Happy Foodie Friday! There’s been a food-related story making the headlines this week and I think it reflects something that can be useful to any of us in business. The founder and chairman of Papa Johns Pizza had to step down this week after he admitted to using the N-word in a company conference call. It has sparked a public relations crisis and it’s not the first one his actions have caused. You might remember that he also weighed in on the controversy surrounding NFL players and their kneeling during the national anthem. While he certainly wasn’t the first sponsor to criticize a league, doing so over an issue that went way beyond the league itself resulted in a public relations issue for the brand.
While I’ve never been a fan of Papa John’s pizza, his bad behavior made me all the more certain I’d never eat it again. One person whose food I am a fan of is Mario Batali. Even so, I’ll not be going to any restaurant associated with him. His bad behavior caused him to “step back” from his restaurant empire following the first public allegations of sexual misconduct. That was followed up by a 60 Minutes story. Even so, he hadn’t completely divested himself of a financial interest, and that certainly affected the brand, so much so that three of his restaurants on the Las Vegas Strip are set to close even though they were doing well. The local partner in these restaurants, Las Vegas Sands Corp., decided to end the relationship with Batali’s organization.
Why do I bring this up? Because every one of us in business is a celebrity on some level. We might be nationally known or maybe it’s just our customers, partners or employees who consider us famous. Our actions can enhance or damage our personal and corporate brands every day and we need to remember that no incident remains quiet or hidden for very long. Nearly every person is holding a camera and a video recorder in their hands and bad behavior rarely goes unnoticed or unpublicized.
There was a restaurant I patronized on a regular basis. The food was OK if unextraordinary, the prices were reasonable but the owner was a great guy. I loved spending a little while with him every time I went and I kept going back because he took great care of me as well as did good things in our community. We are our brands, and how we act can damage that brand as badly as a misplaced ad or a faulty product. Enjoy your weekend!
Consult Keith 