Reputation by association is a real part of doing business today
Volkswagen’s emissions scandal has resulted in widespread damage to the company, whether it’s displayed by lost sales, direct payouts or, in this case, former customers scattering in order to protect their own reputations.
According to reports, Best Buy’s “Geek Squad” mobile tech support force is ditching its VW Beetles for the 2016 Prius, a decision that was part economics and part crisis management.
Negotiations with Toyota began before the VW scandal broke, but a quote from an email sent to AdAge by Best Buy spokesperson Paula Baldwin makes clear the threat of reputation damage by association helped speed the decision along:
“While we’ve never used a diesel-powered vehicle, we did accelerate plans to transition the Geekmobile to both protect the Geek Squad brand reputation and move to a more efficient vehicle.”
Reputation by association is very much real, and something that brands today are more aware of than ever before. Nobody wants to see a petition, boycott, or social media campaign pop up with their name on it in a negative light, and thus smart organizations are becoming more and more willing to split from controversial partners, suppliers, and the like at a moment’s notice.
The BCM Blogging Team
www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com