Not such a Weiner

At the Click 5.0 Digital Marketing Summit I raised the topic of the Anthony Weiner scandal in the United States.   With care, of course.  The issues the matter raises, if you will pardon the double entendre, are not suitable for polite conversation.

The scandal reminded me of a fundamental truth - that the core element of every reputation is trust.   (The recent Edelman Trust Barometer reinforces, with evidence, that trusted companies and organisations fare better in a storm).

And so it was with Congressman Weiner.

If you don't know the story, here it is in a nutshell.  Mr Weiner is a Democrat Congressman.  He's married.  His very beautiful wife is an adviser to Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and she's expecting a baby.  He was planning to run for Mayor of New York, a huge political office. Mr Weiner is chatting to a young woman online.  He tweets directly to her an indecent picture of himself, or so he thinks.  But to his horror, he realises he's tweeted it to all his followers, and tries to get it back.  But it's out there, and it's a story.   He gives interviews, such as this one, in which he denies sending the picture

The problem is that he is not telling the truth.  And in an instant, he has changed the central focus of the story: from whether he sent an indecent picture of himself, at best a misjudgement, to whether he is a truthful person.  In other words, can he be trusted?   And as a legislator, that is a very important question for the American public.   It is about his core reputation.  Who votes for someone they don't trust?

As the days go on, Mr Weiner clings on to his version of events and to his seat in Congress.  He makes enemies of the media by berating them for daring to keep raising the subject (it's impossible to write this summary and avoid double entendre throughout, you will have to stay with me, please).

Of course, the inevitable happens and more evidence of chats online with other women and even more explicit pictures come to light.

Mr Weiner decides to hold a press conference in which he confesses to sending the picture and to other incidents, some before he was married and some after.  It is a humiliating and degrading spectacle.  Watch how he breaks down after he says the words "I haven't told the truth....".

By now, this major US story has become a global spectacle and the press conference is packed and the atmosphere frenzied.  It's carried on all the news networks.

Mr Weiner still tries to cling on to his seat, and when the controversy refuses to die down, he announces he is seeking treatment.  Given that the central issue in this story is that he has not been telling the truth, it is not clear what he is to be treated for.

There are multiple calls for his resignation, but then finally the President is asked in a press conference if he thinks Mr Weiner should resign and Mr Obama says if he were him, he would.  Mr Weiner resigns and gives another press conference (he appears by now to be addicted to press conferences).

Here is a good timeline  of the crisis for the Congressman (warning: contains image and material of an adult nature).

There has been much nonsense written about the quality of the PR advice Mr Weiner was given.

 Here is my summary.

1.  It's a fundamental rule when you are in trouble that you must be open and tell the truth.  That way, you might survive, and people might accept you've made a mistake but still trust you.

2.  If you don't tell the truth, you are entirely to blame for the consequences.  Not your advisers.

3.  Failure to tell the truth changes any issue to one of your integrity and that is potentially fatal to your reputation.

4.  Think very carefully about whether you should give a press conference if you are likely to be questioned about phone sex, your genitals, or people in the audience are likely to shout out insults of a sexual nature at you.   Keep your dignity.   Can you imagine preparing your client for questions about his underwear and what's underneath it?   It should make alarm bells ring very loudly.

5.  The public on the whole are generous when you make a mistake, if you apologise and tell them what you are going to do to put it right.   That generosity evaporates when they realise they are not being told the truth.

The saga has been a gift to American comedians.  My favourite line was this from a comedian in New York (sadly I can't find the clip): "Have you seen the Weiner pictures.  Oh!....  Oh!.... (think of the way Joan Rivers says Oh!... to get the picture).  I want a man like that running my city."

Finally, Mr Weiner made some terrible mistakes and he has paid a heavy price.  But he eventually did the right thing.  His wife appears to be standing by him.  She is an extraordinarily generous and loving person.   I wish him well.


(Posted from Mumbai, India)

Quotable quotes from Click 5.0

There were so many great quotes at the Click 5.0 Summit in Dubai this week, I couldn't write them down quick enough.

