Feedback Form
Home Features Mastermind Forums About Advertise Blog Network Contact Be An Author

Telus’ Leadership Lesson in Brand Mismanagement

Telus’ Leadership Lesson in Brand Mismanagement

Telus' Leadership Lesson in Brand Mismanagement

I find it interesting how word spread about how Telus, Canada's second largest phone company, decided to be the first wireless provider to offer to sell downloads of pornographic images and videos. Of course 'Telus' didn't make the decision. It was Telus' leadership that approved it and, astonishingly, defended the position - right up until overwhelming customer and investor protests forced management to cancel the program.

I'll leave it to others to debate the morality of pornography on the Internet. The issue I want to tackle is how 'leadership' in such a large company decided this was a good business decision. Apparently there is a lot of money to be made in this new enterprise. I'm trying to fathom how a phone company that markets to both adults and youth decided that this was the direction to move their brand.

Friends of mine, George Torok and Peter Urs Bender wrote a great book about marketing and branding called, Secrets of Power Marketing in which they point out, “You cannot not market.” In other words everything you say and do - or do not do, affects your brand. Somehow the collective leadership at Telus figured their brand wouldn't be affected by this new enterprise - one which no one ever associated with a phone company. Hmm…

I believe the huge amount of negative publicity Telus received about this provides yet another wakeup call to business leaders. Think about how your decisions affect your personal image and your company's reputation. Over the long term your reputation is everything. Of course you have a responsibility to maximize profits for your shareholders. There is however a greater calling than short term profit. As a leader, you are expected to do the right thing. Always. No matter what it costs you.

The leaders at Telus gave a lot of people the impression that they sold their corporate souls. Frankly, I felt sorry for the employees at Telus who had nothing to do with this ill-conceived management decision. Telus leaders now have the distinction of being Canada's most high profile example of how to mismanage your brand. Let this at least serve as a reminder that everything your company does creates an impression. As a leader making strategic decisions you'll of course check your sales forecasts and government regulations. Above all that external noise, however, you need to stop and listen to that voice in your gut.





Telus Leadership Lesson in Brand Mismanagement - To learn more about this author, visit Jeff Mowatt's Website.

Like this article? Share it with your friends

Article Feedback
 Article Feedback No article feedback found.
  Leave Your Feedback
article feedback

Article Feedback
Kim Castle
With nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website

Dianne Crampton

Dianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here.

Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009.  Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010.  To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here.

- Visit Dianne Crampton's Website


To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us.

About The Author


Jeff Mowatt
(Visit Jeff's Website) Jeff Mowatt, B.Comm., CSP is an award-winning professional speaker, customer service strategist, and bestselling author of, Becoming a Service Icon in 90 Minutes a Month. His Influence with Ease® column has been syndicated and featured in over 200 business publications including Canadian Manager, HR Reporter, and Commerce and Industry. He has worked with thousands of leaders, professionals, and front-line employees on enhancing the service and sales culture and boosting results with customers. Jeff heads his own training company and his clients include some of the most admired corporations in North America including: Home Depot, Shell Canada, CIBC, and WestJet. The Influence with Ease® approach that Jeff shares with audiences is effortlessly professional. Spiced with humour and dramatic examples, audiences discover how to engender more trust, feel more motivated, and enhance influence with just about anyone. It's powerful, and it's profitable. To obtain your own copy of his book or to inquire about engaging Jeff for your team, visit www.jeffmowatt.com or call 1-800-JMowatt (566-9288).

Jeff Mowatt is a Platinum author on EvanCarmichael.com
About The Author

View Author Blog
View Author Blog

View Author Video
View Author Video

Free Downloads


Jeff Mowatt's

Complete
List Of
Sales
Articles

Name
Email
If you enjoyed this article, get Jeff Mowatt's Complete List of Sales Articles For FREE!

More Jeff Mowatt
7 Keys to Creating a Customer Focused Culture
Crucial Questions to Superior Sales
Risky Business How repeat customers may jeopardize your future
Speed Kills The service standard that does more harm than good
How not to Plan your Companys Future 5 common mistakes when identifying customer needs
Phrases that Pay Simple Statements that Increase your Perceived Value
30 Seconds to Significant Sales How to upsell without turning off your customer
When Talking to Strangers
When youre the Top Dog Three keys to leading like a professional
Making Connections How to create rapport with anyone in under 30 seconds
Free Downloads


 
 
 


Evan Elite Authors
Cheryl Matthynssens  
David Acheson  
David Barr  
Evan Elite Authors

Become An Author
Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details.
Become An Author

Evan's Latest Video
Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media
Evan's Latest Video

Business Opportunities
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"

How to Start An Online Business

Click Here To Learn More
Business Opportunities



Evan's Newsletter
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
Name:
Email:
Evan`s Newsletter

Free Downloads
Your Annualized Bus Dev Plan Icon Your Annualized Bus Dev Plan
Memorandum Template 2 Icon Memorandum Template 2
Start Right Icon Start Right
Article Syndication Icon Article Syndication
High Quality Sales Leads Icon High Quality Sales Leads
Free Downloads - Complete List

Entrepreneur Tools and Guides
Top 50 Blogs For Startups To Watch In 2009
Top 50 Blogs For Startups
Top Blogs To Watch In 2009
 
Top 50 Franchising Blogs
Top 50 Franchising Blogs
Top 50 Franchising Blogs
 
Entrepreneur Tools and Guides

SEO For Africa
SEO For Africa
Aramatoulaye Seydi ZIGUINCHOR, Senegal,
Aramatoulaye Seydi
ZIGUINCHOR, Senegal
SEO For Africa

If I Were A Startup...
Gord Hotchkiss, $113k to $1.5 Mil in 5 years
Gord Hotchkiss
$113k to $1.5 Mil in 5 years
Dana Zita, > $2.5 Mil in revenues
Dana Zita
> $2.5 Mil in revenues
If I Were A Startup... - Complete List

Famous Entrepreneurs
J.C. Penney, J.C. Penney
J.C. Penney
J.C. Penney
Bill Gates, Microsoft
Bill Gates
Microsoft
Famous Entrepreneurs - Complete List

Entrepreneur Advice
Seth Godin, Ideavirus Author
Seth Godin
Ideavirus Author
David Allen, Getting Things Done
David Allen
Getting Things Done
Entrepreneur Advice - Complete List

Popular Articles
(Premium Authors)

     Three Types of Marketing Your Small Business Needs to Grow
By Stacy Karacostas
     How to Get Your Marketing Materials Read
By Stacy Karacostas
     How to Get All the Clients You Can Handle Banging Down Your Door
By Stacy Karacostas

Have A Suggestion?
Toronto Salsa Classes / Toronto Salsa Lessons Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
Have A Suggestion?

More Evan Carmichael
More Information