impact on customers | B | This entire incident has had little or no impact on Phelps' fan base, nor is there any indication that it's having any impact on sales of Speedo, AT&T or any of his other sponsors (with the exception of Kellogg's, of course). | The customer is the ultimate judge, and if the customers continue to patronize the sponsor, any overall negative impact clearly has been minimized. |
| Overall score | B | Phelps handled his apology as well as can be expected under the circumstances. He has been criticized for being too quick to cave, but he was true to his image in all he said and did. | Be who you are and see who is pleased. A crisis will reveal the inner soul of a celebrity, an athlete or an organization. So, whatever you do or say, make sure it is consistent with the personality of the brand. |