Brand Suicide
Recently at a dinner with several interior designers (also good friends) the conversation turned to public staff acknowledgements, specifically acknowledgements in press interviews covering a story on you and your company. For instance say Rolling Stones called Meat Loaf to ask about his new album Bat Out of Hell III, out in October.
Should he talk about up coming performances, tour and release dates or speak about the song written by Nikki Sixx, ex-Motley Crue? A bit of both I hear you say. Well, what if it wasn’t Nikki Sixx, (someone alive regardless of his past misadventures and positioned way up on the rock n roll pedestal), what if it was Joe Bloe from Texas, accountant, father and God parent?
Is it right to publicly declare your staff’s enormous input into the success of your company, maintaining their loyalty and building morale or do you risk a Tom Ford/Gucci situation?
It’s a fine line when it comes to introducing the press to your right hand man/woman. At times it’s a great way to get extra press; however, things can take a turn for the worse. Inevitably if the brand is you, and let’s face it, you can’t do everything yourself, you are going to need helpers.
But if a client is hiring you and your talents, paying big bucks for your name and style, do you then acknowledge the team’s involvement in every aspect, singling out one person who ‘you really couldn’t have done it without’?
I think this has to be viewed on a case by case basis. If your team has been slugging their guts out to finish a project you are clearly making thousands from then during an interview you should acknowledge them, regardless of whether or not the writer wants to hear about it and give them a bonus. If it’s a team effort that you have overseen closely and are at the risk of losing interest from the magazine editor if you push the information you want to get across, alienating them as your answers don’t fit a particular angle, then maybe not. Remember you don’t write the questions in an interview you answer them.
People don’t always need public acknowledgement they do need peer appreciation and to be made to feel they are a valuable member of your team who is simply indispensable to your success. One friend of a friend’s has been working in a very high profile company basically creating this well established brand, have you ever heard of her? No. Does she care? Not really. Her peers know what she does, her boss knows she’s indispensable and she knows that to have it any other way would be brand suicide. Don’t worry she is adequately compensated for her anonymity.
Private: Brand Suicide
Recently at a dinner with several interior designers (also good friends) the conversation turned to public staff acknowledgements, specifically acknowledgements in press interviews covering a story on you and your company. For instance say Rolling Stones called Meat Loaf to ask about his new album Bat Out of Hell III, out in October.
Should he talk about up coming performances, tour and release dates or speak about the song written by Nikki Sixx, ex-Motley Crue? A bit of both I hear you say. Well, what if it wasn’t Nikki Sixx, (someone alive regardless of his past misadventures and positioned way up on the rock n roll pedestal), what if it was Joe Bloe from Texas, accountant, father and God parent?
Is it right to publicly declare your staff’s enormous input into the success of your company, maintaining their loyalty and building morale or do you risk a Tom Ford/Gucci situation?
It’s a fine line when it comes to introducing the press to your right hand man/woman. At times it’s a great way to get extra press however; things can take a turn for the worse. Inevitably if the brand is you and let’s face you can’t do everything yourself you are going to need helpers. But if a client is hiring you and your talents, paying big bucks for your name and style, do you then acknowledge the team’s involvement in every aspect, singling out one person who ‘you really couldn’t have done it without’?
I think this has to be viewed on a case by case basis. If your team has been slugging their guts out to finish a project you are clearly making thousands from then during an interview you should acknowledge them, regardless of whether or not the writer wants to hear about it and give them a bonus. If it’s a team effort that you have overseen closely and are at the risk of losing interest from the magazine editor if you push the information you want to get across, alienating them as your answers don’t fit a particular angle, then maybe not. Remember you don’t write the questions in an interview you answer them.
People don’t always need public acknowledgement, they do need peer appreciation and to be made to feel they are a valuable member of your team who is simply indispensable to your success. One friend of a friend’s has been working in a very high profile company basically creating this well established brand, have you ever heard of her? No. Does she care? Not really. Her peers know what she does, her boss knows she’s indispensable and she knows that to have it any other way would be brand suicide. Don’t worry she is adequately compensated for her anonymity.
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