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than Victor Kiam? Or Lee Iacocca’s
THE “the buck stops here” approach for
CEO
Chrysler? Witness folksy Dave
Thomas hawking burgers in more
than 500 ads for Wendy’s
International. Or Frank Perdue, and
later, son Jim, talking tough about
tender chickens.
Company Becomes Person
Richard Branson’s irreverence and
AS BRAND zeal for life have personified Virgin’s
empire of record stores, airlines and
soft drinks. Iconoclastic, hard-driving
Steve Jobs, whose anti-establishment
Their names are synonymous with their approach permeates Apple Computer
companies’ products—and that presents a Inc., created a lasting impression of
the brand that trickles down to users
slew of unique challenges. who identify themselves as Mac devo-
tees. “The company becomes about
By Karen Benezra the person, and it has a personality to
it,” says Robert Kahn, executive direc-
tor at global brand consulting firm
an a balding, mid- Trademarks Personified Enterprise IG. “The CEO is the
C
dle-aged man with a Signing on to be the company’s absolute bottom line for a company.
big nose and goofy spokesperson isn’t the only path to There’s a lot of power in that.”
grin really sell chick- brand CEO status, though—nor is it Iacocca, by going on TV and mak-
en? No, not alone, the only requirement. Brand CEOs ing a personal statement, assured
says Jim Perdue. His are those who have come to personify wary Americans that Chrysler was
mug helps to market tender birds, their companies’ trademarks, whether committed to delivering high-quality
but the 51-year-old poultry company through family ties, a strong personal- automobiles. And if a consumer could
scion refuses to take sole credit for ity or high visibility. find a better car, he urged them to
the success of a national TV advertis- Think Martha, Oprah, Jack, Bill, buy it. It was a rare but perfect fit of
ing campaign that features his smil- and “Chainsaw” Al. These power exec- strategy and personality, says Brendan
ing face peering through the window utives play—or played—such an inte- Ryan, CEO of ad agency FCB
of a warm oven. Consumer tests have gral role in defining their companies Worldwide and chairman of the
shown the advertisement has sparked that employees, customers and American Association of Advertising
above-average brand recognition and investors refer to them on a first-name Agencies. “That moment demanded a
interest among non-Perdue buyers. basis. They glad-hand dignitaries. They personality to epitomize what
Perdue attributes the success of his testify before Congress. They with- Chrysler was all about and why it was
company’s branding efforts to the stand pitched battles with sharehold- worth saving,” he says. “He got out
quality of its product—chicken, in all ers. In effect, these captains of industry and owned the problem.”
its golden, plump glory—also fea- are brand icons inexorably linked to
tured in the ad. If the product weren’t the reputations of Martha Stewart Poked in the Public Eye
excellent, no ad campaign, no matter Living Omnimedia, Harpo, General There are reasons why CEOs should
how good, would salvage the Perdue Electric, Microsoft and Sunbeam. stay out of the spotlight, of course.
brand image, he points out. Such a role assumes greater chal- Sometimes these brand icons suffer at
But Perdue is wrong to discount lenges and, perhaps, yields greater ben- the hands of corporate foes. Frank
the weight of his name when it comes efits than those experienced by lesser- Perdue was dogged by animal rights
to building the corporate image and known bosses. The lasting impressions activists opposed to factory farming—
its most famous products. After all, these CEOs have bestowed upon their and was once attacked. In 1992, a
his is the company’s name; his father, businesses—and the corporate cultures woman dressed in a chicken suit
Frank, spent years on TV telling con- they have uniquely defined—set them rushed the CEO during a public meet-
sumers, “It takes a tough man to apart from the pack. Through their ing and hurled a cream pie in his face.
make a tender chicken.” As a result, strong leadership styles, corporate Some industries simply don’t lend
Perdue, as CEO of Perdue Farms Inc., vision is communicated loudly and themselves to vocal bosses who show
shoulders a special responsibility: to clearly, and brand images are carved their faces on TV. The late adman
serve as the fresh face behind the out for years to come. David Ogilvy opposed CEOs’ appear-
name and to represent the brand’s Who could better sell a turn- ing in advertisements for their
renewed message. around story for Remington shavers brands. “Only in the direst of cases,
24 D E CA D i m e n s i o n s No v e m b e r / D e c e mb e r 2 0 0 6
show your clients’ faces,” was one of ing up distressed companies and Ellison, who started their companies
his favorite maxims. Ogilvy believed slashing thousands of jobs to boost from day one and became their public
such a ploy could be viewed as a sign profitability before dressing them up face” makes more sense, says Ryan.
