The Martha Interview kicked off sweeps this weekend. It was a masterpiece of the Martha Stewart public relations efforts to date. Even the Save Martha and Martha Talks Web sites were mentioned prominently. Hopefully potential jurors saw it, as her trial begins on January 12.
Martha was on strategy, distancing herself from MSLO. In fact, the interview went to great lengths to show Martha Stewart as a person.
If you are going to be perceived as a victim, you must first be perceived as accessible, normal, less than perfect—real. The interview did just that. It took place at her home, it included a tour of her hometown and it included plenty of childhood pictures.
The interview brought up some excellent points, from the fact that she has already lost half of her $1 billion fortune to the fact that she could be innocent. Editor's Note: The public relations strategy around the Martha Stewart crisis is my focus—not her guilt or innocence.
She ended the piece with an adaptation of her trademark phrase and noted "it's not a good thing." Well done.
Regarding her K-Mart ads that had me thrown for a loop, I was looking at the ads from the wrong standpoint. At the end of the
day, K-Mart and Martha Stewart need each other to sell products and make money. K-Mart's decision to use Martha in its ads, and Martha's decision to appear in them, are both business decisions. And in business, "it's all about the benjamins."
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