As I am currently typing this, the word is that Kyle Sandilands’ management, Austereo has considered sacking him after his controversial on-air outburst to a journalist, which resulted in a whopping 17 advertisers withdrawing their sponsorship from 2Day FM.
Many advertisers have said that Kyle’s behaviour did not reflect the values of their brands, which brings me to today’s topic – brand alignment.
As we learnt at a recent PRIA event, when a company sponsors or utilises a celebrity, they are not just buying their endorsement – they are buying their attitudes, beliefs and values – by paying somebody to endorse your brand or sponsoring a person (or in this case, a show) the ex-sponsors were supporting the values and behaviour of Kyle and Jackie O.
This is a common mistake with businesses, and one that can often not be controlled.
It is important that a company outlines all the risks associated with endorsing or sponsoring a celebrity – in this case, Kyle has been in trouble before, so the companies should have anticipated this.
The companies need to look at why they are endorsing or sponsoring a show or person. Although that show/person might appeal to that target market, your brand needs to align with the spokesperson.
In theory, when the (ex) sponsors of 2Day FM advertised on Kyle and Jackie O, they acknowledged the values, attitudes and beliefs of the show, and agreed with it.
So why would they pull out now, when the show is copping flack?
What do you guys think? Do you think that advertisers should be more aware of who they are sponsoring?
Love, Tash and the Stormettes xxx
