Harry and Meghan Could Follow in David and Victoria Beckham’s Footsteps — Expert
A lot has been said about what’s next for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s brand after a best-selling memoir, much-talked-about docuseries, and dissolved Spotify partnership. All the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have to do, per an expert, is look to another “very famous couple.” Who? David and Victoria Beckham. The former professional soccer player and fashion designer are an example the pair can look to for navigating branding.
Harry and Meghan can ‘come together’ as a ‘joint brand’ similar to David and Victoria Beckham
The Harry and Meghan “brand” is far from over, Pauline Maclaran, a professor of marketing and consumer research at Royal Holloway, University of London, told the U.K.’s Express.
“I don’t think we’ve seen the end of Meghan and Harry as a brand. There’s no reason why they can’t have a joint brand strategy,” Maclaran said. “If you look at a very famous couple, the Beckhams, Victoria has her own company. She is seen as a top, female entrepreneur. David Beckham has football.”
Victoria and David, who star in Netflix’s Beckham docuseries also “come together as the Beckham family.”
“They do come together as well,” Maclaran added. “Even though they have their own separate brands. I don’t see why Harry and Meghan can’t do something like that.”
Harry and Meghan may have to start over with their joint ‘Sussex’ brand
Another expert in PR and crisis management thinks stepping away from the Sussex brand is an option.
“Once a brand has become as toxic as Harry and Meghan’s, it is a long and difficult path to recovery,” Coram James said. “By separating out their joint brand, and trying to forge ahead with two distinct and different brand identities, the Sussexes’ are hoping to short-circuit this process.”
“The idea is that, by resetting the brand, they release some of the toxicity,” he continued. “Although it is unlikely to represent the full antidote to their current reputational aliment, it is definitely a good idea and a step in the right direction.”
“It may sound silly and a bit basic, but when a brand is as toxic as the Sussexes, sometimes the only solution is to try to dismantle the brand altogether,” the expert added.
Harry and Meghan’s New York visit offered a chance to ‘repair any reputation damage’
Following September 2022’s Invictus Games, Harry and Meghan made their first big appearance in New York on Oct. 10, 2023, to mark World Mental Health Day. They held a summit, the Archewell Foundation’s first in-person event, on children and technology.
According to Andy Barr, a crisis communications expert, who spoke to Express in the lead-up to Harry and Meghan’s visit, “repair” for their brand was part of it.
“Meghan and Harry have a slick media machine behind them, and they will be keen to repair any reputation damage that happened from their last visit,” he said, referring to what a spokesperson for the couple called a “near catastrophic car chase” in May 2023. “We can expect to see a real charm offensive. Unscheduled stops for community engagement and probably public praise for the city in general.”
“They will want to avoid a repeat of the last visit, so I would imagine their security will also be beefed up, albeit in a subtle and non-intrusive way,” Barr continued. “There are few couples in the world that know as much as they do about winning over an audience, and I expect this will be a masterclass in rebuilding bridges.”
