Tag Archives: lawyers

The PR of Sexual Misconduct

There seems to be no end to stories of newsmakers being accused of sexual misconduct.  It makes headlines when it is a celebrity or politician, but one can be certain it reaches into every corner of the workplace.

The latest and most high profile is Minnesota Senator Al Franken who has been accused of groping and inappropriate actions and remarks against a host of women.  Yesterday the former comic and Senator faced the media — briefly — to say what he’s been saying since the allegations, and photograph, came to light.

But while the media hurried in a frenzy to cover, Franken said nothing new.  He said the same thing he said since the allegation was made public.  He also said the same thing every accused says.

There seems to be a playbook of what to say and what not to say in these situations.  Most will admit wrongdoing and promise to never do it again.  They know denial will just give more life to the story.  So it’s best to admit they did wrong and hope the story dies.

It is typical PR strategy.  The first step is to get ahead of the story, if you can, but you don’t want to create a story that might not happen.  When and if it does, then protect yourself legally, admit to wrongdoing, go to therapy, apologize and hope your fans and constituents move on.

It seems likely this is a story that will live on forever.  Men in positions of power levy their power for their own gain and satisfaction.  The stories we have heard are probably a small fraction of the stories that exist.  But unless legal action is take, as it is with Harvey Weinstein in one case, there is not much to do other than hope people will eventually forget about it.

 

The Weinstein PR Debacle

Harvey Weinstein debacle

Harvey Weinsetin

Few examples of a sudden fall from grace come close to the case of Harvey Weinstein.  One day he is king of Hollywood, the next he can’t get a seat at a McDonald’s in Hollywood.  Some call it a PR disaster.  It is much more.

The term “casting couch” wasn’t invented yesterday or by Weinstein.  It has been part of Hollywood for decades.  But with social media, and the 24 hour news cycle, what was once a news story can be turned into a major global debacle.

Weinstein will try all he can to re-build his image by going to “sex therapy.”  He will fight for his company and try to get his life back.

I don’t have a crystal ball, but it seems futile.

As they say, its a short step from the limousine to the curb.

When PR gets in the way of the message

All of us want to be loved.  Well, at least liked.

This is apparently no more the case than with our president.

President Trump is obsessed with what people say about him; what people think of him and his popularity.  This is not a political statement.  He has admitted it and displayed this obsession by watching what seems to be countless of hours of cable television to see what the media say about him.

Obviously, much if not most of it, is not good.  So how does he change that?  How does President Trump manage his own PR so he markets himself in a way that will improve his likability and make him happy?

There is only one way, and it is not through polished statements read off a teleprompter.  (Not his strength.)

The President needs to stop worrying so much about his image and start getting things done.

Certainly much of what he wants to get done people disagree with.  I won’t rehash the list, but we know what they are.

But one thing is for sure.  Everybody wants a stronger economy.  Everybody wants a job.  Everybody wants healthcare  If he can achieve this, and it won’t be easy, then his misstatements and political pitfalls will be easier to forgive.  At least for some people.  For many others there is nothing he can do that will redeem him.

He also needs to remember that presidential criticism is part of the job.  There has never been a president when everything he did received 100% approval.  Maybe Trump is facing more of an uphill battle than prior presidents, much because of his own doing, but he needs to swallow it and roll up his shirtsleeves.

So if he can, and that is a big IF, he should turn off the TV and get to work.  Americans want a better life, not someone who can deliver a pretty speech.  Doing both is better, but people will take what they can get.

And right now, people aren’t asking for much.  They just want to pay their bills, raise their families in peace and have the dignity of a job.

If he can do that, his PR and image will rise.

IF he can do that.

 

 

New marketing terms — “Optics” “Reaching Out” “Space” and more

Just when you think you know all the marketing and PR terms, new words enter our lexicon.

People no longer “contact” one another.  They “reach out.”  Situations don’t “look bad.”  They have bad “optics.”  Having “expertise” in a certain endeavor is gone.  Now it is working in a certain “space.”

Interesting how new terms come about, catch on and then become normalized.  These words have always existed, but never used in the context of marketing and PR as they are now.

