Brand Identity, Image Take Center Stage as Papa John’s Turns to Shaq

Papa John’s has finally started its rebranding process – and there’s a lesson in it for marketers.

In the months since John Schnatter – the real and original Papa John himself – used a racial slur during a conference call (about sensitivity training, no less), it’s seemed like the company has endured one crisis after anotherOpens a new window  related to its PR nightmare.

It started with the board of directors ousting Schnatter, the restaurant chain’s founder, as Chairman of the Board. Then, the company adopted a so-called ‘poison pill’ defenseOpens a new window  in a bid to protect itself from Schnatter’s hostile takeover attempt before entering a legal battle when Schnatter sued his own company, alleging that the board had attempted to stage a “coup” against him.

While the pizza giant took some steps in the wake of this very public debacle to repair its image, the ongoing lawsuit with its founder had prevented Papa John’s from fully committing to a rebranding process.

Nevertheless, it’s done what it can, removing Schnatter’s face entirely from its logo and advertising, donating half a million dollars to an all-female, predominantly black college in North Carolina, and rolling out comprehensive diversity training across the organization.

Finally, though, the pizza chain has been able to focus on publicly restoring and re-crafting its brand identity and image since Schnatter last month agreed to resign from the board and drop his lawsuit.

Since then, Papa John’s has moved quickly, announcing that basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal would join its board of directorsOpens a new window , as well as act as the new face of the brand.

The juxtaposition couldn’t be clearer: Replacing Schnatter with O’Neal. The company swapped a controversial racist for a charismatic and widely-beloved African-American celebrity.

That’s an in-your-face move from a company looking to salvage its tarnished brand and pull itself out of a sales slump. And I’m not suggesting there’s anything wrong with that.

As Shaq himself admitted to CNBC, the restaurant’s reputation took a significant hit with African-American customers following Scnhatter’s use of the n-word.

Jeff Smith, Papa John’s new chairman faced it head-on, warning that overcoming this “marketing and image challenge” will take time.

Writing for ForbesOpens a new window on the topic, Sonia Thompson makes an interesting point. She argues that when “[building] relationships with customer groups that have traditionally been underserved, gestures and symbols are important but relationships are what matter most… a deep level of intimacy is especially important when it comes to serving customers that many brands have ignored in the past.”

“This level of relationship and commitment goes beyond donations, sponsorships and celebrity spokespersons,” she notes.

While I agree with her, those corporate actions she’s undervaluing are actually vital to a company seeking to achieve the level of audience engagement and relationship-building she’s talking about.

Brand identity and brand image come first

That said, maybe this isn’t the case for every brand disaster.

But when considering a crisis that’s battered a company’s public face, brand identity and brand image are critical as they encompass virtually every aspect a consumer will associate with the company and its products.

These days, marketers must navigate a digital world where social media audiences consume content in real-time, and demand near-instant accountability from companiesOpens a new window . Indeed, information is now shared at a lightning-fast pace, and it’s through our content consumption online that we tend to shape opinions and impressions of brands and companies.

No wonder, then, that socially responsible marketingOpens a new window is fast-becoming the norm.

How is a business meant to build – or in Papa John’s case, rebuild – bonds and relationships with the public if it hasn’t managed to shape a positive image of itself?

Essentially, it all ties to an age-old proverb my mother drummed into me from an early age (and used as the tag line for her own home-staging business): You never get a second chance to make a first impression.

While we aren’t strictly talking about a first impression, per se, the idea is still relevant. Any company that wants to rebrand or run a campaign designed to change its public image must focus on the first thing people will see and, more importantly, judge: the brand.

For marketers, that translates to brand image and brand identity.