Burnishing a Burnt Brand: Goldman Sachs Case Study

More than a few global brands have been pilloried by the press, and Goldman Sachs isn't the only icon that's been lambasted by politicians that dance to the tune of the most popular drum beaters..

But, when you've been compared to a black squid,

and when you find yourself cautioning your employees against wearing their ID badges when leaving the company premises, you know that its time to re-burnish your brand.

And, when GS spokesman David Wells poignantly says, "We need to provide a broader audience with a better understanding of who we are and what we do..", he adds a whole new dimension to the art of understatement.

This week, under the guidance of advertising icon Y&R, Goldman launched a national advertising campaign encompassing print publications and banner ads across the Net. The obvious goal is to negate the negative sentiment about Goldman, sentiment that's ballooned to bigger than the kind of bubble that grows, and then bursts in the world of financial markets.

This is going to be a longgg game; the ad program will purportedly extend for at least one year. Play-by-play commentators looking back on this week's first inning have already suggested that the public-service type ads, some similar to the post-spill BP placements, have produced a sensation that's no more inspiring than lukewarm vanilla pudding.

This writer has actually helped burnish the brand images of select financial service firms, including one or two of Wall Street's more progressive trading houses, and before Goldman calls, here are a few ideas to consider:

1. Don't hide behind a pretty picture. Taking out ads with gigantic feel good images of wind turbines (illustrating projects that you apparently helped secure financing for and earned out-sized fees from), but putting your logo in size 2 font so that it requires a microscope to recognize that the message was underwritten by you is, in all due respect, a complete waste of money.

Yes, we know that you have lots of money, but we also know that a responsible corporate enterprise doesn't want to add insult to injury to their brand by demonstrating how well you waste money.

2. Create feel-good, passionate video clips with people from your firm speaking about what's important to them, and what's important about the job they do..Caution: don't overdo it with self-serving corporate messages. Make sure they come across as regular people.

(BTW, This isn't to suggest that you should spread the videos across the web via YouTube; you can insert them strategically via your website, and select other strategic sites serving your targeted audience..)

fyi--we know the creative director behind the sizzle reel displayed in our most recent blog post (scroll down)--the programming company, MediaPlace is Tier 1, and the firm's principal, the one that created and directed the clip is awesome..he's Don Draper's idol, .if we must say so ourselves).

3. Instead of telling your staff to remove those big ID necklaces when leaving the building, or wimping out when presenting themselves for a free corporate sponsor pass at MOMA, you should have T's, ball-caps, and lap top tote bags made that say: "Ask Me Why I'm Proud to Work At Goldman!" 

OK..the message is a tad too many characters for a ball cap; we can work on that. And, the T's and hats might need to be made with kevlar, but ..."BOOM!" this strategy is.experiential/grass roots marketing at its best!!

If your employee carrying the tote or wearing the T doesn't get shot, he/she will have a perfect opportunity to engage an audience in a meaningful and convincing discussion. Let's face it, if your people can sell sub prime CDO's to the most sophisticated managers in the world, it should be easy peasy for them to memorize a few value propositions!  ...

If you like that idea, we know a great premium company that can produce 5000 customized pcs in 5 days..and Made In America!

Lots more ideas where this came from..and we really are rooting for you!