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Has Ryan Lochte Damaged His Brand for Good?

The Ryan Lochte story has received a great deal of press.  Unfortunately, this is not the first time that we have see an athlete completely, publicly tarnish their image.

In case you missed it, Lochte stated that there were guns drawn at the heads of he and his teammates while they were in Rio for the Olympics. The video surveillance footage now shows a very different story and everyone from the US Olympics committee to the brands that he was associated with are now second guessing their relationship with Lochte.

According to US Weekly, Lochte has lost all of his sponsorship’s and is now scheduled to appear on the TV show Dancing With The Stars. We find this quite interesting.  This is obviously a PR stunt to improve the damage that has been done to his image.  His PR team probably wants him to come across immature, but still someone that can be adored.

This story has brought about a lot of emotion. Check out this exchange between Al Rocker and Billy Bush on the Today Show:

From a PR standpoint:

If you find yourself on the PR team of Ryan Lochte, how do you fix this situation?

Step 1: He has to own it! Live streaming would actually be his best friend right now.  He needs to authentically come out and consistently apologize. Live streaming would force him to answer some very tough questions from the public, but this will allow people to get their frustrations out and move on.

Step 2: He needs to go back to Rio and apologize face to face to the security guard and to the officials that may have been involved.

Step 3: He also needs to personally visit and apologize to his teammates. This scandal stayed in the media circuit and has really taken away from what the Olympics should have been.

Step 4: He should do some PSAs directed towards kids on why lying is bad and look at the consequences that he had to suffer.

Remember, when a brand looks to bring on a spokesperson, they do not only look at their past…but they think 3 to 4 years in advance on how the consumer may view this individual.  They put their brand image on the line when partnering with any type of influencer. When this person tarnishes their public perception, it has been proven best for the brand to cut ties (at least for a couple of years).

The lesson for us as entrepreneurs, public figures, and brand managers is that we must ALWAYS protect our brand.  It is the legacy to which your consumers will stay loyal to you.

What suggestions do you have for the PR team of Ryan Lochte? Leave your feedback in the comments below.

4 Reasons Why the Pokèmon Go Craze is GREAT for Entrepreneurs 

People have been found playing PokemonGo in the delivery room.

App developers around the world are sure to be in awe of the Pokèmon Go craze that has excited people around the globe. No one could have predicted the volume of interest in a gaming app even if they had the best predictive data of all time. The game has nostalgia, challenge, and a little bit of new technology all rolled in to one. This seems to be a winning combination!Here are some recent facts about the game:

  1. Initial release date was July 6, 2016.
  2. The game was developed between a partnership with Nintendo and Niantic.
  3. Nintendo has sold more than 277 million Pokémon games to date, over 21.5 billion trading cards in ten languages, and made seventeen feature films over the past two decades.
  4. Pokèmon actually means Pocket Monster.
  5. In less than a week after its release, Pokémon GO is reportedly bigger than Tinder in the US.
  6. According to SimilarWeb the Usage Time of Pokémon GO is taking up a lot of its user’s time. On July 8th, the app was being used an average of 43 minutes, 23 seconds a day. This is higher than other popular apps like Whatsapp, Instagram, Snapchat, and Messenger.
  7. In less than a week, Pokèmon Go has had 6 million mentions on Twitter. (Adweek)
  8. According to Spreadfast, the most popular cities for the game are Culver City, Calif.; Houston; Chicago; San Antonio; and Manhattan were the buzziest locations, according to the company.
  9. Several brands have been caught tweeting about the game. Check out tweets from Southwest Airlines, KFC France, Sprint, Walmart captured in the article from Adweek.
  10. Nintendo has sold more than 277 million Pokemon games to date, over 21.5 billion trading cards in 10 languages, and made 17 feature films over the last 20 years. Time will tell how Pokemon Go matches up to those numbers. (Pocket-Lint)

If you are confused on how to play and the terminology being used, Pocket-Lint has the best write up I have seen to date. Spend a few minutes here to get a better understanding.

If you are an entrepreneur, here is why you should pay attention to this phenomenon:

  1. Follow The Eyeballs – As Gary Vaynerchuck says, you have to figure out how to Day Trade Attention and at this moment, the world is paying attention to this game at the moment. This is one of the best news jacking opportunities that a business owner can jump on at the moment. Remember to add the hashtag #PokèmonGo to your post.
  2. Promote!  Promote! Promote! – You can create a promotion around the Pokèmon brand and get awesome reach without having to pay to boost your post. Many are advertising the fact that they have a Pokèmon stop near their business.  The discounts that they are giving to patrons are extremely creative and a lot of fun. This type of promotion is a great way to introduce yourself to a new audience.
  3. Market Research – The Pokèmon craze gives you a sense of what those around the globe are finding interesting.  Game play, nostalgia, mobile, getting outside, learning about a variety of landmarks, and the list could go on and on. Take note of how you could apply this to your business. Do you have an app that you are creating? Can you incorporate some of these elements in to your app? Can you add some sort of game play to a promotion that you are running? Now is the time to think out of the box and capitalize on this new platform that is only going to grow.
  4. Stand Out From The Crowd – Pokèmon Go is one of the first virtual reality mobile games that have been successfully created. This is the first of many more to come. To date, we are already seeing some copy cat apps trying to ride the wave. If you feel something in your gut, go for it.  Pokèmon Go actually started from employees at Google working on their side project.  Ultimately, Google decided to let them go because they thought that it would be better for the growth of their company to be a stand alone.  As they say, the rest is history.

