America is the land of second chances.
That ethos kicked in when that bunch of misfits from the old country came to New England to have another try at acceptance and material prosperity. Along the way those Puritans developed what was to be for centuries the most powerful economy in the world.
So, it was predictable that the reputation-restoration niche would thrive in America.
O'Dwyer Public Relations published my article on how suspended Yale Law School professor Jed Rubenfeld could rebrand. Every now and then I receive calls from official reputation restoration firms about how I might help their clients.
However, for every success - such as how Jimmy Carter repositioned and repackaged himself - there is plenty of failure.
Among the latter could be First Son Hunter Biden. It might have been a mistake for him to use the strategy of publishing a book for redemption, forgiveness and a second chance. That was "Beautiful Things." As Daily Mail reports, in the first week of sales, only 10,638 copies have been sold. Future sales don't seem promising.
What Hunter should have done was something more hands-on activist and noble. Carter threw himself into global good deeds. Hunter could have organized a team and built irrigation facilities where there were none in a desolate part of planet earth. That should have proceeded on a low-profile basis. Then, 18 months later an international journalist stumbles upon the project.
This inept book tactic, of course, makes Hunter's transformational work more difficult.
In general, the odds are against salvation through book publishing. Not only does that approach tend to be inefficient. For instance, there is too much of a lag between conception and publication. In addition, social networks, social media and podcasting are where personal branding is made, destroyed, course corrected and reimagined.
Small changes can trigger big success in your career and your business communications. Swing by for a complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)
Comments