Toxic celebrity partnerships—what brands should do when they turn ugly

It's never easy to deal with a toxic relationship—personally or professionally. Brands can and should create genuine human connections with consumers and working with brand ambassadors is one tool in their toolbox. But celebrities are the same as the rest of us. They bring their own personalities, identities and flaws with their ideas and actions—further adding authenticity to their interactions with people.

But there's a big difference between imperfect and toxic—or engaging in toxic behavior. Ambassadors can be great for a brand, but they also create risk.

These relationships are almost always delicate and become increasingly so if the person representing your brand expresses hateful or even ignorant remarks. Your brand could easily become associated with your ambassador's views.

In an ideal world, you wouldn't partner with someone who has a history of sharing bigoted views with the media or posting racist or homophobic comments on their social channels. We witnessed how Adidas' partnership with Kanye West went horribly wrong because of his antisemitic comments. The brand terminated the partnership, which cost it 250 million euros in the short term. Adidas is proof that risk exists for nearly every brand that has tied itself to celebrities or everyday influencers. It’s also a case study in acting swiftly and decisively.

Even if it comes at a high cost, brands need to be ready to drop a toxic partnership. As Shopify founder Tobias Lütke said, “It's not a principle unless it costs you something.”

Determining what to do in the short term—terminating the relationship—is the easy part. Figuring out how to navigate what comes next is much harder and takes more thought. Keep these five strategies top of mind:

Look for early warning signs

You must decide if it's worth the risk to associate your brand with someone who could drag it into disrepute. Ask yourself whether their audience and values align with those of your brand. Because offensive behavior rarely appears out of nowhere, it might be helpful to identify the early warning signs.

You also need to emphasize your values. In many cases, the outcomes are hard to predict, but companies with inclusive values are less likely to attract brand representatives who disagree with or fully oppose these principles. Make sure that your organization's values can be embraced by all members.

Acknowledge how little control you have

You can vet all you want, but unless you're using a virtual influencer, you can't control your brand ambassador, especially if they are a celebrity and are prone to outbursts or controversial subjects. Here comes the importance of a well-drafted contract, which will allow you to at least have some control over the actions you can take if things go awry. This is not a pessimistic view of what it's like to work with an ambassador; rather, it's a realistic assessment of possible outcomes so that you can prepare accordingly—which brings me to the next best practice.

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”

This Benjamin Franklin remark is totally applicable to the modern corporate world. Always assume that all ambassadors could impact your brand, so engage in scenario planning, crisis preparation and deploy social listening to monitor their social activity for sentiment and potential issues.

It’s equally important to have a “in case of emergency, break glass” plan for these situations. But remember, you can't tell how well your plan will perform in a crisis if you haven't practiced it first. The most effective technique to ensure that everyone involved in a crisis knows what to do is to run through a simulated scenario with your team.

Determine who is responsible for team leadership and who makes the final decisions if a brand ambassador becomes unruly. Every crisis team needs a strong leader who can unite all teams, listen to their teams and make the tough decisions.

Act swiftly and decisively—once you have the facts.

Act quickly and decisively if there is a mismatch between your brand's values and those of the ambassador; taking time to act can look like you are complicit with abhorrent views. Prepare to disassociate your brand from your ambassador's opinions. It's important to make it known that this type of behavior or views are clearly incompatible with your principles. Take action and let people see you taking action.

Tone of voice and empathy play a major role

Your brand ambassador's offensive remarks might pose a serious threat to your company's reputation, so the tone with which you communicate is key. Take the time to listen to your audience attentively, particularly on social media. Consumers are more likely to listen to and trust you if you show genuine compassion for those who have been affected.