“Why don’t my news releases get picked up?”
Just about every PR consultant has heard this lament at one time or another – often, from a prospective client who’s been trying to handle his own PR with little success. Yet even veteran communications pros have experienced the frustration of sending out a news release that never makes it past an editor’s inbox.
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Recently, we talked about that bane of celebrities and major corporations alike – the public apology – and gave a few examples of some memorable apology train wrecks. As those examples attest, far from quelling a PR crisis, a poorly worded apology can add fuel to the media fire and send the crisis spiraling out of control.
Now that we’ve discussed some of the common mistakes public entities make in their media mea culpas, let’s review the key components of an effective public apology. Given how often public figures need to issue these types of statements, it’s surprising that more celebrities and companies fail to do the following:
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In honor of April Fools’ Day, we recall some of the less-than-successful public apologies made by celebrities and other public figures. Believe it or not, these apologies weren’t meant as an April Fools’ joke – and their impact on the reputations of the individuals involved was anything but funny.
Elton John was right. Sorry seems to be the hardest word.
With celebrity scandals erupting on an almost daily basis, you’d think that actors, politicians and other public figures would eventually become adept at delivering public apologies. More often than not, however, at the first hint of a scandal celebrities immediately adopt one of the following apology personas:
#1. The VictimWhen celebrity chef Paula Deen was accused of making racist comments, her “apology” focused more on how the scandal had affected her instead of those who might have been offended by her remarks.
“The pain has been tremendous that I have caused to myself – and to others,” Deen said in an apparently homemade video. She later told Today’s Matt Lauer, “There’s been some very, very hurtful lies said about me….”
A public apology is no time for a self-pity party.
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They say there’s no such thing as bad PR. Tell that to Mike Jeffries.
Not long ago, Jeffries — the longtime CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch — was flying high on his reputation of transforming stodgy A&F into one of the hottest teen clothing brands. But then sales started to decline, and last year a 2006 interview Jeffries gave to Salon came back to haunt him when excerpts appeared in the newly published book The New Rules of Retail. In the interview, Jeffries candidly shared Abercrombie’s marketing strategy of targeting attractive “cool” kids:
“We want to market to cool, good-looking people,” Jeffries said. “…A lot of people don’t belong, and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.”
The resulting outrage exploded across the media landscape, prompting Abercrombie boycotts and providing ample fodder for the late-night TV shows. The brouhaha even sparked a grass-roots campaign to transform Abercrombie into a brand associated with homeless people.
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The prospective client described her company’s upcoming event with great enthusiasm. Everything was all set: The venue was booked, the speakers and entertainment were on board and the guests had been invited. All she needed us to do was get media coverage of the event, which was happening the following week.
Since managing client expectations is a big part of the public relations process, I explained to her as gently as possible that, based on her description of the planned event, it would be very difficult at that point to secure any meaningful media coverage. In addition to the fact that the event was only days away — and the media that typically would have covered it had a much longer lead time — there were a host of other issues that would make it all but impossible to gain the media’s interest. As I ticked them off one by one, her bright smile slowly faded and her initial enthusiasm deflated before my eyes.
One of the biggest mistakes a company can make is to view public relations as an afterthought — the final step to be tacked on after a project, event or initiative is all but completed. In reality, the exact opposite is true: To achieve the best possible results, public relations counsel should have a seat at the table from the earliest planning stages. While PR professionals certainly shouldn’t “wag the dog” or dictate project elements that are beyond their purview, they can offer valuable insights and suggestions into the best way to frame or present an initiative to the public before key details are set in stone.
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