Karl Stefanovic has hired a branding guru to help repair his battered public image and ‘save his $3 million a year job’.
Mitch Catlin, a marketing strategist from the Catchy MMM group, has taken on the the 44-year-old embattled Today show host as a client, The Herald Sun reports.
Mr Catlin told the Herald Sun that his aim is to remind the public that: ‘That Karl is likeable and a good newsman.’
Last chance? Karl Stefanovic ‘has hired a personal branding expert to repair his battered public image’ and ‘save his $3 million a year job’ as Today show faces worst ratings in 12 years
With more than 15 years of experience in senior marketing, brand and media roles, Mr Catlin claims he’s ‘looking forward’ to working with Karl.
Mr Catlin, who now owns his own media marketing and management company, started his career with senior journalistic roles across radio and television including Chief of Staff of Network Ten in Melbourne and a reporter for the Seven Network.
He’s best known for his work with livening department store Myer in the marketplace in the 2000s, and signing A-lister Nicole Kidman as the global ambassador for supplements brand Swisse in 2012.
It’s been reported, Mr Catlin was also behind American TV host Ellen DeGeneres recording a week of talk shows in Australia in 2013.
Among new client Stefanovic, he was also seen attending to supermodel Elle Macpherson this week on behalf of luxury vehicle brand, Lexus.
When contacted my Daily Mail Australia, a spokesperson for Channel Nine declined to comment on the claims.
Mitchell Caitlin (pictured centre) helped bring Ellen DeGeneres (pictured left) and her wife Portia de Rossi (pictured right) to Australia in 2013.
The move comes after a blaze of negative headlines, Karl’s divorce, his new engagement and his attitude towards colleagues, tarnished his public image.
As a result, the Today show has nosedived in the ratings as Nine executives scramble to find answers.
The show’s nightmare eighteen-months continued into September, with viewer numbers now the lowest they’ve been since 2006.
The start of the program’s downward spiral can be traced back to September 2016, when it emerged Karl had separated from his wife and the mother of his three children, Cassandra Thorburn.
Months later, he met ambitious fashion designer Jasmine Yarbrough, 34, and they became engaged in January 2018 after a whirlwind romance.
The couple celebrated their relationship with a commitment ceremony in March 2018.
Tough times? The move is said to have come after a blaze of negative headlines, Karl’s divorce, his new engagement and his attitude towards colleagues, tarnished his public image. Karl is pictured with co-star Georgie Gardner
In the months following his split with former wife Cassandra, market research by Channel Nine reportedly showed that Karl’s popularity with female viewers was plummeting.
Today’s ratings have been declining steadily since Karl began dating Jasmine in late 2016.
Entertainment journalist Peter Ford said last year: ‘The Today show ratings are bad. At the moment they’ve done private market research at Nine into Karl and it’s coming up that women have turned on him.’
Mr Caitlin (pictured left) has worked with numerous celebrities including Nicole Kidman and Elle Macpherson and is often spotted with stars such as Delta Goodrem (pictured right)
Sparring between Karl and Cassandra in the press has only compounded the negative attention around the TV host.
Karl has recently been forced to defend himself against claims that his three children – Jackson, 18, Ava, 13, and 11-year-old River – are being neglected by his side of the family.
Cassandra claimed Karl’s family had ‘discarded’ their three children when sitting down for a blistering tell-all interview with The Australian Women’s Weekly (AWW).
Slide: Today’s ratings have been declining steadily since Karl began dating Jasmine Yarbrough 34 (left), months after his marriage split
‘Last year, I declared that Karl really was dead to me, a man I no longer know, but the children still have their father,’ she said.
‘The flip-side of that is I feel like we’re dead to his family and almost anyone from our old life.
‘There has been practically no contact. I feel like we’ve been discarded and disposed of, replaced by a whole new line-up of starters.’
After the AWW article was published online, a Stefanovic family spokesperson issued a statement to The Fix refuting Cassandra’s claims.
Split: The start of the program’s downward spiral can be traced back to September 2016, when it emerged Karl had separated from his wife and the mother of his three children, Cassandra Thorburn (right)
‘We are disappointed Cass would claim such inflammatory suggestions that we have alienated Karl’s children from our family,’ the statement to The Fix read.
‘Nothing could be further from the truth. Karl regularly co-parents his children and has his loving family around them.
‘We refuse to keep a running dialogue of the children… Family is often compromised when parents go through a painful divorce and we do our best to continue our love and support for the children.’
Meanwhile, Karl is preparing to marry his fiancée Jasmine Yarbrough in December at a star-studded ceremony in San Jòse del Cabo, Mexico.
Private life: Meanwhile, Karl is preparing to marry his fiancée Jasmine Yarbrough (right) in December at a star-studded ceremony in San Jòse del Cabo, Mexico