Archive for the ‘Celebrity Reputation’ Category

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2010 has begun yet again with its Bollywood star power and deep pockets of business tycoons and is looking like a well-oiled business enterprise adept at social networking.

All teams, Kolkata KnightRiders (KKR), Deccan Chargers (DC) Rajasthan Royals (RR), Delhi Daredevils (DD), Kings XI Punjab, Chennai Superkings (CSK), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Mumbai Indians (MI),l are active on Twitter.

For the first time IPL has tied up with Google and has live video streaming via the IPL YouTube channel so that the great Indian diaspora can enjoy the games from far-flung places around the globe.  In terms of channel views, the first day of IPL 2010 saw the number going up 84 per cent to 880,615 by the second half of the day from 478,057 in the first half. By Sunday, it had crossed 3.1 millions.

For now the quality of the videos being streamed remains to be analysed but there is no denying that as business ventures go, the IPL 2010 takes its online presence seriously.

Tweeting owners: Team owners like Shahrukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shettty; captains like Shane Warne and players like Robin Uttappa and Yuvraj Singh are all busy tweeting away. IPL Chairman Lalit Modi is active on twitter as well along with PR people of each team tweeting about their respective teams. This is celebrity reputation management as well; all things IPL have celebrity status these days in India.

Mobile TV technology companies, gaming portals and online ticket booking sites are all raking in the moolah.

Being active on Twitter is crucial for team owners and more so in the case of Shahrukh Khan (SRK) whose team faced a reputation management crisis like no other – a blogger, who called himself the “fakeiplblogger” on blogspot, regularly trashed the team and its owner with surprising inside info on the workings of the team and its off-scene activity in South Africa last year. The team morale nosedived and KKR were languishing at the bottom.

This time around the buzz is great for KKR,  SRK himself is tweeting his way into people’s hearts and making sure nothing works against his team. A great example of how controversy helped create a buzz is his last movie MNIK (My name is KHAN), thanks to social networking sites and the tag “MNIK” trended worldwide on Twitter and helped the star regain some of his lost popularity.

IPL 2010 stands testimony to how important reputation management through social media is for businesses and sport like cricket these days.

Lindsay Lohan is yet again in news. The 23-year-old actress has filed a lawsuit against E-Trade for $100 million over a Super Bowl ad featuring a “milkaholic” baby named Lindsay. The controversial TV ad features a baby boy apologizing to his girlfriend for not calling her because he was busy trading stocks on E-Trade. Lohan alleged E-trade for breaching of civil rights and use of her name, ‘Lindsay’ and characterization without payment or permission.

This is nothing new for the glam doll who has the habit of being in news for all the wrong reasons; starting from spending a day in jail, her relationship with Samantha Ronson, being shooed away by enraged people in the Paris Fashion Week, Lindsay has it all in her to invite controversy.

If we look back, Tracy Palmer, the Director of Consumer Advertising Sprint, made no fuss when her name was used for the girls character in the sprint ad. So doubts are afloat if this whole controversy by Lindsay is a publicity stunt. The allegations levied by her lawyer also seems inappropriate to stand up in the court.

“Many celebrities are known by one name, and E-Trade is using that knowledge to profit,” Lohan’s lawyer, Stephanie Ovadia, said in a statement to the New York Post . “They’re using her name as a parody of her life. Why didn’t they use the name Susan? This is a subliminal message. Everybody’s talking about it and saying it’s Lindsay Lohan.”

The whole drama has done a world of good for E-trade, with thousands of people searching for the controversial commercial online. Wonder why LiLo seems so offended, or is it a mere frustration of hers.  She is in real need of a quality PR and some strategic celebrity reputation management to be in place to regain her lost image as a celebrity rather than as a troubled star.

We, at  Reputation Management For.com, feel that Lindsay has to retain the confidence of the public and should work towards getting back her stardom.  Who will want to sponsor a celebrity who may turn round and sue them later, had she not mentioned anything for the best part the ad would have gone unnoticed, now even we are writing about it now!

We are a very pro-active and believe in taking a preventative measure rather than waiting until negative results start appearing about a company or individual.  We wanted to start reporting on companies and celebrities and ranking them on how good their online PR and reputation management is.  We started with 3 completely different celebs and will be adding to it weekly.

• Jimmy Carr got into hot water about a joke he performed.
• Jonathan Ross got into trouble about a phone call prank.
• John Terry had an affair with a team mates partner

What is apparent is the lack of online presence celebs and companies have.  This is asking for trouble and with search engines becoming faster at reporting news, photos and videos if you don’t take action to protect your reputation online then you are allowing other people to write anything they want about you.  Anyone with a phone is now a journalist, they can blog you, post you, video you and with in minutes have them online.

We can help protect and defend your reputation online, we highly recommend you do this before negative things may appear about you.  It is way more difficult to push negative results down once they are there, by reducing the chances of results appearing on the first page will help soften or eliminate negative stories all together on the first page of Google.

