Taylor Swift’s relationship with Travis Kelce may look idyllic in public, but one branding expert says the pop superstar still has reason to be cautious about how the romance could affect her image.
Swift, 34, was recently seen holding hands with the 34-year-old Kansas City Chiefs tight end during a visit to the zoo in Sydney. But despite the couple’s high-profile chemistry, brand strategist and messaging adviser Adam Hanft told DailyMail.com that maintaining a positive public narrative will be important in the wake of Kelce’s recent controversies.
“Taylor has an enormous reservoir of goodwill, and indeed, adoration, that can well withstand behavioral and reputational missteps by her boyfriend,” Hanft said, appearing to reference Kelce’s emotional outburst during the Super Bowl and criticism over his decision to celebrate after the mass shooting at the Chiefs’ parade in Kansas City.
Hanft said the key issue going forward will be whether Kelce avoids further incidents that could reflect poorly on either of them. “What will matter is the extent to which he stays on the straight and narrow — and doesn’t embarrass himself or her — and related to that, how she deals with it should it become a persistent problem,” he said.
According to Hanft, the stakes extend beyond Swift’s public image. He argued that Kelce’s behavior could also have consequences for his own personal brand, and potentially even for the NFL, given the level of attention surrounding the couple.
Taylor Swift needs to protect her brand even while her red-hot romance with Travis Kelce appears to be on a picture-perfect trajectory; pictured at 2023 AFC Championship Game
The pop singer has to make sure the relationship stays on a positive track following Travis’ recent ‘missteps’, an expert exclusively told DailyMail.com; pictured at SNL Afterparty on October 15, 2023
“If Travis is plagued by impulse control issues, and demonstrates a psychological resistance to take a back-seat to her celebrity — which is programmatic given that football heroes are typically in contention for the Nobel Prize for Testosterone — and she ends up dumping him, his personal brand will be battered,” Hanft said.
‘Should the relationship end up that way, the brand of the NFL will also be bloodied, as it will reinforce the perception of football players pumped up on all the wrong things,’ he added.
The warning comes amid Travis taking waves of criticism for nearly coming to blows with his coach Andy Reid during the Super Bowl.
After the Kansas City Chiefs offense struggled in the first half, Travis reacted angrily to Reid removing him from a play.
He pushed Reid, causing the 65-year-old to lose his balance. At one point, the player even grabbed Reid’s left arm, seemingly to support him, while he was yelling in his face. Eventually, a teammate intervened and pulled Kelce away.
While fans were quick to criticize the aggressive move, a more composed Travis made sure to underline the influence Reid has had on his career after the game.
‘I got the greatest coach this game has ever seen,’ Kelce said to reporters. ‘And I owe my entire career to that guy and being able to control how emotional I get and I just love him, man.’
A few days later, Travis’ spectacularly insensitive decision to party hard after a mass shooting at his Super Bowl parade drew even more anger from the public.
‘Taylor has an enormous reservoir of goodwill, and indeed, adoration, that can well withstand behavioral and reputational missteps by her boyfriend,’ said brand strategist and messaging advisor, Adam Hanft , appearing to reference Travis’ on-field meltdown at the Super Bowl
Kelce exploded in fury after the Chiefs lost a chance for their first touchdown of the game
Kelce’s explosion of fury emerged with girlfriend Taylor cheering him on in the stands
A few days later, Travis’ spectacularly insensitive decision to party hard after a mass shooting at his Super Bowl parade drew even more anger from the public; pictured in February
Mere hours after 22 fans were shot — nine children among them, a young mother dead — Travis hit up ‘Granfalloon Restaurant and Bar’ and took selfies with cops while carrying an open beer bottle on the street, having earlier taken to the parade stage looking far too drunk to speak.
Outraged fans on social media used the terms ‘Caveman’ and ‘douchebag’ to describe the situation.
In the aftermath, Kelce matched Taylor’s $100,000 donation to victims of the shooting.
A GoFundMe page shows a pair of $50,000 donations from his charity, the Eighty-Seven & Running Foundation – an organization that aims to help ‘underserved youth strive to become productive citizens.’
Despite Travis’ public displays of repentance, Taylor, as brand expert Hanft claimed, needs to be careful about her future with the athlete to protect her brand, which Bloomberg puts at $1.1 billion, thanks in part to her massive 146-date worldwide Eras Tour and its subsequent tour movie.
It comes after Forbes estimated Swift had a net worth upwards of $740 million in July.
Swift stands out as one of the rare individuals who achieved billionaire status predominantly through her music and performances, according to Bloomberg.
Citing publicly disclosed and traceable assets and earnings, her wealth is mainly derived from an extensive discography, ownership of five homes, and income generated through streaming deals, music sales, concert tickets, and merchandise.
Kelce came under fire after attending a ‘scaled down’ celebration hours after tragedy struck
Outraged fans on social media used the terms ‘Caveman’ and ‘douchebag’ to describe Travis partying after the shooting
Despite Travis’ public displays of repentance, Taylor, as brand expert Hanft claimed, needs to be careful about her future with the athlete to protect her brand, which Bloomberg puts at $1.1 billion; pictured at 2024 Super Bowl
Taylor has already protected her brand through a slew of celebrity romances such as Joe Jonas, Harry Styles, Jake Gyllenhaal, John Mayer, Taylor Lautner and Calvin Harris
Her brief involvement with English actor Tom Hiddleston followed her separation from Harris, eventually leading to a six-year partnership with Joe Alwyn in 2017.
When her romance with Travis first broke last year, the football player said that he knew he had to be on his best behavior.
‘That was the biggest thing to me,’ he told WSJ. ‘Make sure I don’t say anything that would push Taylor away.’
