It's all in the image

Melbourne Herald Sun 24th April 2010

We all have an image. It's the picture we present to the world that says "this is who I am" or "this is what my company is". We are each aware of it, we can all see it, but in fact it is as insubstantial as the photographic dye on a film, and as fragile as crystal.

In recent weeks we have seen a vivid demonstration of the lightness of image. A few months ago Christine Nixon was only a short distance behind Mary McKillop in the saintship stakes, retired with honour after having taken a broom to Victoria's musty police service, and welcomed as Chair of the Bushfire Reconstruction Authority.

Now a haircut and a pub dinner later and she's suddenly painted as uncaring, incompetent and unfit. Can this be the same, smart, chubby blonde lady?

Or take Rio Tinto, one of the saviours of Australia's wealth through the global economic crisis. But after the Chinese bribery trials and the stories that are now leaking out, the halo is starting to slip.

We can all immediately recognise image problems. Qantas is still the safest airline in the world but if they don't get their maintenance under control they're in trouble. Nowadays a drop in tyre pressure is enough to put them on the front pages.

Tiger Woods has had the worst winter of his life, while even the Pope is facing a horror trip.

So what is this image? I prefer to call it "a climate of opinion," what the world thinks of you. It's like the weather and as insubstantial and difficult to control. Companies and celebrities love to bask in the sunshine of good opinion but it only takes one cloud to bring on the storms and the chills.

Also in this land of ours we have the tall poppy syndrome. Here you can be hugely successful and still be given a negative image.

Think of the highest-grossing Australian film of all time. Mad Max? Australia? Nope - Crocodile Dundee. Paul Hogan redefined the Australian image and they've been chopping at his stem and roots ever since.

Derryn Hinch has a unique position as both cutter and victim - how many times has he been chopped? But he has been smart enough to turn this public churn into his unique image.

In politics image is everything, so politicians are most vulnerable. They even face a paid, dedicated team of image smashers known as The Opposition, closely helped by the media, forever looking for tomorrow's headline or tonight's news bulletin.

Bill Clinton somehow survived eight years in power with daily assaults on his image. Peter Garrett has discovered the icy waters of Parliament after years in the warm bath of fame and adulation. A decade earlier Cheryl Kernot had her image smashed after she jumped from the Democrats to Labor.

Business has many landmines. Look at Toyota with its tidal wave of recalls and problems - you have to wonder how even such a strong company can recreate its image of a solid, perfectly reliable car.

In the US the Domino's Pizza chain was brought low when two kitchen staff made a YouTube video of pizza being prepared as they messed around throwing food on the floor and up a nose. Domino's quality ratings halved overnight.

How can you protect yourself under such an assault? It's like a fire - if you can't put it out at least try to contain it. And the worst thing you can do to your image is to pretend the problem does not exist.

If you're spending squillions on a big public relations company retainer, you'll find that all they can really do is hold your hand and whisper the following advice:

Identify the problem and respond quickly - don't sit on it and hope it will go away. If you were my client I'd grill you for the truth, the whole truth. There's no gain in deceiving your doctor or your PR man.

You give the story as good a spin as possible: "As soon as the toxic leak was discovered the company put its emergency plan into operation."

Ideally, give the communications task to your top person - the CEO or chairman. The media will want to talk to them anyway.

Whatever you do, don't lie. It will always come out in the end. (Remember "I did not have sex with that woman"?).

Better to tell the whole truth however unpalatable. Say "He was drunk and in bed with his sister" in one mouthful, rather than waiting for the media to pull it out like teeth, headline by headline. "He was drunk!" Then "He was in bed!" and another few days later "With his sister!" Instead of one mouthful for the rabid dogs, you turned it into an ongoing feast.

This was the mistake Christine Nixon made. Instead of declaring all the facts of that fateful Saturday and copping one slap, she allowed it to be slowly extracted, so it became a string of front pages and news bulletins, and weeks of droning talkback hypocrisy.

So after the smoke has cleared, can a tarnished image be repolished? Well yes - especially if you have money.

Alfred Nobel invented dynamite and helped blow up millions around the world in last century's wars. But judicious placement of his legacy has made his name the world standard of peace.

Locally we have a fascinating study of image rebuilding. Steve Vizard was the darling of both the public and the establishment. Then came the issue of his share trading while a director of Telstra. Controversy exploded, and with it his image.

He is still midway through a 10-year ban from the corporate world but we are seeing his supreme media skills at work as he slowly claws his way back. Selfless donations by his foundation. Art works lent to the state. And now the resurfacing of his human face, and humour, on new radio station MTR.

There's a lot of work involved in piecing together the shattered crystal of a broken image.