The horror of the emerging Sandusky/Paterno/Penn State scandal holds many lessons for PR people and marketers (don’t do PR for fill-in-the-blank.) One which may not seem important now, but which should not be ignored, is the risk of blurring the lines between personal and institutional brands.

Joe Paterno clearly viewed himself as a super-set of the Penn State brand, larger than life and the institution he served, unassailable. In his arrogant, tone-deaf retirement announcement he admonished the University’s Trustees: “At this moment the Board of Trustees should not spend a single minute discussing my status. They have far more important matters to address. I want to make this as easy for them as I possibly can.”

The University, which for decades had encouraged the development of Paterno’s brand as a proxy for the institution’s, finally took action. But it was too little, too late – for those boys, for the administration, for the students and alums, perhaps for Penn State.

Of course Penn State isn’t the only organization to ignore the risk of letting its brand ambassador’s power eclipse its core brand. Many consumer brands have been bitten by endorsements – think of Nike and Tiger Woods, Michael Vick and Nike, Michael Jordan and Coca-Cola, and Britney Spears and Pepsi.

While many of the examples above deal with consumer brands, tech companies are not immune. Many hire community managers or social media experts to mediate interactions between users and the company. Community managers are powerful people. They may serve as brand ambassadors, but they also have an investment in maintaining their personal brands. Check the Twitter feeds of community managers and nine times out of 10 you’ll see the individual’s name, not the company they work for. It’s a risk, and an opportunity lost, for the organization, and a diminution of its brand.

Brands are a huge responsibility. They are the lens through which prospects, customers and employees see an organization. They need to be built carefully and maintained scrupulously. To surrender an organization’s brand to a brand ambassador or other proxy is to be blind to risk, and to surrender responsibility.

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Technorati Tags: brand ambassadors, community managers, Joe Paterno's retirement announcement, Penn State

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In this episode of PRobecast, Renatta Siewert joins me in talking about the idea of voting via smartphone, Disney and YouTube’s $10M deal and social media not being one-size fits all.

Voting with a Smartphone – Did you vote on Election Day? A Mashable writer suggested that many people don’t vote because voting is inconvenient. There’s the time limit, the specific locations as to where you can vote – all these things can often be roadblocks and the reasoning behind people not voting. He suggests the idea that smartphones could change all that. With all the apps available, a secure application could be created allowing people to vote directly from their mobile device. With people now being able to purchase things via their smartphones, why not vote?

Disney’s Deal with YouTube – Disney and YouTube have put together a deal to produce co-branded video content. Disney is trying to attract a bigger audience by teaming up with the video giant. On the other hand, YouTube is trying to better their reputation with parents by teaming up with this family-friendly company. Is this a good move for both players? Will we see more companies trying to partner with YouTube?

Social media: Every Channel Doesn’t Need to be Tapped – An article in PRWeek discusses how when it comes to social media, don’t jump in blindly. Companies need to be strategic as to which forms of social channels they decide to join – and have a plan as to what their ultimate goal is. Having a twitter account that isn’t geared towards your target audience is not going to help your presence. Being on Facebook, but not having any information about your company isn’t going to grow your “like”ers. When it comes to social media, brands need to be smart.

Now it’s time for the PRobecast PR Power Ranking – which is when we go around the room and pick the story that we think ranks the highest PR-wise – meaning any aspects of PR could be the reasoning behind the pick. Is it the story itself, good data that was used, what’s getting the most pickup, was it a good PR move the company made, etc.

This week we chose the Disney/YouTube deal as the story that comes out on top. This deal makes perfect sense for both parties, bettering the images of both parties. Disney needs to expand their audience and seem “cooler,” whereas YouTube wants to better its sometimes explicit image with parents concerned about what their children are viewing.

Who do you think should have won?

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Technorati Tags: Disney and YouTube deal, How to use Social Media, Voting via Smartphone

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In this episode of PRobecast, Liz O’Donnell, Mike Sapienza, Caitlin Smith and Justin Martell join me in talking about what it takes to excel in PR, Microsoft’s anti-virus marking Google Chrome as a bug and the death of Steve Jobs and what that means for Apple.

What it takes to be a PR Star – An article in PRWeek talks about how nowadays, PR is much more than junior level staff being used just to write a release, distribute it on the wire, create lists, etc. With social media and other channels brands are on, it’s important that PR firms nurture all the staff to have a more complex and broad understanding of their jobs and what needs to get done.

Microsoft ‘Accidentally’ Gets Rid of Google Chrome – There was a problem with Microsoft’s antivirus software, Microsoft Security Essentials, alerting users that there was a bug on their computer. This ‘bug’ was in fact, not a bug at all – it was Google Chrome. Users were finding that when the bug was reported and removed, Microsoft actually was getting rid of the whole Chrome file. Coincidence?

The Death of Steve Jobs – Chairman and co-founder of Apple Inc, Steve Jobs passed away Wednesday at the young age of 56. While some people had their qualms about his bluntness when it came to employees, their ideas and his vision on how a business should work, there is no doubt that he is one of the biggest visionaries of our time. Some are wondering whether or not Apple can survive without Jobs. If Apple is smart it will keep the founders visions, ethics and policies to continue moving forward.

Now it’s time for the PRobecast PR Power Ranking – which is when we go around the room and pick the story that we think ranks the highest PR-wise – meaning any aspects of PR could be the reasoning behind the pick. Is it the story itself, good data that was used, what’s getting the most pickup, was it a good PR move the company made, etc.

This week, Steve Jobs won with a unanimous vote. Not only has he impacted all of our lives with the technology he’s produced, but he’s also been the biggest story of the week, if not the month or year to come.

Do you agree?

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Technorati Tags: Apple, How to be a PR star, Microsoft Deleting Google Chrome, PR, Steve Jobs

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