Pokèmon Go is actually celebrating 20 years.  Be sure that you check out their celebratory website and post your favorite memories from Pokèmon over the years using the hashtag #Pokemon20.

Take a look at this video from The Verge that will really take you back through the Pokemon history.

The BET Award Show was LIT!

From the moment the 2016 BET Awards show opened with Beyonce to the after party where DJ Khaled released his new video, this awards show will be remembered as one of the best productions that BET has produced in many years. Even with all of the fun that was being had during the entire awards show experience, the bottom line is that this show was about business and each of the artists and actors that were on the show used the global platform to promote the projects that they had coming next.

We will explore The BET Award show from the business aspect.

The PreShow

Typically, you see newer acts perform during the preshow.  Acts that perform here are trying to break from being considered a newbie. So, although you have an act signed by Puff Daddy, they still have to work their way on to the main show. Diddy understands promotion and marketing on a level that many have been educated in marketing still do not get to this day. His act performed, he made an appearance in the audience, and he shared it out in social media.

The lesson for entrepreneurs here is not to be afraid to use a testing ground before you hit a ‘MAIN’ stage.  This will allow you to do some preliminary research before you release to the masses. But, when you do testing like this, its best to bring your A Game.  Testing out your B Game is a complete waste of time.

The Opening

 

Beyonce has not graced a BET Awards Show stage in many years, but this year she used her presence to the fullest. Sisters Chole and Halle Bailey, one of the first signees to Beyonce’s Parkwood Entertainment, were able to have a prime time for performing during the show.

The lesson here for your business is to always think about how you can negotiate to the benefit of your business. BET is going to benefit heavily for at least the rest of the year from Beyonce’s performance. So, in return, she has the right to also gain a little extra for her time to prepare and perform on the show. The searches that their website will get, the buzz that is created because of her performance, the boost to the BET brand is all things that Beyonce can bring to the table and deliver on.

What you have to do is to understand what you are bringing to the table to use as leverage as you negotiate for your business?

The After Show

DJ Khaled, who has a highly engaged Snapchat following, was allowed to perform at the PreShow and also promote the fact that he was releasing his new video that features JayZ and Future. What you have to remember is that DJ Khaled is a DJ, not a rapper, but he has a HUGE rap album with a mega collaboration being released.

There is a lot of business behind this act from numerous directions. The first element is that DJ Khaled can now be considered an influencer on Snapchat. The idea that he will be promoting the BET Awards show and the release of his new album on his Snapchat channel is a WIN for BET.

Secondly, DJ Khaled is touring with Beyonce on the Formation World Tour. JayZ looked at this as an AWESOME way to THANK DJ Khaled for stopping what he was doing to tour with his wife.  But, it really was a WIN-WIN-WIN for all involved.

Think about ways that you can collaborate with other business owners that can make for a mutually beneficial situation where everyone wins.  These collaborations have benefits that go beyond that of the actual act.

 

Periscope Summit Will Be Here Very Soon

periscope speaker adjustedThe Periscope Community Summit will be here very soon. If you are not familiar with this event, take a moment to look at their website by clicking here. This event will bring together many of the top Periscopers from all around the world. Although the programming is sure to be interesting, I am most excited about connecting with other individuals that are as passionate about live streaming as I am. If you are passionate about what live streaming can do for your brand, I hope that you will join me in San Francisco.

PURCHASE TICKETS BY CLICKING HERE

Be sure that you are following me on Periscope to catch all of the latest news and information on live streaming and how to #GetNoticed in your business. @Selsi_Ent

Are you in?

Yes, that is the question of the day! Are you in?

We have issued a challenge to all of you that are brave enough to take it! We want you to Scope EVERYDAY! Yes, EVERYDAY.

The reason for this challenge is because the number one question that we are receiving at our agency is….’How can I grow the following for my brand?’ The answer. There is not magic bullet to grow your following, but Scoping can help speed the process. Well, if you put out GREAT content, consistently.

Here are the rules of the challenge:

1. Use the #SED16 in your title
2. Sign up for a Katch account at www.katch.me
3. Sign up for our eNewsletter by clicking here.
4. Scope EVERYDAY. There is not time limit on your scopes. The idea is simply to hi the Start Broadcast button.

Winners will be chosen randomly by the team at Selsi Enterprises as prizes are available.

Have fun!