We are not yet nearly immersed in the political fray like we soon will be, so the label making teams haven’t cranked production to the stratosphere–yet. Still we are already seeing the outlines of the coming label campaigns in the cooking kitchen stirring the acrid stew. People have short attention spans and most can barely tolerate the campaigns anyway. There is marked relief when they are over. Some count the days, even the hours—and it really hasn’t started. If there is anything I predict that will carry the freight during this presidential campaign, it is who will come up with the “best” labeling machine. By “best” I mean the alignment with two principles—images that stick and phrases that people repeat. And for accuracy, it doesn’t even matter if they are actually true.
A blot on a bank on the brink?
This time it is JPMorgan Chase. And you don’t want to be the PR person connected there right now. You might not even want to be anyone in management. No matter what might have happened, to have headlines saying you just lost TWO BILLION DOLLARS is publicity suicide. Bad things happen in the financial world, but this is probably the most damaging announcement made, and broadcast loudly in virtually all the major news outlets. No matter what you might say as management, there will be a scathingly skeptical public listening in.
The NFL’s new achiles?
The fallout from the death of former all-pro linebacker Junior Seau is far from over. In fact there are so many threats of multiple lawsuits that it is likely to become the proverbial elephant in the room. What caused him to apparently take his own life (with no suicide note left) will likely be debated for eons. In some ways the NFL is so popular, it probably won’t be wounded greatly by much of anything, but from a PR viewpoint, the effects of multiple head injuries (concussions and the like) are becoming one of the more relevant issues the League faces.
The Zimmerman/ Martin Case–Information (mis)handling
From the start, I’m not weighing in on the case itself. Really, hasn’t almost all been said that anyone can think of? No, this is about the apparent handling of the information by the police investigators. Sure, they have their protocol, but the delay of information about what happened, at least from their viewpoint, heightened the hype for the activist groups that have all jumped into the fray, either defending Zimmerman, or verbally executing him. There is no A-plus on this grade card.
Goldman Sachs–PR Crisis
It’s one thing when a firm gets outside criticism. That’s to be expected somewhere along the line. But when it comes from within, that’s a deep wound, and that is what Goldman faces. One of its own in the C-suite has opened that wound with scathing criticism about what he refers to as the company’s scandalous moral fiber. Greg Smith plunged in the knife and the gaping hole is definitely an embarrassment. Read more »
Costa Challenge-PR below C level:
This is not the time when you’d want to be in charge of reputation management for Costa cruise ships–unless they were willing to drain their bank account into yours for the favor. Two major public relations disasters in less than two months and vivid pictures of each on the airways for days afterward! Talk about shaking vacationer’s confidence! They are now offering deep discounts on cruises, and it’s not difficult to see why. It will likely take more than that to “right the ship,” so to speak.
How can a reporter or producer’s crushing schedule help you?
Reporters have always been on deadline. That’s not new. Neither is the need for great material. It just sometimes seems that the two don’t always mesh—or so you might feel if you try to pitch a reporter on a story or event, especially at the “wrong” time—when they are “on fire.” Here the rule is: timing is everything. Read more »
When does the news stop and the ad begin?
How the industry has changed. That means more sorting and sifting for you. I’m talking about the current practice on news related shows, especially morning and afternoon drive radio, for the hosts to both deliver “news” and make their own plugs for the products they are endorsing. What, you say? Yes, that’s how much times have changed. Unless you are carefully listening, you can’t always tell when the news ends and the advertisement begins. So much for independent integrity.
Romney–Scrutiny on every word
From a media standpoint, it’s already gotten scrappy, even vicious in the GOP race, but soon you will notice more of an emphasis on virtually every word, every nuance out of a candidate’s mouth. Either they and their handlers will do it themselves, or the reporters and other media and the opposing party will magnify errors and missteps for them. Either way, words will be even overly-scrutinized and by them candidates will gain or kill a certain part of their momentum. Read more »
