- Lance Armstrong speaking to Oprah
Every great story is the product of two crucial components: the ‘Botch-up’ and the ‘Trying to Fix the Botch-up.’ Brand Armstrong is at the latter stage (and critical point) of his long and lucrative narrative in the public sphere. On the morning after his first of two worldwide exclusive interviews with prime time queen Oprah Winfrey, the question on the minds of Lance’s team and the products and companies he once endorsed is most probably: what comes next for Lance and his brand?
Once revered for being a cycling legend, best selling author, cancer survivor and visionary philanthropist, a final and damming USDA report published in October last year has the potential to tear it all apart. With a fallout that included the stripping of his seven Tour de France titles, a life barring from competing in all Olympic sports, the loss of three major sponsorship contracts and his step down from the role of chairman of Livestrong, it would take nothing short of a miracle to start reversing that kind of damage—or would it?
Finally breaking his silence (and going back on more than a decade of vehement denial against the doping rumors that have plagued him for most of his career), Lance Armstrong has taken the opportunity to come clean, so to speak, with arguably one of the most influential figures in popular culture to date.
Truth and transparency can be powerful tools for any brand, but confession is where it really pushes the issue into the ‘make or break’ scenario. Held to such a high standard for such a long period of time, as is the case for a lot of sporting legends, the multi-million-dollar question is: will the public forgive his significant indiscretions? Also, what kind of weight will his brand carry now and how much goodwill does he have to leverage at this point?
While his cycling career is most definitely over, if ‘Brand Clinton’ is anything to go by, a confession, the truth and a little bit of humility may just be the ticket for Lance Armstrong to continue his important philanthropic work in the future. Whether or not he’ll be given permission to dip his toe into any other ventures remains to be seen but, whatever the outcome, it has been quite a ride!
Social tagging: Branding > Business > Philanthropy > social
athletes are easier forgiven once the winning begins. unfortunately for Lance, he won’t be given a chance to win again in the sport he has disgraced.
The ‘value’ of the Armstrong brand is zero now, and the sad thing is that ‘Livestrong’ will inevitably suffer as well – though, the organisation’s work is fantastic and should be applauded and continue to be supported. The millions of yellow wrist-bands now become a symbol of broken trust, and the organisation would be well advised to design and create a new icon. Lance’s only redemption as a brand now will be to dedicate the rest of his life to being contrite, to push ‘anti-doping’, to solely dedicated his services to the service of others, and to repay the money he cheated from prize winnings and from sponsorship. Yes, he may be able to learn from President Clinton – but, I think his road ahead will be as challenging as the Tour de France route itself! Let’s hope he can do it ‘cleanly’.