If you need help or want to protect your reputation online then give us a call:

Call: UK +44(0)845 862 1893
Call: USA +1 646 723 3965

or fill out our online enquiry form

The British catwalker is again in the news for all the wrong reasons. The extent of her temper has invited suggestion to instate sirens and lights to alert those vulnerable souls she hires.  They say ‘When you are with Naomi better don’t say “No”, or else you get a bloody nose. This time it was her 27-year-old-driver, who was boxed and slapped from the back seat of the car in Manhattan. Naomi immediately fled the scene. The driver called 911 and the NYPD was looking for her to be questioned.

Naomi Campbell’s reputation is on the rocks. Just Google Naomi and you will find majority of the websites are related to her bad temper than modeling. She had been in and out of trouble numerous time before, the charges she faced ranges from beating an assistant, hurling mobile at her maid and throwing abuses at British Airways staff.

What is it that makes this sultry siren go wild? Is it because she had a trouble childhood and  struggled in life, so all that frustration has to be taken off by beating up people?   Money is not a factor and she doesn’t seem much bothered about her reputation. Serious loss in waiting and she need to realize that negative comments influences everybody and travels faster than her imagination.  Her recent show to raise funds for Haiti earthquake is over shadowed by bad stories.

Is Naomi Campbell adept to change herself? Half way through this blog I came across the news that Ms. Campbell’s driver has apologized and he is  blaming himself for the confusion. How did this happened? Naomi later issued a statement

I have worked very hard on correcting my previous wrongdoings and I will not be held hostage to my past.

We at Reputation Management For.com feel that this was a great PR move by Naomi because she was able to turn this around while the news was still buzzing. But more than that celebrity management is one thing she may need, to realize success and failure in its true form and reputation management to defend her super stardom status.

Related celebrity posts

• Tiger Woods Press conference
• Sarah Palin- Tea Party
• John Terry and Max Clifford

No.10 Downing Street has been abuzz with speculations of the alleged bullying tactics of  the  British PM Gordon Brown. Meanwhile the founder of the National Bullying Charity helpline has told the media that they are receiving fresh calls for help from Downing Street Staff. Though the  Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O’Donnell came up with a quick denial and brushed aside the concerns with Brown as mere media speculation, a book  has come up with the news that the cabinet secretary had in fact asked Brown to curb his “volcanic temper”. Amidst all the allegations and counter allegations, the public is left wondering.

Well, going by the signs, all is not well at the No.10 Downing Street and it is only a matter of time before these bickering might snowball into a major controversy. Prima facie, the whole episode  appears as a PR mishandling issue and these internal issues might prove a major embarrassment to the Prime Minister’s office if more 10 Downing Street employees choose to take the matter to the media. Mr. Brown has to gather his acts smartly and make sure that the PR practices are in place in the highest office.

What is more worrying about the Gordon Brown revelations is not just the vile temper of the PM but the fact that the National  Bullying Helpline having felt the need to intervene. For many, the alleged outbursts of Mr. Brown might appear childish but the fact that these have come out into the open from within the iron walls of the Downing street in itself is a warning call for the Prime minister’s office  to set out on an urgent damage control and reputation management exercise to stall his rating from plummeting in the public eye.

Tiger Woods apology and press conference yesterday went off without a glitch except for a couple of nervous stops in the beginning. He tried to talk about everything a reporter would have wanted to question him. His mom was present and his wife’s family, he even thanked Accenture, and the golfing community for understanding the timing of his apology.

The read out speech asking for atonement, telling the Paparazzi to stay away from his family and saying he was sorry thrice was all very well.

In celebrity reputation management terms, Tiger did all that he needed to do, touching upon spirituality and Buddhism and his therapy and the millions of kids who idolized him – he said it all!

But I wasn’t moved, there were tears and he touched on all aspects, yet watching it one was left with questions of how it seemed only rehearsed.

• This is a man who was an expert in leading a double life and perpetuating a holier-than-thou persona off the golf course.
• The Tiger brand thrived on his presumed golden image – the star with no faults –  a star like no other.

The extent of the damage on the Tiger Woods brand to me seemed more evident yesterday in the public apology. Again we are not talking about the golfer Tiger Woods but the brand which projected him as the ideal on and off the field.

Tiger is definitely not out of the woods yet, with his problems or image, the public still feel cheated and only time and a phenomenal comeback in the game can really solve this.

Conclusion: For now this ‘mea culpa’ can be only termed as the tiniest step in rebuilding his brand. The golfing circuits need the Tiger brand back and up; after all he is the one who brings in the crowds!

The White House seems defensive and even apologetic to a growing number of people in the US and they are growing in numbers. The Tea Party Convention is the most striking example of the culmination of anti Obama views. This is a very large group of people against the healthcare plan and the large amount of taxes they are being charged by the Obama government.

Quick to ride the Tea-Party wave is Sarah Palin, who with her appearance as a speaker at the convention, made it clear she has her sights set on the presidency. Palin has been clawing her way out of bad press,  planning out her candidacy  after resigning as governor. She has penned a book and is now a political commentator on FoxNews and the stage was set at the Tea Party Convention when she said…

“This is about the people, and it’s bigger than any king or queen of a Tea Party. And it’s a lot bigger than any charismatic guy with a teleprompter”

Palin took a dig at Obama at the tea party convention and has even gone on to say if its right for America she is ready to run for President in 2012.

