By Grace Fenstermaker, Managing Partner, EMEA, Qorvis
“… I did something bad.”
On a regular basis, we are called by clients who have ignored their reputation for too long, telling us their “reputation’s never been worse.” Oftentimes, it is a misunderstanding or an error they did not feel was significant enough to correct until the moment they are faced with their bank lines getting cut and possible sanctions risk.
At Qorvis, we believe in the importance of proactive reputation management for everyone from bankers to commodities traders, multinational companies to high-net-worth individuals – and even to Taylor Swift.
Taylor Swift is, arguably, the most talked about woman on the planet. People love her. They hate her. Very few wonder, “Who’s Taylor Swift anyway?”
After the fallout from her 2016 feud with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, Swift has shown the world for years the importance of proactively managing one’s reputation. At the time, negative press, and the world, were telling Swift she was worthless and to give up. And, for a while, people thought she had.
From her 2017 comeback album “Reputation,” to her Eras Tour today, Taylor Swift has shown the world how to handle “bad blood,” negative press and take control of the way others perceive you. In her subsequent albums and now on her global Eras Tour, Swift has incorporated attempted jabs–like Kim Kardashian famously calling her a snake–into her brand.
Taylor Swift is a reminder to us all that it is very possible to turn your reputation around and become one of the world’s most popular billionaires.
This past weekend, Qorvis General Counsel Aliya Manjee and I had the chance to see Swift’s Eras Tour in Warsaw, the culmination of the pop star’s reputation management efforts over the last few years. A screaming 65,000 fans welcomed Swift to Poland, cheering on the hissing snake that signaled the start of the singer’s “Reputation” era.
Photos by Grace Fenstermaker
When you, or your company, are faced with challenges like negative press, cut bank lines, sanctions risk, and being perceived as the “anti-hero,” just remember that there is a way to mitigate your risk and regain control of your reputation. You can call Qorvis. “Get it off your chest and put it on my desk.” We’ve spent the last two-plus decades helping our clients take control of their reputations.
Grace Fenstermaker is Managing Partner, EMEA, based in the Qorvis Dubai hub. Aliya Manjee is General Counsel and Director, based in the Qorvis Washington D.C. headquarters.