It is almost as if you date yourself if you don’t play the game.  You can’t tell a client “doing that would be a mistake. It wouldn’t look good.”  You have to say, “the optics of that would be questionable.”  Makes you appear more contemporary.  And heaven forbid you invite someone to contact you with questions, rather than offering them to “reach out.”

Much of this is fueled by mainstream media where on-camera reporters and anchors want to appear young and with it.  It fuels the language, pushes it forward, and makes everybody feel young.

There is nothing wrong with tweaking English.  New sayings and terms come about all the time.  But with the pervasiveness of social media, with billions of new posts a day, new language can take on a life of its own virtually overnight.

So I guess Farr Marketing is no longer a PR consultancy firm.  We operate in the PR “space.”  We don’t contact press to pitch stories, we “reach out.”

We admittedly are guilty of using these terms and more.

We need to be aware of the “optics.”

The art of PR in Los Angeles

Anybody in the PR business knows just how much the business has changed over the past decade.  There was a time when we could book clients on radio shows that had civil discourse and discussed both sides of an issue.  Seems that time has come and gone.

Today, radio has become all hosts and few guests.  A few remain, but the major radio outlets are dominated by personalities who talk solo for hours on end.  Occasionally they will have a guest on to prove a point — their point — but that’s about it.  Media is dominated by controversy, name calling, taking sides and putting down everyone who disagrees with you.

It’s unfortunate, but that’s the way it is.  We still are able to book our clients but it is admittedly harder.

The press has evolved from the impartiality of conveying “news” to promoting one side or another.  This is totally opposite what we who went to journalism school were taught.  Being objective was the hallmark of the press.  Somehow, when we weren’t paying attention, objectivity became a thing of the past.

Too bad, because an objective press is what separates us from dictatorships.

Maybe one day objectivity in the media will make a comeback.  Can’t wait.

 

Trump’s PR problem

This post is not pro or con President Trump. FMG’s political views are irrelevant. What is important, is Trump’s communications policies, imaging, branding his PR, and what we can learn from President Trump’s success and failures.

Prior to running for President, Donald Trump thrived attention. He became one of the best known private citizens in the world. He did this not only through his business success and television show, but the fact that he relentlessly sought media exposure.

His name recognition undoubtedly contributed to his ability to run an effective political campaign for the highest office in the land, and winning. Rather unbelievable, but studies prove that name recognition is a major asset for anyone seeking a political life.

But how much attention is too much attention? How much Tweeting is too much Tweeting? Is it helping or hurting him? He obviously contends it helped him win and continues to help him push his political agenda. On the other hand, his incessant Tweeting has resulted in jokes for misspellings, misstatements, and is being used against him in Congressional hearings.

So the lesson has to be balance. Far be it for us to give President Trump advice, but we would recommend using all forms of communication not only wisely and often sparingly.

New PR target: airlines

It seems you can’t turn on your computer without the latest cell video of someone being abused by an airline.  Passengers being dragged off flights to make room for airline employees, families thrown off because the child’s name doesn’t match the ticket, and passengers simply frustrated at being treated with disdain by flight attendants and pilots.

The strange thing is the airlines are almost always right: legally.  They do what their manual tells them they must do or be fired.  And they blame the FAA as the culprit. These flight mishaps, that end up on CNN and all over social media, are not because the airline is doing something wrong.  It is the way they handle the situation.  Again, as in most crisis communications scenarios, it is not the act, it is the coverup.  It is not asking someone to leave a plane, it is how it is done.

When incidents hit the media, and result in public outrage, the airlines cave in.  The CEO goes on Good Morning America to issue an apology and the case usually ends up with the passenger much richer.

What is missing from these crisis scenarios is some common sense.  If flight attendants and pilots worked on alleviating an escalating situation rather than bulldozing their way to follow the manual, nobody would be filming the situation and nobody would think that airlines have become the most non-customer relations sensitive business in the world.  Right now, people would but airlines at the bottom of the list for customer service and in many cases rightfully so.

Issuing apologies and paying passengers millions of dollars doesn’t solve the PR problem.  The airline admits guilt and stupidity and is out a lot of money.  The answer is to stop a PR crisis before it begins.  Give flight attendants and pilots authority to solve problems on the ground before they escalate.  Don’t call the police whose job is to do whatever it takes to get a passenger off the plane.

