The “real” reason Charles Gibson is winning the branding game
I have a friend who used to say that as long as Walter Cronkite was on the air he felt everything was going to be okay—even when he knew the world wasn’t okay. Well, the world isn’t okay and Walter Cronkite isn’t on the air anymore. But, based on recent ratings numbers, it seems that a lot of people these days feel about ABC’s Charles Gibson the way my friend felt about Mr. Cronkite. Why is the Charles Gibson brand clobbering the Brian Williams and Katie Couric brands in the evening news branding derby? It boils down to a BrandSimple answer; the essence of his brand. The Charles Gibson brand is all about authenticity. And in the evening news space authenticity is the gold standard of brand promises. It’s the most important brand benefit the anchor of a prime time news program can have. Charles Gibson, man as brand, looks and behaves like someone who’s been in the business for awhile. Someone who might have earned his stripes at a small town newspaper. Just the facts delivered with an appropriate degree of compassion. His branding is as real as his brand.
While the Brian Williams brand has a smooth and polished essence, it may be too smooth and polished, especially for viewers who want information, not a sophisticated performance. And, no matter how fervently she tries to distance herself from it, the essence of the Katie Couric brand is one of friendly conversationalist. A great brand for morning coffee, but not right for those seeking hard news from someone who comes across as having been in the trenches. Even in his Good Morning America Days, Mr. Gibson was genuinely self-effacing. No matter how much Brian Williams and Katie Couric try to close the branding gap, it’s going to be hard to do. They’d have to change the very essence of their brands which would hardly ring true. The reason Charles Gibson is winning the evening news branding game is that he has the right brand essence for the space and for the times. Charlie, as he’s referred to, is authentic.
June 30th, 2007 at 11:47 am
As much as I’d like to see Katie Couric succeed, if only to see more diversity on the news, I believe you’ve hit the nail on the head with this one. I just don’t believe her in this format. And I’m all about authenticity in branding.
This is a great example of how authenticity works for brands — and it works just as well for organizational brands as it does for news personality brands, don’t you think?