Public Relations
Communication firm receives recognition for its work on the 2021 Marine Protected Areas (MPA) Day campaign.
PERSONAL BRANDING
Have Elon Musk’s ongoing antics become a negative for the Tesla brand?
By our News Team | 2022
He made Tesla a household name. But a tangled private life, provocative comments and the Twitter no-deal may be taking a toll on the brand.
By making Tesla and himself so synonymous with one another, Elon Musk has put the company’s increasingly valuable brand at risk. This is according to a recent report by news agency Bloomberg, which says the CEO’s public persona – once a big asset – is increasingly a liability in the electric vehicle (EV) supremacy race.
The news agency acknowledges that Musk’s star power, built in no small part by his activity on Twitter — the same forum where he’s become such a lightning rod — has contributed immensely to Tesla, especially since it’s shunned traditional advertising.
Photo by Steve Jurvetson via Wikipedia
“His steady stream of online banter, punctuated with the occasional grandiose announcement or stunt keeps Tesla in the headlines. During the company’s earlier days, the trolling and glib comments were a feature, not a bug. They allowed Musk to shape media coverage and made him the ringleader for Tesla’s legion of very-online fans,” Bloomberg notes.
Musk and Tesla synonymous with each other
“But after making Tesla and himself so synonymous with one another, Musk has waded into political conflicts, attempted to buy one of the world’s most influential social media platforms and struggled to bat back unflattering coverage of his personal life, putting the company’s increasingly valuable brand at risk.”
According to the news report, Creative Strategies – a California-based customer-experience measurer – mentioned owner frustration with Musk in a study it published in April. A year earlier, research firm Escalent found Musk was the most negative aspect of the Tesla brand among electric-vehicle owners surveyed.
“We hear from Tesla owners who will say, ‘Look, I love my vehicle, but I really wish I didn’t have to respond to my friends and family about his latest tweet,’” said Mike Dovorany, who spoke with thousands of EV owners and potential buyers during his two years working in Escalent’s automotive and mobility group.
Janine Hills, Founder and CEO of Africa-based communications agency, Authentic Leadership, calls it “a classic example of a brand being built around a person”.
She writes in a LinkedIn post: “Leadership within an organisation is vital; not a person but rather a team of professionals. Limit the risk; share the messages and the stage.”
Corporate Social Responsibility
Many firms leverage social initiatives to generate positive publicity, to attract the best talent, and to keep pace with their competitors.
Marketing Spend
The knee-jerk reaction in a recessionary environment is to reduce spending on marketing. But study finds it’s detrimental in the longer term.
Market Insights
Consultancy says it aims to get beyond the tactical and generalist research to drive more impact and business transformation.
Brand Values
MTN surges up the Kantar BrandZ ranking to take the No.1 spot for the first time as South Africa’s most valuable brand.
Shopping Trends
Easy online shopping is leading to overconsumption. Encouraging a stronger movement to buying pre-loved goods is therefore vital.
Consumer Outlook
New polling by Ipsos across 28 countries finds that in many markets the public expect recent cost of living pressures to continue.
Television Advertising
As spending on traditional advertising starts to increase again, marketers must ensure consumers don’t ‘zap’ their TV ads.
Marketing Ethics
Research by Australian academics shows how companies are using the growing TikTok platform to push unhealthy eating amongst kids.
Outdoor Advertising
One-time civil engineer promoted to take over the reins of outdoor advertising giant’s South African business.
Influencer Marketing
Successful influencers must remain one step ahead of the competition, both in content and platform, experts say.