Crisis Communications: Protecting Your Brand

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A Public Relations Nightmare

Politics aside, Sarah Palin is a public relations nightmare.

Her recent decision to resign as Alaska's governor stunned the political world. She claims she does not want to become a lame-duck governor and waste the state's money on defending against accusations of ethical wrongdoing. But no one is buying it. And now the media are speculating the “real reasons” behind the resignation.

Deal with the issue head-on so the media can move on.
Online Marketer Joanna Orcutt says to manage your reputation, you need to address your audience. When racism became an unavoidable issue in Barack Obama’s campaign, he interrupted his campaign schedule to deliver a speech on the matter. It is considered one of his best moments.

Change the Story
If you can’t let the crisis blow over, Branding Expert Nevil Darukhanawala says, “The best way to beat negative publicity is to increase positive publicity.” When you don’t like the story, change it. Reporters call this “feeding the beast.” Give the media something else to chew on and they might stop eating you alive.

Take the High Road
When David Letterman recently joked about Palin's daughter getting “knocked up” at a Yankee’s game, Palin should have stayed cool. I’m not saying she should not have responded. I am saying she should not have dragged out the issue.

She should not have justified Letterman’s crack with an on-camera comeback. Next time: issue a written statement and be done with it. Letterman is late night comedy. Let it go or let political surrogates fight this one. Don’t tarnish your brand by getting bogged down in bad PR.

Tip: When you need to release information that could damage your brand, try the approach politicians use … release the information on a Friday afternoon, when most people aren’t paying attention. Yes, the story might get a lot of play over the weekend (when news is slow), but it could be old news by Monday (when people start tuning in again). Sneaky, I know.

When You Don't Want to Talk

Don't "Just Say No"

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Most reporters do not take “no” for an answer … at least not the first answer. So when a reporter calls, consider this before saying “no.”

Will the story go away without you? If not: start influencing it from the beginning. You don't want a reporter talking smack about you/your company for two minutes on the 10pm news and then tag the story with. “The company is not commenting.”

I recently reported on budget cuts for the Sheridan (CO) fire department. The fire fighters didn’t want to talk; fearing negative press might cost them their jobs. But think about it. The city manager was ready to propose cuts before we covered the story. I also reminded the firemen the story was really about THEM and if they wanted public support, the public would need to hear from them. They agreed to talk to us and were pleasantly surprised by the finished product.

If you talk to the reporter, will your interview “give legs” to the story?

When the Denver Nuggets made it to the playoffs, the Pepsi Center reneged on a deal to host a WWE Monday night match. The scheduling snafu blew up into a virtual fist fight between WWE’s Vince McMahon and Stan Kroenke. McMahon, went on a media blitz blabbing about how horrible Kroenke was. Kroenke stayed quiet.

It might have seemed like a flub on Kroenke’s part, but it wasn’t. The Nuggets going to the playoffs was the real story: one Kroenke wanted told. By not commenting, Kroenke didn’t give the story legs. McMahon had the last word, but the next day’s news was about the Nuggets.

The average soundbite lasts about eight seconds, so figure out what your point is and stick to it. Politicians do this all the time. Barack Obama wanted to talk about hope. George W. Bush wanted to talk about security. Steve Forbes focused on the flat tax. Harvard Business Services, Inc, George Merlis suggests two elements: an agenda and the "words that make that agenda come alive."

What are the landmines? What negative spin might the reporter take? Get the facts and have a ready response before going on record.

Keep in mind, most reporters write the facts into their script and save your most emotional soundbite for the piece. Express yourself wisely. Remember when Bill Clinton blew up at FOX News' Chris Wallace? It wasn't what he said that got attention, it was the emotion he showed that made headlines.

Tip: Mark Bernheimer at Mediaworks Resource Group says there are four types of questions you don’t answer: "Questions you don’t know, questions you don’t understand, questions better suited for other people and questions that call for speculation."