Class. Conan O’Brien has it in spades. And I’m not saying that just because I’m on “Team Conan” and not “Team Jay.” In fact, I’d bet that Conan earned more than a few admirers in the “Team Jay” camp when his short stint on “The Tonight Show” ended Friday night. In his final sign-off, Conan didn’t moan about how poorly he’d been treated by NBC or blame Jay for stealing his job. No one could have blamed him for doing either, or both.
Instead, he took the high road. He thanked NBC for giving him the opportunity to hold “the best job in the world” and expressed his sincere gratitude for the 20 years of work they had accomplished together. He recognized his fans for their support and gave them credit for making a “sad situation joyous and inspirational.” And he wrapped it all up by challenging the audience to steer clear of cynicism – after all, he had just given them a primer on how to show gratitude in the face of ugly circumstances.
Winning over the competition’s audience. Creating more enthusiasm among your own fans. Staying out of the muck. Sounds like a good marketing strategy to me.
As a senior vice president at Cookerly, Matt helps organizations protect and advance their reputations and bottom lines through strategic communications programs. Using creativity, planning and flawless execution, he works with a team to deliver compelling public relations campaigns that produce results and support clients’ business objectives.
As senior vice president at Cookerly, Mike Rieman specializes in building and maintaining relationships with the media and has an excellent track record of landing significant placements in print and broadcast media including USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and Money Magazine.
As vice president of Cookerly, Sheryl Sellaway uses her extensive corporate communications background to lead consumer PR efforts, deliver strategy for marketing programs and share expertise about community initiatives.
As a slightly biased member of "Team Conan," I couldn't agree more!