Oscar Pistoriuos: The Fall From Grace

Oscar Pistorius world famous paralympian made headlines last February for killing his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in his Pretoria home. The world icon and a hero for many across the globe could not have foreseen the irreparable damage that would soon follow after the world found out about the shooting.

Oscar Pistorious being arrested at his house on the day of murder.
 

Oscar was a favourable ambassador for almost any brand because he is kind, gives large sums of money to charity and most importantly he offered many disabled people hope and inspiration. He was the kind of brand ambassador that could do no wrong.


Oscars’ fans despite his criminal charges and damning evidence delivered by the state refuse to believe that he could have killed his girlfriend in cold blood.  Mayor Paolo Urbani of the North Italian town of Gemona del Friuli said: “Oscar was the perfect ambassador for our project, not only for the sport, but also because he is an inspiration for disabled people.”

An important question to ask, is whether it is possible for Oscar rebuild his reputation and maintain a social presence without further damaging his reputation?

According to media and marketing analyst Chris Moerdyk, there is no better way to promote a product than through a third party testimonial. Sadly third party testimonials come from people who could potentially destroy or harm a brand or company. “Take Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods and Oscar Pistorius, for instance they all endorsed global brands and all caused considerable embarrassment to those brands,” Moerdyk said.

Importantly, after an embarrassing or damning event occurs how you react to situations and engage with the public is vital. We all humans, people mess up, corporations mess up, but how one handles it speaks volumes about that person’s integrity. Social media and reputation management tools are vital to survive a public fall-from-grace, but they can only be used after one has gauged public opinion.



Oscar’s communications team took a lacklustre approach to containing the damage caused by the unfortunate death of his girlfriend. His reputation should have been the most important thing to consider and a clear and logical strategy.

To maintain and rebuild Oscar’s public profile, the PR team would need to define the problem. Secondly, after the problem has been identified, create a strategy to solve the problem. Thirdly, take action and communicate the messages that make your brand trustworthy again.

To conclude, reputation management should always be part of a bigger strategy that is put in place long before it is ever needed to tackle things like negative public opinion.