Strategically Communicating

I wish the LIVESTRONG Foundation well.  I think they do, and have done, extraordinary work for those struggling with the impact of cancer.

I think the MACH 1 Group’s approach to rebuilding trust in the wake of the Lance Armstrong’s fall from grace is the right one:

• They’ve been honest about their founder “misleading the world, as well as his colleagues at the Foundation.”
• The focus on “turning curiosity into an opportunity by emphasizing a new direction, a recommitment to patients and survivors and showing the world that the Foundation lives the philosophy of its brand” is also a good strategy – if not the only strategy – if the Foundation wants to survive..
• They are focusing on what the Foundation is about, rather than fundraising
• While they have been transparent about the Foundation, they’re policy of “No more comments on any developments in Lance’s legal, personal or professional life” is also good strategy.

LIVESTRONG is a nonprofit.  Nonprofits rely on donations to do good work.  If you are looking to contribute to an organization that helps cancer patients, how likely are you to donate to a foundation founded and named after a liar and a cheat?  Lance Armstrong isn’t just a celebrity endorser for LIVESTRONG he is LIVESTRONG.  He founded this Foundation; it is named after him. Will the trust-building strategy be enough to keep the organization alive?  What other options are there?