Betrayals in Branding

In the wake of the Papa John statements about Obamacare, the company has seen a huge decrease in customer perception. This should come as a surprise to no one. Any time a company or the face of a company gets involved in political statements,   there is almost always going to be fallout. As was seen earlier this year by Chick-Fill-A, taking a stand about a political or social issue can become a PR nightmare.  However, a lot of people are bemoaning this reaction, claiming that the 'retribution' against such companies as Papa John's, Denny's, and Applebee's is akin to bullying. People should be allowed to say whatever they want.

Sigh.

There used to be a point of politeness where people did not discuss their politics, money, religion, or sex lives in general company. It was considered rude. And yes, this was waaaaaay back before political correctness. This was in the days when people sent Thank You notes after having lunch and never put their elbows on the table. I'm not claiming to be the most mannered person in the world, but I do understand the value of it. There is something to be said about keeping your mouth shut so that everyone in the group can be comfortable. Seriously, what you may see as a spirited and lively debate about politics or religion is just annoying as shit to everyone else.

This is even more true when you are trying to promote your company. Effective promotion is designed to reach as many people as possible, transcending race, religion, creed, or belief systems. If you're selling Purple Elephant Plushies, you want to sell one to everyone, not just to the people who think the way you do. You want to present your product in the best light. You can't do that if everyone is focusing on some jackass thing YOU said.

It's also important to keep in mind that quite often, you're trying to sell people things they don't need. No one HAS to have pizza. No one HAS to have fried chicken.  These are luxury items that you are trying to sell in a shaky economy. People are going to be less likely to splurge for your product if the stuff you say is pissing them off.  They will either buy something from the place that said nothing or just do without. You're making their decision to NOT choose you so much easier than it would have been if you'd just kept your mouth shut.

Interestingly, of the above listed companies, Papa John's is the one whose reputation is suffering the most. People are annoyed with Denny's and Applebee's (and Applebee's related stores), but not as much as they are the pizza chain.

That's because Papa John's suffering from more than just a bad PR issue. Unlike the other chains, Papa John's betrayed the perception of the brand. Papa John's branding is pretty straightforward. There is this guy, Papa John himself, who owns a bunch of pizza places. They make good pizza and he's very down to earth and good to people. On the commercials, he is personable, likable, and charming. The consumer likes him. They see him as friendly and kind. Just some nice guy who owns the pizza place up the street. Until the Obamacare statements, this branding campaign was highly successful. People identified with Papa John. They felt like they knew him.

Suddenly, good old Papa John isn't the guy we thought he was.  He's some very rich bastard who lives in a castle.  He pays is workers the minimum he can and isn't willing to fork over the money to cover their healthcare costs, money that would equivocate to about 15 cents per pizza, a price increase that most people wouldn't even sweat.  People started sending him letters with a dime and a nickle taped in them, with suggestions that he stop being a dick. A huge media storm surrounded the issue.

John Schnatter, CEO of the chain, tried to do some damage control by saying that the statements were taken out of context. He talked about how most Papa John's are ran as franchises and what people do with them really isn't something he controls. He stated that his company was still looking into how the new healthcare laws were going to affect things and that he had no real answers at this time.

The problem is, he really didn't undo the damage done to the brand. In fact, he may have made it worse. By talking about how the chain is franchised and how he isn't really the one in control, he emphasized the fact that the Papa John image presented in the commercials wasn't real.

I'm not saying that people are so gullible that they believe completely in what a brand tells them. Deep down, yes, we all know it isn't true. At the same time, we have to acknowledge that branding is a very powerful tool. If it wasn't, we wouldn't use it so much. If it wasn't, it wouldn't be so effective.  Once you tarnish the brand, it is possible to get it back, but it isn't easy.

We live in a society where emotional perception is very powerful. We can use this as a tool to promote ourselves or what we want to sell. It's kind of like spinning plates in the air though. You always have to keep an eye on what is going on. At any moment, if you're not careful, one of those plates can spin out of control, crash, and then the show is over. If you're going to create a brand, you need to think long and hard about the consequences of that brand. Don't spin something into the air that is so far away from what you really are that there is no way you can keep it going. You'll just end up making people feel like you lied to them. You would have been better off not to show them anything at all.