On reputation

Oscar Wilde once said:

“There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”

It is relatively simple to find several adaptations of this epigram, some more famous, such as “Any publicity is good publicity”, or “Whether it’s good talk or bad talk about me, as long as you’re talking and making me the center of your world, I win” or, the more traditional saying, “Out of sight, out of mind”.

Social networks end up enhancing this visibility, so anyone who wants to take on a prominent role in society or in their professional or academic field has a useful and effective tool at their disposal.

Personally, I am an advocate of creating a positive reputation, so the expression \”Speak well or speak badly, speak about me\” does not fit my way of working and thinking. But that doesn’t mean that logic doesn’t work. It results and has made it possible to build the popularity of celebrities without any type of competence, or politicians without a career, or with empty projects or based on uninviting visions.

Let’s look at the case of the Low Cost airline Ryanair. In August 2013, Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said that “Short of committing murder, negative publicity sells more seats than positive publicity”. In other words, apart from homicide, any type of negative publicity helps to sell more than positive publicity. The airline’s poor quality of service has been Ryanair’s hallmark since the beginning, but they have always had good commercial results. Not even after numerous flight cancellations or the war with pilots in the public square were the operator’s numbers affected. Until, in 2017, Core Media evaluated the brand and it became clear that the public and customers – who Ryanair always liked to call guests – did not have a positive view, in fact, regarding the brand’s positive peak in visibility, corresponded to the negative peak in sentiment for the brand. And the consequence? Competition sailed in the open due to the fall of Ryanair.

Of course, this does not have the same impact in certain areas, such as the artistic area. Italian Benetton rode the wave of shocking and impactful images for years, always with high benefits for its sales, until the day… Several contracts were canceled and a creative director was fired after a campaign that used death row inmates as models . Madonna managed to boost her image and reputation with the book Sex or the album Erotica. This begs the question: what are the limits of bad publicity? Or: where is the line between impactful and shocking?

Moving on to something more recent, we can see how sexual scandals destroy the successful careers of directors, producers or actors, athletes and coaches. Still, some personalities seem to be immune to this type of scandal.

But, in Brazil, after 2018, very interesting cases emerged.

Havana.
The owner is known for using an outdated business model married to an innovative sales model, involved in renegotiated debt scandals over 100 years ago, suspected (although he admits it himself) of paying for fake news campaigns to elect a politician , while the Federal Revenue announced tax evasion, in addition to labor debts, culminating in the fervent campaign for people not to stay at home, ignoring the recommendations of the health authorities. Havan sales rose in 2019.

Madero.
One of Madero’s partners, Junior Dusrki, did the same as Havan’s owner, Luciano Hang, but didn’t have the same luck. After dismissing 600 employees, he decided to say that the economy could not stop because of \”5 or 7 thousand who are going to die\”. The subsequent explanation was of no use, the wave of indignation on social media was evident. It also didn’t help that employees were laid off after guaranteeing they would keep jobs.

Giraffes.
Here the example is very different. Carlos Guerra, owner of the snack bar chain, removed his own son from the company, after Alexandre Guerra, who had previously been CEO of the company, posted a text on Instagram in which he addressed employees who had been quarantined, saying that they should be afraid of losing his job. Realizing his son’s political position, Carlos was quick and separated the company from Alexandre’s position.

Wizard.
Not being a hidden figure, Carlos Wizard has never assumed a prominent position, although he is a millionaire, owner of several chains (schools, stores…) and has collaborated with the current Brazilian government since before the elections. From being a discreet advisor, he became a candidate for the position of secretary. The first words after the announcement of the possibility were unhappy and almost seemed like trying the fastest controversy bingo in the world. The defense of chloroquine, the four wars, which included the ideological one, the accusation that those who were against the government’s position in combating the new coronavirus had purely political motivations, the announcement of the suspension of international contracts

is to purchase respirators (denied on the same day), led to popular outcry and Wizard, probably considering the negative impact on his business, published a note informing him of his departure from the ministry.

On the other hand, those who invest in good publicity through brand behavior associated with positive concepts and actions:

Reservation.
CEO Rony Meisler founded the clothing brand Reserva, and tries to practice conscious capitalism. In addition to seeking profit, it encourages local production, promotes dialogue on social issues and invests in employee training. In addition, he launched the 1P = 5P campaign, which means, in practice, that for each piece sold at Reserva and Reserva Mini, five plates of food are delivered to those who are hungry.

Melissa.
The Melissa brand and I were born in the same year. From 1979 until the 90s, it was a brand that sold a type of product – melissa spider – and used soap operas as a means of reaching a young audience. In 1994, the brand was repositioned. More models, more consumption and, above all, the end of the idea of a product that would only serve that moment in life. Melissas became something for life, they stopped being disposable after a while.

Apothecary.
Beauty products. Futility? Boticário showed that it did not want to be just a brand of products for aesthetic beauty. Therefore, he decided to send a message that beauty is something beyond appearance. And it didn’t stop there, it adopted a position in defense of diversity, with campaigns such as \”Toda forma de Amor\”, on Valentine’s Day, aimed at couples of all faiths and sexualities.

For those who want to position themselves in the professional market in the era of social networks, it is essential to understand whether it is more important to have publicity or to have good publicity.

I believe in the value of a reputation built on solid foundations such as a professional career, contribution to society, sharing of enriching knowledge, to name a few examples. Creating buzz for buzz’s sake is risky and can have negative repercussions. The easiest path may involve a lot of work, but it will certainly not involve two tasks: doing and undoing, much less three tasks: doing, undoing, and redoing as should have been done.

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