The ‘Wagatha Christie’ trial has seen the profiles of Rebecca Vardy and Coleen Rooney both succeed – albeit in very different ways and for vastly different reasons, say reputation experts.
Vardy’s spectacular own goal at Rooney’s trial may have left her openly mocked, her reputation destroyed and her facing a potential £3million legal bill – but she will never be more in demand and can bounce back against the odds, they said.
Reality TV shows will be knocking on her door, said Jonathan Hartley, a media consultant who specializes in crisis management. “I’m a celebrity… Get me out of here! they would absolutely bite their hands off for her, just for the fact that her profile has never been higher. There will be many offers, more than ever before. The controversy just made it more interesting,” he said.
Meanwhile, Rooney, who is making a documentary about the case, can expect offers from many brands keen to be associated with the “maligned girl-next-door” persona she has acquired.
“We live in pantomime. Reality TV and social media give us pantomimes on a daily basis. So here we have the “wicked witch” and the “good fairy”. I think pantomime king Michael Harrison will be on the phone today,” said PR expert Mark Borkowski.
Hartley said the sentence may seem like a disaster for the “devastated” Vardy, but “almost always people can come back after their reputations have been really badly tarnished”.
He added: “Colleen won before the verdict in terms of PR. Everyone seemed to be on her side. The fact that most people thought Rebecca Vardy was in the dock showed how badly it had gone for her. The fragments that came out in the trial were more damaging to Rebecca than to Colleen.
“But the British public is brilliant at forgiving. She [Vardy] must create a long-term strategy. She should do something mea culpa. She needs to show some understanding of where things went wrong and why people were upset.
A cute TV interview can be a start. “Piers Morgan would love it”, but whether the gladiatorial arena is the best outlet for Vardy at this stage is debatable, he added. Charity work was another option. But she shouldn’t rush anything.
Rooney, on the other hand, will be able to take advantage of the many offers that will come her way. “If I were Coleen, I would use the profile and the good will that she has and take advantage of all the offers.” , Hartley said.
“In a strange way, Colleen, from a PR perspective, is better off walking away from this story. Not because she did anything wrong. But because she has the moral high ground and doesn’t want to be seen to use that and kick Rebecca while she’s down.”
However, Wag brands are likely to back away from Vardy for a while. “The type of deals with the type of retailers that might go to Wag will evaporate,” Borkowski said.
“It’s huge for Colleen and she has people around her to promote it. She remains the maligned girl next door. She looked very strong walking into court with that big boot, [Wayne] behind her, holding her bag.
“Now she’s back in the game. I think people will look at her and think, “She’s someone we want.” And she will be in demand, but for completely different reasons than Vardy.”
“It’s a disaster for Vardy,” he added. “She can go along with the antics. “I always remember Christine and Neil Hamilton appearing on every chat show with a brown paper bag and they seemed to pull it off because they played the comedy of the situation,” he said of the former MP’s fall after the money-for-questions scandal.
“She [Vardy] he can disappear without a trace or do private charity things quietly in the background, kind of like the John Profumo of the Footballers’ Wives world. However, she will be in demand. Whatever – tabloid TV, reality TV. But from the way she started this act, I don’t think it’s going to be a comfortable place for her.
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