But just like a business that tries to compensate for a toxic work environment with big Christmas bonuses, nobody’s fooled. Everyone knows that a return to feces is right around the corner. That’s especially true for San Francisco’s core audience: not big shots who are here and gone, but local citizens and taxpayers who live in the city every day.

Here are the blocking-and-tackling basics that the City Council missed in its effort to change San Fran’s brand.

Covering up the problem makes everything worse

For three brief years, Sam Bankman-Fried was the darling of…well, practically everyone. He was President Joe Biden’s second-biggest donor in 2020, a leader in the growing crypto industry, and an easy target for exciting features about the future of business and philanthropy.

Now, SBF is a felon, ready to head to jail for 110 years. Because even billions of dollars couldn’t cover up his fraud forever.

The same principle applies to San Francisco. The city did more in a few months to clean up problems than it had for years. It generated some good headlines and probably made international leaders happy. But just as SBF’s foundation was shaky, so is the city’s reputation, unless it can prove that the new San Francisco is going to stay.

Cover-ups – whether of fraud or potholes – don’t last. The truth always comes out.

Consistent quality is better than one big success

Many CEOs want their brand to appear in the Wall Street Journal and on CNBC. It feels good to have 15 minutes of fame and receive accolades. That’s probably what it felt like to be both a citizen and a leader of San Francisco this month.

But one major media hit, or one major client, doesn’t make a successful company or brand. All it means is that you have a piece of good news – one that can’t replace long-term, consistent success.

The same local citizens who felt good about seeing their pristine streets and sidewalks instead of feces and needles probably would have preferred that over and over again for the last few years. They felt safe with the police spending time in problem areas – and they probably want that safety consistently.

Don’t forget your core audience

Long before she was a presidential candidate, Nikki Haley was on Boeing’s board of directors. She departed that board in 2020, claiming that the company should not seek a government bailout or assistance from The Federal Reserve.

Her departure made major headlines in conservative media, but it didn’t seem to garner much reaction from Boeing. That’s because while Haley wanted to impress future primary voters and donors, Boeing was focused on securing billions from the Fed.

San Francisco should have followed Haley’s lead (if not her politics) because its efforts to impress big-money politicians has left local citizens disgusted. Taxpayers tired of seeing homeless people on the street, and the homeless people themselves shared similar concerns with The New York Times that they were being ignored for the sake of conference attendees. These are the people San Francisco should have first kept in mind.

San Fran’s new brand opportunity 

Few cities get opportunities for big resets to reverse reputational narratives. Any Rust Belt ghost town would try to leverage an APEC-like event to springboard a communal rejuvenation. But without leadership willing to capitalize, the picturesque San Francisco we’ve enjoyed seeing again for the past few days will likely return to its old “new normal.”

This piece was originally published by Dustin Siggins at American Business Magazine.

One of the many important decisions the Braves made on the way to victory happened in Game 3. The Braves were ahead 2-0 midway through the game when Braves coach Brian Snitker pulled starting pitcher Ian Anderson. The decision kept a starter well-rested and utilized four rested reserve pitchers to stave off a potential comeback by the Astros.

It was good, smart baseball. It gave the Braves a 2-1 series lead. But none of that mattered to Wall Street Journal sportswriter Jared Diamond, who endorsed the decision as “backed up by sound data” with “plenty of valid reasons” behind it. Yet, according to Diamon, the decision was “controversial” because it was…boring.

That’s right. Winning one of the biggest events in a multi-billion-dollar industry is “boring.” Making the right call on that way to victory is “controversial.” But welcome to 2021, where winning with the best information and process is boring, and one of the biggest newspapers in the nation publishes such an opinion.

Haters are everywhere

Diamond’s column is an example of why most of the time, we should ignore our haters, trolls, and critics. The sports industry knows this; teams have ignored haters for decades even as they trade players, make game-time decisions, change cities, and deal with Monday Morning Quarterbacks. They know that winning makes many passionate critics go away, and keeps most fans happy.

