Brand Association: Jekyll or Hyde?
One affair suggests private relationship issues. Several alleged affairs is a public debacle for Tiger Woods and his sponsors. It begs the question, why do businesses choose to tie themselves to the cult of celebrity? The answer is because there is such a cult of celebrity.
Society has obsessed over recognition of personality for centuries, although the context has altered over time. Recent decades has witnessed the shift away from notability for achievement or exalted position and more towards fame for fame itself. Those recently seeking fame/infamy as the intended outcome include the “Balloon Boy” and the White House trespassing Salahis. It’s Warhol’s 15 minutes on steroids.
The reason why companies tie themselves to particular celebrities is more nuanced than that, of course, especially for the stewards of those corporate brands that sponsor a particular personality. Brands need to communicate their core archetypal attributes, being those characteristics, attitudes, behaviors and, indeed, that personality that those companies wish their consumers to associate with and perceive in their brand. It is easier for a brand to express those traits by illustrating them through something or someone iconic, within which or whom those brand traits are readily witnessed.
Accenture closely aligned its public image with Tiger Woods. Beginning with the message “High Perfomance. Delivered.” Accenture inspired both the company’s clients as well as its employees. Who wouldn’t want to be associated with the genuine excellence in performance that characterizes Tiger Woods’s golfing endeavors?
Whether Accenture should have dropped Tiger remains open to discussion. On the one hand, time will tell if it was a good business decision. On the other, we have been reminded that, having been invited to perceive Accenture as being represented by Tiger Woods, that association was just business; just a superficial correlation of characteristics; just a ruse to market a corporate message. Whether that will increase cynicism over the sincerity of their brand attribute claims remains to be seen.
The danger of associating a business with a person was illustrated locally in different manner. Wayne Sensor’s rapid departure as CEO of Alegent Health was accompanied by an equally swift removal of many print, outdoor and broadcast advertisements featuring him. In this case, Alegent did not present Sensor personally as embodying the iconic brand attributes it wished to efficiently associate with itself, but to present a personal and recognizable community face.
The use of recognizable personalities is an effective method of manifesting brand attributes. But it carries obvious pitfalls. For brands, perhaps the moral of the story is to beware the morals of those it chooses to embody itself.
Written by Stuart
David Day | Associates
About the Author: Stuart is constantly curious and believes conversation matters, for business, people and community. Feel free to join in...