I confess that I watched less than one hour of the Oscar festivities last night, but one thing struck me: Choosing someone to represent your brand or company is not an easy thing. Yes, this thought occurred as I watched the wooden, squinting James Franco in his role as co-host with the vivacious Anne Hathaway.
Franco may be a talented actor and creative artist, but when he plays the role of himself, he falls flat. At least he did in the awards telecast.
I’ve seen this happen within organizations. “Let’s put John in front of the audience. He really knows the new product inside and out.” Sure, but can John speak? Is he persuasive? Does he have an ounce of charisma? That’s what matters in this situation, not his technical expertise.
In corporate settings, media training is often the answer. Most people can learn to be better presenters.
As for Hollywood’s problems – I have no idea!
I loved Anne Hathaway last night, she hosted the whole thing by herself, it was like James wasn't even there. What was that about? Other than that Sandra Bullock was the funniest (can she host next year?) along with Jude Law, Robert Downey Jr, Russell Brand and Helen Mirren. Colin Firth was a darling too and Natalie is just too adorable.
Posted by: Logo | March 01, 2011 at 08:38 AM
When a company decides to pick a representative for their brand they should consider why is it that out of all the possibilities and choices, they picked this individual? Is it just because of the person’s popularity? Is it for their charisma and speaking ability? When the company answers the question of why this person, then they should know what they're getting themselves into and shouldn’t expect that their pick has all the skills needed to be an awesome rep. For example, I think Skechers hired Kim Kardashian not for her speaking abilities and business skills but for her popularity and sex appeal. If this is why they picked her they shouldn’t expect anything else.
Posted by: Mishka Campbell | March 17, 2011 at 01:08 PM