While it can be tempting to simply drive by and watch them steer their famous personas into a Hollywood ditch, these two tabloid stars can actually teach us some valuable lessons in marketing & branding.  Here are a few golden nuggets I've pulled from their celebrity dirt...

1. Your Customers Can Tell When You Don't Care:
Most people know about Britney Spear's lackluster performance at the MTV Video Music Awards.  She was the headlining act and this was to be her big comeback.  Although I didn't see the live performance, I've seen clips and have heard plenty of stories about it.  Regardless of whether you liked Britney's outfit or not, this was not a great performance.  She seemed to be treating it like a rehearsal and not the real deal - and everyone knew it.  She had an opportunity to get her fans back on her side and she blew it by not giving that performance her best effort.  Businesses can do the same thing.  Perhaps you're having a bad day/week/month and don't really feel like giving your customers your best effort - so you just do the minimum to get by.  Think they'll know it?  Of course. Customers aren't stupid - they can tell when you don't care.  And you'll be lucky if they come back and use you again, because they know that you have competitors that do care.     

2. Stay Focused On Who You Are & What You Do:
While there is certainly plenty of chatter about Tom Cruise's love life (couch jumping, etc.), much of the recent tabloid frenzy involves his enthusiastic support of Scientology.  Although it's honorable to follow your beliefs, Cruise, and many other actors often get confused and think that their audience wants to hear their religious or political thoughts.  Perhaps some people do, but this can be a dangerous path to follow.  When performers like Cruise forget that they are here to entertain and think they are here to educate (or rather shock), they risk alienating & losing loyal fans.  The same can hold true for businesses.  If you forget your long-term goals or stray from your original product offerings, you can risk confusing or losing your customers.   

3. We All Can Use Some Expert Advice:
I don't claim to know the insider scoop on Britney & Tom's management team, but I have heard that they both fired longtime publicists shortly before they started their tabloid-worthy activities.  It's quite possible that these two were capable of wacky behavior long before it made the news - they just had experts on their side to hide their oddities.  When the publicists were gone, their true selves surfaced.  It seems that Britney & Tom needed these experts to manage their personal brands.  Businesses can suffer the same problems.  Many have a 'Do It Yourself' attitude that comes from trying to save money.  While it's good to be thrifty, sometimes you're better off relying on the expert advice of others - be it marketing firms, accountants, attorneys, etc.  These experts have managed situations like yours before and can often give sage advice that will save you time, money and sometimes your reputation!

4. Never Give Up:
I'll be fair - Britney and Tom haven't only taught me What Not to Do, they've also taught me one valuable lesson on What To Do.  That is to Never Give Up.  These two have been the butt of endless jokes and have had gallons of negative attention dropped on them - which would cause most normal people to run away in search of a tabloid-free, hermit lifestyle.  But they still keep going.  What an excellent lesson for any business.  Not everyone will love you.  You'll likely have some customers, partners, or employees that might not like you.  But, you can't let that stop you.  You have to keep your head high and move forward through the tough times. 

I'm quite certain that Britney and Tom will continue to offer more marketing lessons for us to learn from.  If you can think of any that I've missed, please email me at khrach@writeonresults.com and I'll add your thoughts to the online version of this newsletter.   

Thanks & Take Care,
Kathy Hrach 

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