Don’t shoot the messenger

19th Oct 11

Loose lips in a leaked internal memo show the power of a colourful quote. Shame it contributed to slashing $20billion from Groupon’s IPO valuation. What was Groupon Founder Andrew Mason thinking when he wrote to staff “…with an I.P.O. baby that, having seen the ultrasound, I can promise you is not one of those uglies”.

The NY Times Dealbook picked it up and ignited a firestorm of negative publicity which has to dampen appetite for the upcoming float.

Apart from the negative images it evokes it’s simply not the language you’d expect from the CEO of a Wall Street darling. Especially in these conservative times.

Closer to home we had Blackmores CEO Christine Holgate describe a deal as meaning pharmacists could offer "Coke and fries" upgrades when selling prescription drugs. Catchy and colourful but not aligned with Blackmores wholesome ‘Wellness’ positioning.