Vizard Tactic Was 'good Pr'

The Age

Wednesday May 7, 2008

Carolyn Webb

MARKETING experts say Steve Vizard has taken a step towards regaining public esteem by returning his Order of Australia and admitting he was wrong in improperly using knowledge as a company director to trade shares.

Yesterday, in his first interview in three years, Vizard accepted responsibility for failing to pay attention to his duties as a Telstra director. In a civil case in July 2005, the Federal Court fined him $390,000 and banned him from corporate boardrooms for 10 years.

Vizard told 3AW broadcaster Neil Mitchell that he felt people misunderstood what he had done: no dishonesty or criminality had been alleged. He revealed he had given back his Order of Australia to the Governor-General's office, not because he had to but because he believed it was the right thing to do.

Celebrity marketing minder Max Markson said: "It definitely won't backlash on him, and can never be worse than what happened before; that was trial by media, almost, at the time.

"I think he's still got a lot of affection in the eyes of the public. The corporate community might have a stronger opinion, but in the eyes of public, his profile from his TV show would live on," Mr Markson said.

RMIT marketing lecturer Con Stavros said Vizard had been portrayed as a sneaky, calculating, uncaring person in court.

"I think any time someone's reputation takes that kind of a battering, you must spend time thinking about how can I re-establish that," Dr Stavros said. Like sports star Wayne Carey's appearance on Andrew Denton's ABC TV show Enough Rope, it was useful for Vizard to "let people know what he's been through and how he actually views it". Dr Stavros said that public figures facing public crises could counter-attack, or lie low and wait for the outcry to dissipate. Vizard had chosen the latter, and it hadn't harmed him.

"Some people will say he's trying to portray himself in a positive light, but I don't think there's anything wrong with that," Dr Stavros said.

Monash University marketing lecturer Ian Walker said Vizard could rise again. "His image and personal credibility and sense of self have been badly impacted," he said.

Inside Public Relations director Michael Smith said he had ended a 10-year stint representing Vizard this year, but still advised him as a friend.

Vizard, who had initiated the 3AW interview, had no grand PR plan; rather, he told Mr Smith he wanted to end speculation about the Order of Australia.

"He's writing screenplays and books and movies and spending more time with his kids. There's nothing on the agenda for public life," Mr Smith said.

© 2008 The Age

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