And have better staff training in how to deal with passengers who have done nothing wrong other than buy a plane ticket.

 

 

 

Is your PR fake news?

Since Donald Trump became president, there has been an awful lot of talk about “fake news.”  The term is now routinely used on news programs, White House briefings, congressional hearings and even PR symposiums.

My understanding is that President Trump coined the phrase.  He likes giving names to people or issues he doesn’t like or who disagree with him.  For some reason, the tactic works for him.

In the public relations, seo services and marketing business, we put out news on a regular basis.  That’s our job, well, at least, part of it.  So if we distribute a news release that makes a claim, and someone disagrees with the claim, does that give them the right to call our release fake news?

This hasn’t happened, but it got me thinking.  In a short amount of time, the term fake news has taken on a life of its own.  And anybody who wants to deny facts, can simply label it fake news and everybody knows what he/she is talking about.

That’s why when we write a news release and make a claim for a client, we always back it up with facts.  It could be a study.  It could be a credible news source or individual.  But we’ve been doing this long before Trump became president.  It is something every organization or corporation should do.  If you claim to be the “best” or “biggest” or “most-respected” or whatever, you need to cite a source.  That’s one of the rules of a submission to Wikipedia.  When a claim or fact is stated, it needs a citation.  If not, the article will be flagged to make the reader aware that it lacks backing.

So keep that in mind.  In your PR, whether it is a news release or social media posting, back up your claims with reliable facts.  Otherwise, someone may come along and with a few keystrokes, label it “fake news.”

“Walking back” — the new darling in media terminology

With the presidential race in full swing, news stations (primarily cable) are in 24/7 mode talking with and interviewing “experts” and “surrogates” for both candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

As both sides send out their PR, marketing, polling and media experts, these poor souls have the unenviable task of having to explain the positions of their bosses (the candidates) and more often than not, “clarify” what the candidate meant to say but didn’t.

This holds true for both Trump and Clinton.  Trump with the immigration issue and Clinton with her email issue.  Both make large statements at large gatherings, and when what they say sinks in, the media want to know why they both keep changing their positions.

Typically this would be called “changing a position” or “taking back” a promise.  Simple and straight-forward language.  But a new term has crept into this election.  It is “walking it back.”

What exactly does it mean to “walk back” something?  Well, apparently it means the same thing as changing a position.

So while Trump originally said he wants to deport 11 million Mexican aliens, his reps have to go on TV and “walk back” that statement and say what he really means, whatever that is.  And the same with Hillary.  When she said she turned over all the emails she had, and the FBI said no she didn’t, then her reps have to go on TV and “walk back” that statement and clarify what she meant to say, but for some reason forgot.

We live in a world of soundbites and a changing of language to keep up with the changing times.

Most of it is fueled by the media, who for some reason find simple, plain English just to boring to adhere to.

Now that’s a statement I will never “walk back.”

 

In PR, timing is everything, well almost everything

As a PR and marketing firm that does significant work in crisis communications, people often ask me the best way to preserve their reputation when in a crisis.  I wish there was one “best” way that would apply to every situation, but there isn’t.  Every organization, situation and crisis is unique.

Of course the best way to come out on top of a crisis is to never get into one in the first place.  Everybody knows that, but that’s not how the world works.  Most crises situations occur due to no fault of the organization or company.  But then again, some do.

The overriding piece of advice I give is to be prepared for when a crisis may occur.  The second best advice I give is to allow yourself as much time as possible to think through the situation, consult with your crisis PR team, develop a strategy and then implement at the right time.

I can’t say how many times organizations come to us seeing a difficult situation looming down the road.  It could be two, three weeks or a month away.  They see it coming, and reach out to us for advice and counsel.  Our response is always to begin immediately so we have adequate time to prepare.  But it is amazing how many organizations wait and delay to address the issue and put together a plan.  People are on vacation, out of town, other matters are given priority.  And before you know it, the crisis that was a month away is now tomorrow, and there is no plan.

So first get your crisis team in place, but when you see a difficult situation about to unfold, don’t wait for the day before, thinking your PR consultant will magically take care of it. Yes, we often can work magic, but at least give us some time to polish off our magic wand.