65: “Megxit” Decoded: Why Harry and Meghan’s Exit Matters

Harry and Meghan go rogue and the world goes mental. This week on the podcast, who wins the PR battle for public opinion and why? Megxit. That's a play on Brexit, folks. Matters. Harry and Meghan have cemented a trend. They didn't create it, but they brought it front and center and tied it up in a pretty bow. You can see it on the official website of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, as well as their Instagram account, usssexroyal. Royal Spoiler they aren't on Twitter or Facebook. So if you run, own, sell or communicate for a business, you'll want to know what it means for operations. Megxit when Harry and Meghan legit out of the Monarchy it's been a few days now since Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, finally settled their future after pushing for greater independence from royal life. And they went all in on cashing in on their royal bland. By magnoliaizing the process, Harry and Meghan can now chip and Joanna their brand and make lots and lots of money. Pounds, dollars, quids, all of it in their new roles of brand ambassadors for themselves or Euros. You can think the Clinton foundation with a royal twist. The think Barack and Michelle. Think Oprah. Now you can picture why they are going the for profit route. Now. Why am I dedicating an episode to the Royal Skedaddle? Well, because I think it marked a new age for the influencer and the consumer. If you run a business, own a business, sell for one or communicate for a business, you'll want to listen to why Megxit matters. Up first the PR because everythingisPR who wins the battle of public opinion? For this answer I asked my Twitter hive. Unscientific, I know, but I love my Twitter hive. It's a Twitter sample that I use a lot because I value the opinions of people who I follow and follow me on Twitter, but also the people that are just on it in general, because people tend to engage on Twitter are people who want to engage with other people. The press, business owners, business leaders, thought leaders, people who want to share opinion but also make it are on Twitter. And if you want to get reading up on an issue and if you don't want to get the press's point of view, if you are someone that feels that there's a liberal press or a conservative press. How I feel is I like to go to Twitter when a story happens because that's how I'm getting a real opinion from people based on their background and I use it for my background it's not necessarily going to tilt me one way or the other, but it's certainly going to shape my opinion. And this story was a perfect Twitter story overall. My take, the young, the liberals, the millennials, entrepreneurs, creative pop culture folks, singers, stars, so on, they are going to favor the couple. And it appears that the older conservatives, the pro monarchy folks, are the ones who are backing the Queen. Oh, and Meghan Markle's family, of course, weighed in. Meghan's father, Thomas Markle, he broke his silence in a British documentary in which he accused her of cheapening the royal family. Said she was calling it a Walmart brand. Now, zing. Wonder if that documentary was filmed in a glass house. But Meghan certainly has her hands full. And also her father, Thomas Markle, could be called to testify against her in a lawsuit involving a British tabloid after she launched legal action. This happened last fall against the newspaper the Mail, accusing them of unlawfully printing a private letter she wrote to her father after a wedding. After her wedding. So if this case were to ever go to trial, both Megan and her father would be called to testify. Which also makes me wonder, is that court case have anything to do with the decision for Harry and Megan to go the for profit, influencer route? I think many people emphasize what the Duke and Duchess and their decision to take tighter control of media relations and no longer deal with the tabloid press. But from a PR point of view, they are a polarizing brand. They are beloved, but also a couple people love to hate. Apparently. So on Twitter, I posted a poll, public opinion and pr who wins with a royal emoji. So I stated, recording a podcast this week on the royal fallout and would love to hear from the hive and in the poll on Twitter. And if you ever want to do a quick little poll on Twitter to get a little sample of something super easy to do, I had Harry and Megan and then the House of Windsor. Harry and Megan came out with 82.4% and the House of Windsor at 17.6. Again, very unscientific, but it does give me a clear snapshot of where the public might fall. People who are on Twitter, at least some of the feedback that I heard, some of the replies on Twitter, some said that they have to work out their financial independence. Well, that is the first thing they must have done. They know their worth. A prince will remain a prince and in the new age, he can make 10 times more outside the royals. No kidding. And he said, we'll wait for the podcast, thank you very much. Another person said, I'd say the answer depends on the audience we're talking about. True. In Britain, I think the Prince and Princess are going to have a hard time, quote unquote, winning and the media sentiment towards them is negative. I thought that was a good point. And also when can you not bring a Charlie Sheen reference and me not like that. And also another person said it depends on what win means. Good point. Harry and Meghan got their way but the Queen ultimately won by her graciousness and decorum during what could have been embarrassing for her. Getting one's way isn't the same as winning. Love that response. Because it's true. The verdict on this story is that it's clear that Harry and Megan had been planning this escape for some time. They spent the time building a new website, they worked with a Hollywood level PR machine for strategy and they were at least preparing something in advance for their financial and legal arrangements. Which brings us back to the management by the firm. Megan had also already signed a deal with Disney. So they've been very, very busy with not many people