Branding experts have argued Lance Armstrong's “lack of contrition” during his widely publicised interview with Oprah may have further harmed his brand, but one pundit has said a clever advertiser could take advantage of the situation.
In a lengthy interview with Oprah, disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong admitted to the use of performance enhancing drugs over his cycling career. He also admitted he had “bullied” those people that had in the past accused him of drug use.
Multiple brand experts have argued his admission will do nothing to improve his brand reputation, at least in the short term.
The Leading Edge global strategy partner and head of brand strategy Chrissy Blackburn told AdNews argued that “it's not enough for Lance to just say he is sorry, he has done so much damage and his brand is no longer authentic”.
“After years and years of deceit, an interview with Oprah will not change much,” Blackburn said. “What Lance did was incredibly damaging. He committed the cardinal sin in branding: pretending to be something you're not.
“How can you come back from this? How can you compensate for the lies and deception? If he wanted to repair his brand, an interview with Oprah is not the solution to his problems. He would have to do something huge, and I'm not sure what that could be.
“All he did on Oprah was confirm what everybody already knew.”
Meanwhile, JMK chief executive Julian Martin has suggested that the Oprah interview actually served to harm the Lance Armstrong brand further still.
However, Martin also said that Brand Armstrong might have a chance of recovering slightly, but only in the very long term.
“The Oprah interview has killed the Armstrong brand dead,” Martin said. “He has confirmed himself as a big time cheat and bully. Even worse, he did not show any real contrition in the interview. He didn't answer the questions that need to be answered. It was a superficial interview.
“He's admitted he is a cheat and a bully, but he's done it in a soft way which puts more negativity on his own brand. Look at the press coverage, none of it is saying 'Good on you Lance for coming clean'.
“Is there any redemption at all for his brand? My first reaction is no. But maybe at some point a long way away. Maybe he'll host a chat show in 10 years time.”
Meanwhile, Octagon strategy director Adam Hodge also said the interview did not help the Armstrong brand. “It did not feel like there was any genuine contrition. His confession was robotic and formulaic. He was clearly media trained.”
However, Hodge also said that an enterprising brand would be able to take advantage of the current situation by striking a sponsorship deal with Armstrong.
“It's the theory of buy low sell high. A company could come in now and strike some type of deal with Armstrong, because right now is the cheapest his brand will ever be. This company would not be able to really use the relationship now, but in a few years there might be an opportunity.
“Perhaps a brand that does not take itself too seriously, like a sports gambling brand, could poke fun at the situation in a few years time.
“As for Armstrong, his sporting brand is pretty much destroyed, but he could still use his non-sporting brand. His only real future is as a motivational speaker and writer.”
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