of weakness, and that the agency that for another sale. “At the end of the And therein lies another challenge
developed such a campaign had no day, they’re all people and they have brand CEOs face: passing on the
good ideas of its own to sell a prod- foibles and can find themselves in sit- brand identity they’ve developed to a
uct. Ogilvy also reasoned that CEOs uations that aren’t positive for a successor. Jack Welch’s departure
come and go, creating a risk in associ- brand,” says Kahn. “Nobody’s really from GE created more than just one
ating a product or service with a sin- perfect for a long time.” of the most closely watched horse
gle individual. But CEO-centered advertising can races in succession history. He also
Even if the CEO stays put, creating be very effective for certain compa- left his successor Jeffrey Immelt a dif-
a culture around his or her personali- nies. Take Coors Brewing Co., for ficult task: to create a name
ty can make the corporate brand example. For more than 10 years, that for himself in the
more vulnerable. Consider AT&T’s company’s campaigns have featured wake of his
Robert Allen, GM’s Roger Smith, or Peter Coors, 55. “I [started by doing] a
IBM’s John Akers; each showed that series [of national TV ads] talking
when egos get in the way, CEOs can about the quality of our water,” says
grow arrogant. They stop listening to Coors, who figured it was a one-time
trusted advisors and begin to breed deal. But then Coors’ agency, FCB
negative energy, reflecting that back Worldwide in Chicago, invited him to
on the company. “Roger Smith do more, this time on drinking
became shorthand for a generation of responsibly. The advertisements have
managerial puppetry,” says Jeffrey done so well in helping Coors reach its
Sonnenfeld, president of the Chief target audience of young men, that
Executive Leadership Institute and an even though Coors is no longer
associate dean at the Yale School of CEO—he was succeeded in 2000
Management. by W. Leo Kiely III—he
To be sure, when highly visible remains the focal point of
CEOs make bad decisions or fail advertisements. “We’ve
entirely, their companies suffer as built up the equity of my
well. “Personal actions, such as politi- image,” he says.
cal decisions, take on more weight,” Coors says he feels a responsibility
says Peter H. Coors, former CEO and to represent his family and the compa-
now chairman of the eponymous ny in his community. “There are non-
brewing company founded by his family CEOs who use [their status] as famous
great-grandfather in 1873. “What we a tool to move their companies for- boss’s departure, and
might do personally would have an ward, as well. But perhaps it’s more to develop an equivalent emotional
impact on the company.” natural if you have the name and bond. Among Immelt’s first, and
“People won’t feel good about that’s what you like to do,” he says. some say defining, moves was step-
buying your product if they don’t feel The challenge for corporate lead- ping up to donate $10 million to the
good about your company,” he adds. ers is to determine when a CEO September 11 disaster fund just two
For years, the company bore the should lend his or her personality to days after the terrorist attacks.
reputation of a union-buster stem- build the brand, although most agree Many CEOs believe that if a compa-
ming from labor disputes at the brew- the circumstances should specifically ny’s values are solid, and if the image
ery from 1977 to 1987—not the best call for it. “There are times when it is of a product or service is strong, it
image to have when your main cus- appropriate for a CEO to become should be able to weather the depar-
tomers are young and blue collar. involved, such as in times of crisis or ture of a brand name CEO.
Coors says he “spent a great deal of doubt,” says William R. Johnson, 52, In order for the company’s products
time patching relationships with the chairman, president, and CEO of the to have a voice and an image inde-
community and unions” following H.J. Heinz Co. pendent of the top executive, the
that chapter of the company’s history. brand CEO has to have done a good
Changing of the Guard job of establishing what the company
Nobody’s Perfect Much of a brand CEO’s success stands for, communicating that
For years, quick-tempered George depends on his or her personality or vision to employees and motivating
Steinbrenner, a.k.a. “Boss Bluster,” career history. Someone like Lou them to develop a genuine connec-
was famous for firing Yankee coaches Gerstner, for example, who was tion to customers. ❖
and players on a whim. Even before imported to IBM from another
the latest revelations about the miss- industry, wouldn’t necessarily make a Karen Benezra writes for Chief Executive
ing years on his resume, turnaround good brand spokesman. But “some- magazine, in which this article was origi-
artist Al Dunlap was known for pick- one like Gates or [Oracle’s Larry] nally published.
DE CA Dimen sion s No v e m b e r / D e c e mb e r 2 0 0 6 25
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