at least over in Britain or in Buckingham palace paying any attention. There's one more group that I had to ask about, the Harry and Megan story and that was, I'll call it the Princess Diaries generation. Kids, girls in their late teen years, 16, 17, 18. I had to ask them what do you think about Harry and Meghan? Because I really had no concept if they even thought thought about them. Well, because they're obsessed. They're the generation obsessed with Disney and the Princess Diary movies. They are dumbfound and completely shocked that Megan would even walk away from being a princess. To them that is like the ultimate goal, you know, hashtag goals is to be a princess. And they, they're dumbfounded that she walked away. So they're not necessarily on the side of Harry and Megan, but me thinks that once they start seeing the branding and the influencing behind it, they're going to fall to the other side. They're going to start dressing like Megan. Moving on to the press statements now. First the statement from the Queen. And I found this in the Daily Mail. The Queen in her statement expressed the importance of family over and over and over again. She said she was particularly proud of her granddaughter in law, Meghan Markle. So she used a very deep personal tone and referred to the family four times in her statement. A lot of first person I's and me's and mys. She commended Megan for how quickly she became a part of the Royal family, came into the fold, thanked her for all the work that she did. And she wants Megan and Harry and Archie to begin a happy and peaceful new life. Now, what's interesting about that statement is that it did reveal that they have been, they've been working on this for quite some time, or at least they want us to believe that. I don't know if I do, but at least in the statement they're stating that. So if they announced their intention to step back as a senior royal in January, but in the statement it said after many months of reflection and internal discussions, it could be just Harry and Meghan's discussions, we don't know. But that phrase, many months, it's revealing because it shows that at least this has been in the works for quite some time. The Queen also talks about the grandson and his family and highlighting her personal bond with Harry, so we hear the term grandson, which is, of course, Harry, and that they are much loved members of the family. She also said that she recognized the challenges that they have experienced. Now, her statement is in stark contrast to how Buckingham palace reacted to Harry's mother's death. Of course, Princess Diana. So you remember back when she was killed in the car accident, her death caused this outpouring of grief all throughout the uk, worldwide, of course, in the us, anyone who was watching live when the accident happened, and it was super late, if you were watching the news, and the outpouring of grief was outstanding. But if you also remember, the Royal family was, was heavily criticized in the press, in the public. Remember, this wasn't really the Twitter age back then, it was much earlier than that. But even in the traditional press, they were criticized for their adherence to the official royal protocol. So they were scripted, but the world was acting and judging them in an unscripted way. They wanted to protect the sons, Harry and William, of course, but the press, the public, they interpret it as a lack of compassion. So I think the lesson here is the Queen, the Royal family, Buckingham palace, they learned a very valuable lesson, and one that you can learn as well, is that when news happens, of course everybody is watching, everybody is watching how you react. But if you don't show empathy in anything that you're managing, you're going to get called on it. You're going to be called cold, you're going to be told that you are wrong and you're going to be told online, you're going to be told in news stories and in a viral sense. So remember, everyone is watching. And when an event happens, being bullheaded, being arrogant, being right isn't necessarily the Right. Way to go. You have to show empathy. It applies to any organization facing an issue or controversy. But people are always watching my take a royal PR flush. Both sides. One. Next, what Megxit means to you, the business person. One word, disruption. Last week I spoke to two groups. I was on the West Coast. I was in Palm Desert, which I love. The West Coast, I never thought I would, but coming from the east coast to the West Coast, I just love it out there. My first Talk was for CEOs. It was about the servant leadership model and how they can use that model to help build or restore relationships with employees, the community board of directors. And then the next day I had to head to Arizona to speak to a group of communicators. It was the first time that I could roll out my Duke and Duchess theory from a communication consumer point of view. And I was bouncing off the walls discussing the implications of the Harry and Meghan abdication. In this room, I'm sure they're looking at me like, what did you put in your coffee this morning? But I think what they did truly signaled a shift in how we need to look at our consumers now, our customers. So whether it's a customer or a member, the expectations have now changed and it's been highlighted, even though it's probably already been there. But Harry and Meghan are certainly making it known. Okay, it's all about demand too. Harry and Meghan represent the wants and the needs of the consumer, the valuable consumers, the millennials and the two gens on either side, X and Z, they have ushered in or at least solidified the in demand on demand generation. The abdication is an abdication from convention. And Harry and Meghan bucked a monarchy that started in the 10th century. Imagine what they have done in the course of only a few weeks into 2020. Now compare that to an employee who wants to work off hours. Maybe they don't want to come in the office at 8am Maybe they want to work from home and they're going to log in at 10 o' clock in the morning, but they also are going to work until 11 o' clock at night. Or