One way to communicate the value of your brand is by association. You stand next to something and let its aura cascade over your brand. Advertising, sponsorship, product placement and co-branding are all ways to associate.
Sometimes it’s a boon to one brand or both, but it can have unpredictable results.
In the 90′s Pepsi associated its brand with pop stars like Michael Jackson and Madonna, then dealt with PR nightmares when those stars caught on fire or made controversial videos. This century the sponsors of Kobe Bryant and now Don Imus are finding out how risky it is to put your name on someone’s shoes or show.
I was not impressed that P&G, Staples, Bigelow Teas and the other sponsors pulled their ads from "Imus in the Morning." Instead, I was disgusted they had ever chosen to advertise during his shows at all. Imus’s latest comments were shockingly racist, but they were not atypical. Even his apology tour is offensive!
Bigelow Teas spokespeople said Imus’s comments "put our future sponsorship in jeopardy." Oh really? If the words he used were only enough to put sponsorship "in jeopardy," just what would it take to disassociate your brand from him forever? I shudder to think.
Unlike other bloggers who feel his sponsors are to be applauded for leaving him, I think they should be ashamed to have ever been associated with him. Bigelow has sponsored his show for nine years!
Guess I’ll look for another green tea maker now.
I support free speech. I believe every company has a right to choose what they want to endorse with their ad funds. And, to the extent it’s possible, I express my support or lack of it with my purchases. Since Procter & Gamble, Staples, Bigelow and the others felt that Imus’s show was an appropriate one to associate with their brands, I’ve revised my opinion of them all.
Before you connect your brand to another, keep Madonna and Imus in mind.
