• by David Kaplan , April 21, 2005

It might seem strange, but Tyler Hamilton's experience as a bicyclist could provide important insights for brands that want to assess how their images resonate with the general public.

It's safe to say that Hamilton, an Olympic gold medalist in cycling and a member of Lance Armstrong's Postal Service team in the Tour de France, is an unknown quantity to everyone but sport enthusiasts. In public relations consultancy Delahaye's presentation at the Yale Club in New York City, "What's Brewing? Strategies for Influencing Corporate Reputation," the comparison between Hamilton and Armstrong appeared to illustrate the dilemmas many businesses struggle with.

"Most of what I know about companies comes from indirect experience," said K.C. Brown, a senior vice president at the Norwalk, Conn.-based Delahaye. "For example, I never met anyone who worked for Enron. I never worked with Enron. But I know why it's called the 'crooked E,' because I've seen all the news reports. News coverage is volatile. Opinion surveys tend to be stable. Opinion surveys measure a well deep in the ground. We measure rainfall; sometimes it's heavy, sometimes it's light. But in terms of the coverage that ultimately influences those opinion surveys, that's the state of most news coverage and its impact on businesses."

Brown, a cycling enthusiast, asked the room full of marketing professionals who the cyclist with the best reputation is. The answer, unanimously, was Armstrong. But when asked who in the sport had the worst rep, only one attendee came close, incorrectly answering "Todd" Hamilton.

Hamilton has been in the news lately for his fight against a two-year suspension for blood-doping, a charge he denies. Brown related Hamilton's recent experience, noting his two wipeouts on the Tour de France a few years ago, which left him with a broken collarbone and back injuries (he also had to have his teeth capped because he was grinding them so hard from the stress of the race).

Contrast this story of grit and determination with the story of the man who has cycling's best rep: a raft of negative reporting accusing him of such assorted sins as excessive pride, repeated use of illegal enhancements, and leaving his wife - who stood by him during his cancer treatments - for rock star Sheryl Crow.

In explaining how Armstrong maintains such a stark dichotomy between the overwhelming negative press and overwhelming respect, Brown pointed to the nation's simultaneously most hated and most admired retailer.

"It's not a paradox that Wal-Mart is attached with such strong views at opposite ends of the spectrum," Brown said. "Wal-Mart's earnings are always up, they always tout their lower prices, they're a winner. The same with Armstrong. When people talk about reputation, you have to have their attention."

And most companies, like most cyclists, are inconsequential to most people, Brown said, claiming that 5,000 brief mentions on Page 7 are worth about five appearances on the cover of a major magazine

And it's the companies that command attention that easily manipulate public opinion. Another example Brown offered was a piece of news that almost no one remembered: last month's resignation of Boeing CEO Harry Stonecipher after the news that he had an affair with a subordinate was disclosed. "He owned up to it, he left, and that was it," Brown said. He noted that, as the world's largest aerospace company, it commands attention and by supplanting the scandal with earnings reports and other news, it forced the scandal out of people's minds.

In terms of a company coming from behind in the Hamilton mode, Brown pointed to Comcast. Delahaye's measurements showed that the company's public awareness spiked when it came out of nowhere with the offer to buy Disney last year.

"They might not have even seriously intended to acquire Disney, but it was a great PR move because it boldly got their name out there in a way that speaks to their growth as a powerful cable company," Brown said.