Unfortunately, many businesses haven’t learned this lesson. We see it as major corporations retreat from Twitter mobs over small “offenses,” ping-pong decision-making to keep up with ever-changing mob viewpoints and values, and generally find themselves under a microscope which 15 years ago simply didn’t exist.

Almost all haters are a distraction from success, even though they are plentiful in a time when barriers of entry to opinionating are lower than ever.

Success is often “boring

The Braves aren’t the first championship organization to be “boring” on the way to victory. The Seattle Seahawks were the victims of such accusations after their crushing 2014 Super Bowl victory. And while one clear-headed commentator put this disparaging rumor to rest, the Seahawks probably didn’t care what the Monday morning quarterbacks and keyboard warriors thought.

The difference between success and mediocrity is often what’s “boring.” A business owner, political leader, or celebrity who responds to every critic gets a lot of attention but may be diluting scarce resources like time, reputation, and money. Boeing stayed silent last year when former South Carolina governor and potential 2024 presidential candidate Nikki Haley blasted the company for seeking federal money during the pandemic. It was the right choice because Haley’s supporters in conservative press were irrelevant to Boeing, which secured $25 billion in funding. Staying silent minimized the negative news cycle and kept Boeing focused on its end goal.

I actually like boring. A lot. Boring old accounting is often the difference between success and failure in business, and disciplined messaging builds brand positioning more quickly and wins more victories than being all over the map. Business owners should win their own World Series by building a straightforward strategy for brand positioning and trust protection which includes:

• Prioritizing the company’s unique value to customers instead of trying to figure out ever-changing customer values. This drives more revenue with less risk before controversy arrives.
• Building relationships with stakeholders who matter so that when the haters do arrive, you’re given the benefit of the doubt with investors, customers, and the press.
• Not panicking. The Braves and Boeing had different target markets than their critics, and they stayed true on their paths to victory.

In the end, the Braves don’t care what Jared Diamond thinks. They focused on winning because that’s the most exciting thing of all.

This item was authored by Proven Media Solutions founder Dustin Siggins, and originally appeared in InsideSources.com.

We can help you make the hard decisions about what to say, how to say it…and if you should say it at all. Here are the three most important questions we ask to guide our clients to the right choices.

How does the controversy impact your target market?

Earlier this year, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley lambasted Boeing for seeking a coronavirus-related bailout. An influential political figure, Haley left the company’s board over the issue.

Boeing never blinked an eye. Haley’s comments were widely covered by conservative media, but Boeing still got the government help it wanted.

The fact is that Haley didn’t affect Boeing’s target markets…and so the company moved forward. Contrast that with Boeing’s ongoing engagement regarding its 737 MAX crashes. In addition to the hundreds who died, the crashes greatly impacted Boeing’s stock value, reputation, and airplane sales.

Small businesses should follow Boeing’s example when dealing with controversies. Read more about how to think about target markets and bad publicity in our case study on Boeing’s bailout.

What does your target market want to hear?

Not all controversies are as direct as Boeing’s. Some target markets will react negatively to support for the recent race-related protests and law enforcement.

Getting involved is the first big decision. The second, equally important step is how to engage. Should you have a short statement or a detailed one? Is a video best, and who should be in it? Should your statement be full-throated in support or opposition, or more nuanced?

Be very careful with how you engage. Putting out the wrong statement may cause more problems than not engaging in the first place.

What do YOU believe?

In the end, it’s all about what’s important to you and your company’s values. You and your target markets may have different beliefs. Are you passionate enough to publicly disagree with some or all of your target markets and current clients? How will you deal with backlash, and how will you reassure investors, partners, and staff that this approach is sound?

These tough questions require knowing your target markets and being prepared for a variety of likely scenarios. This is where we come in. Contact us today to develop the strategies, tactics, and approaches necessary to engage in an ever-changing, controversial world.