Is Charlie Sheen’s PR Strategy ‘Winning?’

You may not have heard, but Charlie Sheen has been causing a bit of a media ruckus lately with his comments in interviews, webcasts and on Twitter.

Sure, he’s getting a lot of attention. But ultimately, is he destroying or building a tiger-blood fueled brand? Is there anything marketers could learn from Sheen’s PR “strategy?”

We asked several PR pros who have worked with marketers for their take on the recent messages coming out of Sober Valley Lodge.

Jim McNulty (clients have included SIGMA Marketing Group, 89 Degrees and Conversen):

I’d say that all those fans following his antics are kind of like the Twitter version of a crowd gathering at the site of a car wreck. Charlie’s lessons for marketers? First, he has begun referring to himself in the third person a lot, so that helps create his brand, although the details may be a bit fuzzy. Maybe the lesson is absolute faith in your product—you don’t see Charlie weakened with doubt. Charlie’s psychotic-centric approach pays off nicely as observers huddle closer, waiting across all channels for impact. He nurtures his leads down an effective stream of shock, uneasiness and amusement—a triple play that could rivet a marketer’s most jaded prospects.

Rosalie Harris (clients have included Chicago Association of Direct Marketing, DePaul University School of Music, Chicago Council on Science and Technology):

What can marketers learn from Charlie Sheen? Well, what can meteorologists learn from storm chasers? Is it the phenomenon itself or the wreckage in its wake? Aren’t people drawn to both sad causes and terrible effects? Isn’t that why can see Hamlet and King Lear, over and over again?

I’d say that Charlie Sheen Redux is the product of reality television, the blurring of news and entertainment, and available technology. Ergo, he’s taking advantage of the latest alternatives to the shows where Christians are being fed to the lions. From the beginning of time, there have been emperors, kings, impresarios, circus owners, producers and marketers adept at combining audiences’ craving for danger (usually other people’s) and the communications tools at hand.

Here’s the question: can marketers today create brand myths? Build a brand through a fiction? Or is truth truly more strange and interesting? The historian Daniel Boorstein famously coined the phrase, “pseudo events,” referring to manufactured events staged for the purpose of favorable media attention. Is there anything “pseudo” about Charlie Sheen or—name him/her—any other enfant terrible in the headlines? It seems they’re awfully real. And we’re back to the Coliseum, in box seats.

Lisa Skriloff (clients have included KL Advertising, E-tech, Globalworks and Zubi):

Marketers should have good insurance if their brand is tied to a celebrity, first of all. But they should also remember to keep social media at the forefront of their marketing plans, versus traditional media. As we can see in this instance in particular, news travels even faster with Twitter, Facebook and CNN alerts!

Charlie Sheen was wrong to insult his “boss.” He was wrong to make anti-semitic remarks. I believe he knew he was crossing the line but tested it anyway. He bit the hand that feeds him and he paid for it. I don’t think he was trying to do anything right on purpose. He was a celebrity already so by building his brand he gets immediate attention no matter what he does.

Chet Dalzell (clients have included The Direct Marketing Association and Harte-Hanks):

I dislike the Hollywood celebrity machine, because I value celebrity so little. It’s a strange world for me. But you have to be impressed with the role that social media plays with celebrity. Whether the PR buzz is good or bad, the power of social media to take an established brand viral in either direction seems to satisfy a public that craves celebrity content in ever-greater amounts 24/7.

Did you notice that Twitter verified and set up a Sheen account in just a day’s time? Twitter doesn’t take these steps for just anyone and quickly Sheen’s profile hit a million followers—that goes to show the appetite among some of us for celebrity banter.

What I love most about social media, however, is not the established celebrity brand, but the unknown made famous. Susan Boyle is the power of social media unleashed in all its unique attributes.