“Now a year later, I got to ask the supporters of all that, how is that hope-y, change-y stuff working out for you”

Statements from Palin, quite like the ones used during election campaigns.

Bad press continues: The speaker’s fee of $100,000 paid to Sarah Palin has been in the news and Palin has claimed it does not go to her but to her party’s campaigning fund but this had been dogging her. Other news reports talk of how involved her husband Todd Palin has been in the Alaska governance.

Sarah Palin is simply great bad press material, sometimes ridicule and most importantly great NEWS! One thing’s for sure Palin is everywhere and there she will remain for a long time to come.

As for the Democrats, it will be unwise on their part to take her lightly, the US has elected movie stars like Regan to the White House and even the first mixed race President in Obama, so could a woman be far behind? ?

If Obama bungles up on the healthcare program and the national security issues and continue to remain on the defensive chances are Sarah Palin is right there to take his place.

For now even the Tea Party Convention don’t want her as their leader but in the times we are in, the Democrats better be wary even though Sarah Palin may seem like no Margaret Thatcher or Indira Gandhi!

The Sarah Palin brand chugs on and she as a politician is building up both her celebrity and her reputation.

3 Labour MPs Elliott Morley, David Chaytor, Jim Devine and a Tory peer Lord Hanningfield will face criminal charges over alleged misuse of their expenses. They will be charged under section 17 of the Theft Act relating to false accounting; if found guilty the four could land in jail for seven years.

Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer while announcing the charges said ‘that one other case was still being investigated, as there was insufficient evidence to charge the Labour peer Lord Clarke of Hampstead.

According to Sir Thomas Legg, who carried out the audit of the expenses, stated the system as “deeply flawed”. Hundreds of MPs were ordered to pay back a total of £1.12 million.

So what’s next?
Do we start thinking about reforming the British Politics and Democracy? High-time to give it a thought, the public fuming about the expenses scandal is justified, so faith needs to be restored.

Have the public lost faith in MPs? The expenses file shows MPs more than half the entire House of Commons are involved in the controversial expenses scandal. They exploited the system of parliamentary allowances to promote their lifestyles and homes. The revelation has angered many voters and the reputation of the MPs has taken a beating.

People at large knew nothing until the scandal was out in the open and how MPs claimed for items far beyond what was allowed. Change in the system was voiced, but unfortunately there weren’t many takers. The after effect of not heeding that advise is all out in black & white.

It’s not easy to get this scandal off the mind of the taxpayers. While some MPs are guilty for the wrongdoing it has tarnished everyone in the house of Commons with the same brush.

So what does this mean? Is there a need for an urgent damage control to restore public faith?

A need for a strategic reputation management to get back the lost glory. There is no quick-fix method to fix the problem, but MPs need to realize that they are  the representatives of their constituency and are not traders.

Politics and politicians are definitely not immune to bad press or negative comments, the above scandal shows how a politicians online reputation can go for a ride even if you are not at fault. You need to apprise the public your accomplishments, and what you are planning to do. This will allow people to respond positively and garner faith in the system.

David Cameron, when said ‘all MPs who do not repay will be sacked and be termed not eligible for election. This is a welcome statement and will infuse confidence in public, and also minimize the resentment in public for those in the House of Commons.

Politician’s reputation holds greater significance as electorate comprising of different age and group will have a common thinking about their representative, which makes sense to them. Let your positive image be known to the public, after all that is all you need to face the polls.

Leno, reeling from the backlash in popularity after The Tonight Show fiasco has done the one thing PR Gurus all over the world order you to do if you are in a reputation soup – Go on the Oprah Show and tell your side of the sordid tale.

Leno has lots to be worried – his Jay Leno Show is officially ending on Feb 9th due to bad ratings and he is slated to get back into the Tonight Show at 11 pm.

On the other hand, Conan O’ Brien bid adieu in style and even thanked the NBC for the chance of hosting every funny guy’s dream – The Tonight Show!

This was nothing short of tragedy as far as the Leno and Coco are concerned a network goofing up on its scheduling after realising the ratings dropped had done the unthinkable – got two funny guys to probably go bitter. While the wisecracks continue everywhere and the numerous jokes with Leno at the receiving end being  portrayed a bully, continues unabated.

O’Brien has not just gained a colossal amount of money to walk away but has also managed to come out of this with a better image and popularity. People tend to take sides with the bullied and now everyone knows who Coco is all over the world.

Leno on the other hand had everything to lose – he was there, his show made millions, people enjoyed him, he was known all over the world and had even agreed to move aside for a successor. Now that the Oprah show appearance is done, let’s wait and watch what he’s going to do to build his reputation back.

In celebrity reputation management terms Leno is going through his worst time added to this he has to go back to the Tonight Show and rebuild all that he was. Good humour though is always handy and let’s hope Leno has enough of that remaining!

As for NBC – the business side of things ain’t everything guys, you need to protect the image of your stars!