A short ppt that shows my thought on what Lance Armstrong could do in terms of branding

1. Lance Armstrong
A Branding Challenge

2. Introduction
For the past few days, weeks and months the media has been extensively covering the
story of the disgraceful fall of former cyclist Lance Armstrong. A former seven (7)
times winner of the Tour de France and possibly the most iconic figure in this sport
ever. After years of strenuous denials, Armstrong finally admitted in public that he had
in fact used banned substances and no one knows for sure what will happen next.
I do not know what will happen next either, but I would like to use this situation to
build a Marketing Case by performing a situation analysis, evaluating different
options and making a proposal that will help keep, restore or rebuild the “Lance
Armstrong Brand”
Please note this document has been made prior to the second interview presented by
Oprah

3. Prior Situation
To better understand where to go, we will start by analyzing the status of the “Lance
Armstrong Brand” (LAB) previous to the scandal.
Brand as a Product
• Reach: LAB is a Product that is easy to access. LAB is available for everyone to
follow, know and love
• Attributes: LAB is Strong, determined, successful, winner, able to overcome any
obstacle
• Value: Honest, persistent and willing to give it all. A True Winner
• Usage: LAB has become a symbol of “Willpower” by overcoming adversity
• Customers: People from all different walks of life regardless on whether they
follow or not Cycling as a sport. LAB addresses anyone interested on recognizing a
true winner
• Origins: American (positive)

4. Prior Situation
Brand as a Organization
• LAB is a credible, truthful, global responsible brand
Brand as a Person
• Genuine, energetic, determined and a winner
Brand as a symbol
• Tour de France, LiveStrong and Fight Against Cancer.
Brand Credibility
• Strong, honest and projects positive attributes to those close to it
Value Proposition
• The only sportsman who overcame Cancer and came back to become the greatest
cyclist in history

5. Current Situation
With the available information through the media, it is imperative we analyze the
current situation in order to evaluate options :
Brand as a Product
• Reach: LAB is a Product that is not easy to access. LAB is not available and he uses
hand picked media to reach to the people. When doing so, the information
provided is not clear.
• Attributes: LAB is still Strong and determined as he admitted doing all because of
his eagerness to win.
• Value: Dishonest. But still, he supported a good cause (LiveStrong)
• Usage: LAB has become a symbol of “Cheating” and “Bullying”
• Customers: LAB addresses people who may still be in denial of the whole situation
and those who are open to forgive cheaters if they are willing to change
• Origins: American (negative)

6. Current Situation
Brand as a Organization
• LAB is not credible nor honest. The whole world knows he is not trustworthy
Brand as a Person
• Willing to do anything (cheating) in order to win
Brand as a symbol
• Fight Against Cancer.
Brand Credibility
• No credibility and projects negative attributes to those close to it
Value Proposition
• Actively and truthfully supported the Fight Against Cancer

7. Repositioning the Brand
Many people are wondering what will happen next and how Lance Armstrong will
reconstruct his brand. To answer this question a decision must be made as to what does he
wants to achieve. Meaning he wants to maintain the same Branding Strategy or if he wants
to reposition the brand.
• Keep the same positioning: Show everyone that Lance Armstrong can indeed be the
greatest cyclist in the world and maintain its support to fight against cancer
• Reposition the brand: Choose to focus on a different value proposition and on a specific
segment of people. The options are:
– Prove that he is a good athlete by going back to competitions such as Marathons
and Triathlons -and providing evidence he is not cheating - so he can show what he
can truly deliver. Maintain support to the Fight Against Cancer (*)
– Do not go back to competition as a way to show remorse of what he has done and
how he has affected the sport, but, come completely clean about what happened
and place his efforts in supporting the Fight against Cancer
(*) Please note that the first options considers cycling while the first repositioning option focuses not on cycling but on Triathlons and Marathons

8. Course of action
Lets start by saying that the possibilities of fixing/reconstructing the “Lance Armstrong
Brand” as it was before is impossible. The core essence of the brand has been destroyed
and it has lost its essence. Investing time and efforts on trying to maintain the same
positioning will only mean a waste of time and effort and the results will only reinforce his
current perception among people. Because of these, I would not recommend investing
time and effort pursuing this option.
From my perspective, since the Brand has been so damaged, the objective of the
repositioning should be to find a positive space for the brand while also supporting the
Fight Against Cancer.
To do so, the second option - not going back into competitions as a way to show remorse
Of what he has done - and coming clean about everything and been active in the Fight
Against Cancer - is the best option, as it presents a fresh positive starting point and the
possibility to become a role model for those considering making the same errors.
Everybody respects someone who admits making a mistake and everyone is willing to
forgive if you honestly show you have changed. In addition, he is always free to practice
sports and he could always find a way to have people see the results of his practices.

9. A New Positioning
The future of the LAB Brand lies on repositioning it immediately and by focusing all
efforts on supporting the following key initiatives:
1. Be completely open and tell the whole truth about what happened.
2. Be clear that Lance Armstrong will not go back into professional cycling
3. Be specific that he has learned his lesson and that he will make sure whatever it takes
so others do not make the same error
4. Be clear that his support to cancer has nothing to do with his actions and that he is
committed to this cause
From these actions, I would recommend the following positioning :
“To people in the world who want to Fight and Find a Cure against cancer, Lance Armstrong,
is an example that you can turn things around in your life and also be active in supporting
this great cause, because he beat Cancer and has been a key player in raising millions of
dollars worldwide for the Fight Against Cancer. In addition, he is a living example that you
can overcome any circumstance (negative and positive) and still remain focused on a good
initiative”

10. Implementation and Tactics
For the implementation I recommend:
1. Hold additional press conferences and interviews where ALL the truth is told.
2. Announce to the general public his decision not to pursue professional cycling
anymore, but, clarifies he will continue to be actively involved in sports.
3. Make his self available to organizations that may be interested on his story so he
can help others avoid making the same mistakes.
4. Evaluate writing a “Tell All Book” where all Profits go toward LiveStong or a similar
cause
5. Make his self available to Organization that support the Fight for Cancer

11. Final Thoughts
Positioning a brand depends on the objective chosen by the Brand Manager (Lance
Armstrong). Since nobody knows what he wants to achieve, the proposal is based on
what I believe is what is best for him as a brand.
Tactics to support the repositioning depends on the Strategy, therefore they can be
available once the Strategy is defined.
Something that is recommended regardless of the strategy or positioning chosen is
the fact that Lance Armstrong should come clean by opening up and sharing all the
information relevant only to his bad behavior (cheating) and not compromising
anything not related to this event.