It appears that Michael Vick is planning to make a comeback after his complete and total PR nightmare a while ago with the dog-fighting crisis. Since then, Vick has served time in jail, declared bankruptcy, and basically ended his professional football career in the NFL.
My friend Angela forwarded me this article that appeared on Comcast, and the author offers five suggestions that would help Vick have an extreme makeover. To answer the question posed in the title of this blog post, I would have to say without a doubt that an extreme image and reputation makeover will not work for Michael Vick. There are just some images and reputations that are so damaged that no amount of PR can get them to be positive again – and this is the case for Michael Vick in my opinion.
There are a few suggstions that are characteristic crisis communication responses and strategies – such as having PSAs with PETA, have testimonials from some of his former teammates and former coaches, and reducing his personal vanity. These are all good suggestions – except that we are talking about a person that has a long history of issues and PR nightmare crises. I believe that not amount of PR can change Vick’s personal brand image among the fans, sponsors, and other teams out in the NFL – and that these efforts for an extreme makeover will be wasted.
Vick faces some serious issues – first of course is dealing with the moral and ethical issues of breaking the law and facing the consequences. I personally believe that Vick does not have a place in athletics – let alone participate in youth activiities, which is one of the suggestions that this article made. I can’t see parents lining up and spending a lot to send their kids to work out with Michael Vick, when they have other opportunities to work with positive role models in football such as the Mannings. Plus, trying to use Tony Dungy (former NFL Coach of the Colts) to endorse Vick is not realistic. Dungy has his own reputation and personal brand to think about – and what would happen if he decided to endorse Vick? That would be a huge reputational risk for Dungy, and I am not sure that he would be willing to risk all his hard work and years building a positive reputation on someone like Vick.
My suggestions for Vick would be to face the fact that no amount of PR, publicity, or tactics will salvage his reputation. He is really at a disadvantage in terms of competing with other younger athletes in the NFL, and these individuals do not have the negative reputation and brand that he as. In other words, I believe that Vick needs to pay for the consequences of his actions, and recognize that his days as a football player are over – end of story. No amount of strategies, press conferences, or forced PSA partnerships will change the minds of fans, sponsors, and the media. These are hard lessons to learn, especially for someone like Michael Vick, but hey – life is hard, and we all have to follow the rules. This is just my opinion.
Hope you all are having a great day. 🙂
Best Wishes,
Karen
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