Probably my favourite - "Twitter is not a strategy, it's a tactic" (When your client tells you he wants to be on Twitter, the first question is why?) - Meredith Tugan, Head of Digital, Action Global Communications Group, UAE (video from Meredith being posted later).

"Not everything can be responded to in 140 characters, sometimes it's better to pick up the phone"  - Ashish Panjabi, COO of Jacky's Electronics, UAE.  Ashish said that if a customer tweets they are unhappy, it's a good idea to talk to them if you can, not tweet back!  That way you can achieve excellent customer service.  Customer are often shocked you respond that quickly (that was a common theme at Click 5.0).

Another Ashish pearl: "Don't go around saying you're the best. Let your actions talk to the customer, and show them."

"Only 1 per cent of people in Iraq are online, but they may be the 1 per cent you want to reach" - Mike Evans, Head of Marketing, flydubai, UAE.  flydubai started 3 1/2 years ago with two aircraft and two routes.  Then they went shopping and bought another 50 planes.  (Do you think Boeing ever do Buy One Get One Free promotions?)  So they have a lot of routes now.  But they are a low cost airline and they keep every cost down and they want results from all their marketing spend.  flydubai is an amazing success story and an airline, like Emirates, to watch.

And finally a quote attributed to William Arthur Wood:

"Before you speak, listen.  Before you write, think.  Before you invest, investigate."

Don't miss Click 5.0 in Cairo, details to be announced soon.




(Posted from Mumbai, India).

PS: The Times of India reports today that a man from Kerala needed some cash to buy a drink - so he sold his wife for 250 GBP.  He's been arrested.   It doesn't say what happened to his poor wife, or whether he bought a drink before he was arrested.

Analyse your CEO

At Click 5.0, the Middle East's leading annual digital marketing event, the opening keynote was given by Yasser Al Kharobi from Saudi Arabia.  Yasser was a wise choice to open - he's a guru on social media in the MENA (Middle East &North Africa) region and has got the habit of pulling amazing statistics out that dispel your preconceptions.

This time he took on the big challenge people face, not just in MENA.  How do you persuade your CEO, who may be in the older age group and not a social media or even internet user, to invest in social media?

The best way to approach this, says Yasser, is to look carefully at your CEO's background to work out what is going to persuade him or her best.  In other words, analyse them!

Here's Yasser's CEO "types":

1.  Strong marketing background.  Welcomes new ideas. Charisma. Great leader.  You're on to a winner here.

2.  Financial background. May have previously been CFO.  Numbers driven.  Believes marketing is a support function and any new ideas must be driven by evidence of ROI.

3.  Background in logistics.  May have been COO or Head of IT.   Priority is financial and risk management.  Tough leader.  Wants IT department to lead digital activity.

4.  Company veteran.  Long server.  Came from lower ranks.  Can be quite insulated, especially to new ideas.   Historically driven and doesn't see need to change what is already working.

5.  Product driven.  Great products don't really need much marketing.  Relies on in house marketing and suspicious of external advice.

6.  CEO with no power to make decisions.  Nervous and constantly seeking and needing approval of board or Chairman.

What are some of the views CEOs hold about social media?  It's a fad.  I am too old for this.  I have no idea what you are talking about.  We don't need it, we have a website.  We are B2B and too boring for social media!    Its an issue for the IT department, not me.  The printed media has always worked for us, why change?  Our customers don't use social media (common view in luxury upscale brands), the traditional media is what is important, we don't socially relate to our customers offline, why do it online? We have nothing to say!

Yasser's prescription is to study what will be persuasive for your type of CEO.  But never over promise. Don't try to make your CEO LIKE social media or go "wow".  It's not going to happen.  Give your CEO solid data.  Give examples of what your competitors are doing successfully especially if it is making them money.  Above all, offer to start small and show them what you can do.

And you could also show them the Old Spice campaign or even the sneezing panda on You Tube (over one hundred MILLION views!)

(Posted from Dubai, United Arab Emirates)