The Imus brand implosion

How did the Don Imus situation get so out of control?

1. Imus should have caught himself and apologized immediately on the air. Instead, he dismissively said people needed to “relax about his idiot comments meant to be amusing.” This added fuel to the fire. Name-calling politicians and celebrities is one thing, picking on sympathetic college basketball players is another. He should have understood the difference.

2. Video-taping the show. What propelled the scandal into orbit was seeing Don Imus saying the words over and over again on television and the internet. I don’t think just the audio would have had the same impact. His performance is made for radio; he doesn’t have the right expressions for television. On TV he looks like a cold, mean, old, rich, elitist white man.

3. Trying to be a high-minded political commentator as well as a shock jock spewing locker-room humor. Where is the line? Hard to judge when you are trying to be two different things. Plus his “I’m-better-than-you” image, makes forgiving him more difficult.

4. His first stop on the apology tour should have been to the Rutgers campus. He should have run right over there and been at their press conference.

5. Going on Sharpton’s show hurt his case. With the Reverend taunting and antagonizing him, Imus understandably cracked and came off as confrontational. The show just produced more unflattering clips for the media to run. He said he was stupid more times than he said he was sorry about hurting the basketball players feeling.

6. Too bad Don wasn’t drinking. A rush to rehab would have given everyone a timeout to let the story die down. It would also have given CBS more time to think about it. The two-week suspension was a good idea.

7. Without someone in charge at CBS Radio, executives were left scrambling to deal with the crisis and I believe they prematurely fired Imus. They had already given him a two-week suspension. They should have taken the time to think through the issues and better gage the public and advertiser outrage. Firing him was always an option; there was no need to rush the decision. Having him come back and fail was also an option. In some ways Imus now looks like the victim and CBS Radio looks like the bad guys. If the Rutgers basketball team could forgive him and not want him to lose his job, why couldn’t CBS wait a few weeks to make their decision?

Lessons learned:

1. A well-oiled outrage machine can bring someone down. Sharpton and Jackson are the best. They have had a lot of practice and have obviously gotten really good at taking advantage of a news story to push their agenda. Mel Gibson, Isaiah Washington and Rosie O’Donnell weren’t taken down because the Jewish, Gay and Asian outrage machines are not as well developed. I can’t think of any Sharpton-like leaders of these groups.

2. Know your brand and watch what you say in relation to what you stand for. If you don’t, there will be negative consequences to your actions. Even if you don’t get fired, the negative PR firestorm can be terribly damaging. Mel Gibson will come back but there will always be a stain on his record.

3. Terrestrial radio could be in trouble. The talk-radio genre is filled with ranting, raving and name calling. If more of the big radio stars are kicked off or flee to satellite radio, the future looks bleak for the terrestrial folks.

4. Playing the “I’m-better-than-you” role is dangerous. Having some self deprecation is always better and makes people like you and more easily forgive you. Think Howard Stern or Jon Stewart. Don Imus and Martha Stewart come off as believing they are above it all and beyond reproach.

An airline analogy. The Imus situation is like when an airline has a crash due to pilot error. There is immediate panic and protest. No one wants to fly. But long term airline brands survive, because on most days, most flights land safety. And over time we forget about the bad and remember the good. Unless you crash a plane everyday.

I appeared on CNN Headline Prime News on Wednesday, April 11 and will appear tonight, Friday April 13 to discuss brand Imus again. Tune in to CNN Headline at 6 pm EST.

Comments

[Carson Park Ranger]

This was a branding failure, and the analysis was solid.

He drifted from "edgy," modern, shock-jock non-sense, into the sort of old-fashioned, nudge-nudge, wink-wink rascism which is rejected roundly now-a-days by just about everyone under the age of sixty.

[Nagarjun]

What a cynical set of "Lessons Learned", Laura! I know this is a marketing blog, but #1 on the list should have been, "Be a good human being. Be sensitive to other people's feelings." If celebrities actually focused on being good people, half their PR/Marketing problems would go away.

[Ethan]

Regardless of his intention, the remarks came off very badly.

With regard to previous comment, "jigaboos" was also included in the needless rant against the Rutgers players. Certainly it's of a past era, but that word was as inflammatory as the "n-word."

With regard to Laura's suggestion that CBS acted too quickly in firing - it's a little too soon and a little too late. If they were firing on "ethical grounds" (a front for financial grounds with a corporation with little or no personality or real brand), then they acted far too slowly. Better: as Laura suggests, wait out the two week suspension and re-evaluate.

[Ethan]

Regardless of his intention, the remarks came off very badly.

With regard to previous comment, "jigaboos" was also included in the needless rant against the Rutgers players. Certainly it's of a past era, but that word was as inflammatory as the "n-word."

With regard to Laura's suggestion that CBS acted too quickly in firing - it's a little too soon and a little too late. If they were firing on "ethical grounds" (a front for financial grounds with a corporation with little or no personality or real brand), then they acted far too slowly. Better: as Laura suggests, wait out the two week suspension and re-evaluate.

[The Hotz(e)]

For starters, I have never listened to Imus before in my life. I recognize him but have never bothered to listen to his show. Personally, I think the guy looks extremely unhappy. I think he is a negative curmudgeon and has a face meant for radio.

However, I think this is absolutely ridiculous. This guy is a shock jock and does this stuff all the time. In his 30 years of radio, he has never had a track record of saying racist comments.

Personally, I don't think his comment was racist. I think it was shocking but not racist. He didn't say the n-word. What part is racist with what he said? The "nappy headed" part or "hos" part or simply that it was directed at a team of African-American women? What if the team was all white chicks? Would there be such uproar? I don't think so.

You have an entire hip-hop industry that makes billions off of us by constantly seeding these comments in their songs and lyrics. I don't see Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson flipping out about this. But heaven forbid if a white person says it.

Al and Jesse are licking their chops right now. This is the equivalent of the Super Bowl for these guys. It's just another way for them to demonstrate to the African-American community that they are "fighting for their rights." Whatever. They are always behind negative controversy and never spearheading anything positive.

When the Duke controversy hit the news last year, they were all over it like white on rice. Standing out in front of the home where the incident took place and protesting. Where are they now? The case has been thrown out and Al and Jesse are no where to be found. Don't they owe those three boys an apology? I think so! Same old rhetoric with these two.

I can't believe people have put up with these two guys for so long.....but hey, who cares 'cuz "Bitches aint shit but hoes and tricks." Right????