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Interesting and true what Laura Ries had to say about CEOs as pitch people. Sometimes a great notion, other times absolutely not. When advertising is one of your brand’s branding tactics it’s important to fully recognize why, when, and if to put your CEO in front of the camera. The fact that a CEO is likeable, well respected, and may even have camera presence are important things to consider. Then, of course, the CEO must be seen as genuine. The real deal. When looking at the issue from a branding perspective (the view from my window) another critical thing to consider is whether your CEO’s appearance on air will truly reinforce the equity of the brand. In other words, is it a worthwhile business strategy? One determining factor is whether the person at the top resonates “brand-ness.” Are the person and the brand personality inextricable? If this is the case, using the CEO for branding purposes makes lots of sense. Frank Perdue, for example, looked and sounded just like the finicky chicken-picker he was. We believed him when he told us his chickens were plumper and juicier and tastier. Martha Stewart is the essence of homemade perfection. She lives her brand promise, in her house and, if we pay attention, in ours. Oprah as brand is undeniable. She embodies the simple idea of personal empowerment and applies it to everything she does. James Dyson is vacuuming up mote loads of dollars because he, too, is so intrinsically united with his company’s brand identity. As for Richard Branson, his personality is as cheeky and clever as the businesses he runs. Of course, every good CEO must be the ultimate brand advocate. The person who supports the brand better and more fiercely than anyone else. The person who ensures that the brand’s promise is driven home both inside and outside the company. This doesn’t mean the CEO should literally operate on the outside. Most CEOs can talk the brand talk naturally, but they can’t walk the walk without tripping up. This means they’re best left behind the scenes to do what they do best ? run the company. Unless you are at a critical crossroads, unless there is really good business reason to do so, I’d carefully consider whether to use your CEO as branding tool. Unless your CEO and your brand have matching personas, I’d vote to keep the great and powerful Oz behind the curtain.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 27th, 2006 at 11:00 am and is filed under Kudos, Main, Trends. By: Allen Adamson You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.