how about the consumer who wants to find out information about your business on your website, but they can't find it. Why? Because it's not there. How about a reporter who wants to attend a board meeting, One that should be open to the public, but you make non members apply to attend 60 days in advance even though it's a reporter and they might be working on a story and their deadline is the next day, you're telling them that the only way they can attend the meeting is if they tell the board in advance, weeks in advance. With technology, the Internet, rapid viral media, people want and expect to get what they want and when they want it. And if they can't get what they want, they can't find it. They abdicate, they leave your business, and they leave it rather noisily. So to be clear, I'm not saying you need to bend over backwards. You don't need to uproot years of policy for a few people who decide they want to change the rules just for them. You know, something that's unusual that your mass of consumers perhaps wouldn't want, but you do need to recognize that change is afoot. Recognize the wants and needs of your customer has changed. The word that I like to use is flex. You just want to flex. But people and I know this just from being on the road and looking eye to eye with clients or standing in front of a room. The thought of bending over means you're changing, means you're giving in. No one likes to give in. But flexing means that you're meeting someone perhaps halfway because they're flexing as well. Do not rest in the status quo. Just because it worked in the past doesn't mean it will work in the future. Just because the front office or the C suite or the board of directors all agree on a policy or way of doing business doesn't mean that it's right. If everyone in that room, in that small room agrees, then I bet if you look around that room, it's like looking in a mirror because everyone's going to look the same. You're all going to be the same age. You may even be the same gender. You might even all have the same hair color. You know what I'm saying? But if you're an organization adhering to rules from the past, expect a disruptor in your business. And disruption isn't always bad. It can be good if it leads to positive change. Just look at your life. Did something traumatic happen? Some big shift that could happen in your personal life? Did that shift turn out to be a rather good thing? Did it expose things that were a problem that you'd been putting up with for a while? And now you realize, you know what? This new way of looking at life and this new way of looking at things actually ain't that bad. So it's not always bad. So finally, I noted in the open that the social media choices of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex that's not easy to say their website sussexroyal.com or their Instagram page, essexroyal. I'm still sitting on the fence on the Sussex brand. I love Sussex. And it makes me wonder when Meghan was given Sussex, if she thought, okay, this is really difficult to say, I'm not gonna be able to brand it, or does it make it super cool to brand? Oh, I just got a notification. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will keep their HRH titles but have agreed not to use them after Megxit. That doesn't surprise me. So what that means is that they're still royal, but they can't use the hrh, his or Her Royal Highness in their branding. So I think they probably won that one. Anyway, as I was saying about social media, they didn't use Facebook or Twitter. Now, the choices about just being on Instagram and a website right now may change. It's likely going to change when the brand machine is in full swing. But for now, it's just about output. It's just about Insta and funneling people to the website. They're not doing, you know, video press conferences. They're not, you know, Harry's not standing in front of a room and addressing what is happening with Harry and Megan. They want to drive everything to social and to their website. Instagram is used for the pictures, the background, the video, the stories. So everyone is driving there to see what is happening and then they want to funnel you to the website so you can read what is happening and that's where their official statements are. It's quite deliberate and intentional that they're doing this. It's all about lead gen at this point, okay? And think about audiences too. They want all audiences, they want the press. Every stakeholder that has a stake in Harry and Megan right now, they want to drive them to Instagram and then they want to drive them to the website. Note that if you are in a business where you want to sell and you need that lead gen, don't dismiss Instagram as a social media site just for a bunch of pictures. That's where Gen Z is. That's where the millennials live. Facebook is wonderful for B2C, for commerce, for that interaction. But a lot of people are noticing that Facebook does require a true presence in there. You have to be one on one. You have to be in it. You have to grind your feet in there and be there to really get a lot of traction in Facebook. But if you wanna just step back, just a touch and you can do it through instagram and just show the photos and the videos. Think about that. And then you drive people to a website. That's also a very effective way to message a brand. All right, the jury is still out on the success of this entire abdication. Will it be the right choice for the Duke and Duchess and their branding? I'm all in for their success. I think it's going to work. Their marriage, it's certainly going to be tested, but I think when you have millions of dollars behind it, they are certainly going to find a way. It's been a challenging probably year for them, but I'm all for true love and happiness ever after. I think it's going to work out what this marriage is now. It's all about the branding and it's all about their generation, the in demand generation. They're the ones spending, they're the ones that are online buying, they're the ones that are looking for things that they want. They're in demand, they want it on demand and they want it now.