Martha, here's what to do next...and what not to do

By SAMANTHA ETTUS
Scripps Howard News Service
03-MAR-05

All eyes are on Martha Stewart this week as one of the most significant personal brands of our time prepares to leave prison and return to work. Stewart already made a positive step by delaying the inevitable and serving her sentence immediately.

Now, as her media empire awaits her return, here's some advice for Stewart on how to handle her image once she heads home to serve the final leg of her sentence, house arrest. We have always forecasted that a Stewart who survives prison will be a more powerful and appealing person post-detention.

Here are some suggestions for making her brand even stronger:

Dear Martha,

You were not only a model prisoner, but you earned our respect for making an effort to adapt to prison culture. Whether it was knitting, teaching yoga to fellow inmates or fighting for prisoner rights, you treated your comrades behind bars as equals.

You became "one of the girls" by making friends and even entered a prison decorating contest, which you graciously lost. You showed your inner strength in a way that even your skeptics must admire, earning your stripes as a survivor. Everyone believes you have been humbled by this experience. Prove people right by referring to these past months with contrition, and treating your staff, the media and everyone else with whom you interact with renewed respect.

Your company has survived and supported you steadfastly during your time away, a remarkable and inspiring testament to the empire you built. But before this saga, many people had difficulty reconciling your simultaneous roles as the endlessly creative Martha and the business-savvy, tough-as-nails Martha, and this damaged your image as the domestic diva.

Furthermore, you may never regain the public's full trust in the business arena after the stain of your past indiscretions. Now that you've brought in experienced media executive Susan Lyne to run the firm, you should allow her to take the reins and diminish your own role in the business.

Seize this perfect opportunity for transition and dedicate yourself fully to being the face of the brand and the creative spark behind it.

With so many ambitious endeavors lined up for your return, including two new TV shows, you have a tremendous number of creative prospects ahead. While we know what to expect from your daily syndicated show, your starring role as the next Donald Trump on "The Apprentice" will be a departure.

You'll most certainly need to find a way to inject your own personality into the show as The Donald has, starting with finding a suitable replacement for his signature catchphrase, "You're fired."

Here are some suggestions: "You're not perfect." "An ingredient is missing." Or "Let's be friends, not colleagues."

Rather than stare at the contestants across the boardroom table, invite them to join you around the cozy kitchen table. And when you kick them off the show, give them a hug. Really!

What it all comes down to is this: We want to see the Martha that your fellow inmates fell in love with. We believe that's the real you _ strong, gutsy, creative, fun and even warm.

Remember: The most dependable road to the top is to treat your brand as your greatest asset.

(Samantha Ettus is the author of "The Experts' Guide to 100 Things Everyone Should Know How to Do" (Random House). Contact her at Samantha(at)celebrityassets.com.)

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.shns.com)