The PR Shop

WITH DAVE BULLARD

WHEN BAD PR HAPPENS TO GOOD PEOPLE

There is a term from tennis that makes its way into the public relations conversation now and again: The Unforced Error. If you’ve worked in PR long enough, you’ve made at least one. In my first few months at the Great New York State Fair, I accidentally published the date of a band’s concert before we were allowed to. It cost us quite a bit of money to convince the band to keep the date and I learned what crow tastes like.

As I write this, in late March, two unforced errors by organizations big enough to know better are in the news. One is of the more routine variety, involving a problem with food. A family bought a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Dad eats one bowl, pours another bowl the next morning and something else comes out of the box: Two cinnamon-encrusted shrimp tails.

Um, ew.

The man posts a picture on Twitter and tags the cereal brand. Here’s where the errors begin. First, the social media folks for General Mills give a perfunctory apology and offer to send more cereal. Then they say it can’t be shrimp and it must be clumps of accumulated sugar. Then they say it can’t possibly have happened at the factory despite the presence of dark things baked onto some of the cereal that look like sugar-coated droppings. Double ew. They mess up arrangements to have the items sent to them for investigation.

All of it happens in public, on Twitter. Dad is a comedian with nationally-known friends. The memes begin, then the news stories hit. Not just local TV - it makes TMZ and the New York Times. Stephen Colbert’s crew created a savage parody of a Cinnamon Toast Crunch TV ad. A scientist arranged to test the DNA of the pieces to confirm they’re shrimp. So much attention!

A comedy of errors, all unforced.

These things eventually blow over but some errors have major consequences. Pharmaceutical manufacturer AstraZenica touted the effectiveness of its COVID-19 vaccine in a press release announcing study results. By the end of the day, however, the federal National Institutes of Health had issued a highly unusual statement saying that the data was incomplete.

That was big news. Every major outlet picked it up. The company’s stock price dropped. Headlines not only called the company’s study into question but asked whether a mistake like this would undermine public confidence in all COVID-19 vaccines. This mistake could have life and death consequences.

AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION…

There are actions you can take to prevent mistakes like these. The first adjustment to make is to adopt the attitude of a reporter. Be skeptical of what higher-ups tell you until you see proof. An old joke in the journalism business goes, “If your mother tells you she loves you, get two sources.”

I try never to assume that I know something to be true. I ask for backup documents or talk to a person who may deal directly with the issue. Often, you will pick up nuances that will inform the way you write or talk about an issue or get an off-the-record warning that this isn’t as simple as it seems. I have told some friends in journalism

that my job is harder than theirs sometimes. They are driven by deadlines and turn in as much of the story as they know at the dropdead time, whether it’s 30% of the story or 99%. I’m not allowed to comment until I know 100% of the story, regardless of deadline.

That brings me to a second recommendation: Never go it alone. When the issue has the possibility to be controversial, seek others’ opinions. If there’s a legal aspect, talk to your lawyers. Get the boss’s signoff.

When it’s a potentially hot topic, consider saying less. These will be the times when you will prefer to issue a statement by email rather than be interviewed. Whether it’s written or spoken, however, make sure you and the bosses and lawyers know exactly what you want to say. Say that, and nothing more. Repeat and rephrase the answer if necessary but don’t deviate. And by all means, eliminate adjectives and adverbs from your comments. For example, it’s okay to acknowledge an injury but describing it as a minor injury is likely to prompt a reporter to ask if you consider all injuries to be minor. Don’t characterize; describe.

...A POUND OF CURE

When something bad happens, make it as right as possible as fast as possible. If someone’s injured at your event, have the boss visit (preferably) or call at the very first opportunity. If someone complains about some aspect of the event on social media, acknowledge it with something other than a canned response.

Never, never, never argue in public with that person and assume they will publicize whatever you say to them through private channels like texting. Make a phone call. It’s personal and allows for empathy.

Do not leave problems up to the lowest ranking person in the chain. The social media manager is not the right person to fix problems. Elevate issues to the proper level.

In many cases, a problem is an opportunity to make an unhappy customer into a lifelong fan. Most people do not expect perfection from us. They do, however, want to be heard. So, listen. Listen first, think hard, and talk only after listening and thinking is the formula to ensure your serves don’t take out the fans in the stands.

Dave Bullard is the Public Relations and Marketing Manager for The Great New York State Fair in Syracuse, the nation’s first and oldest state fair, dating to 1841. He has spent his entire life in and around media, spending many years in print, radio, TV and online media in addition to running a solo PR, marketing and video production business and founding one of the nation’s first online-only local news publications in 1999.

Dave is also the moderator for the IFEA PR and Marketing Virtual Affinity Group every 2nd Tuesday of the month and welcomes you to attend their monthly chat! Dave can be reached anytime at dave.bullard@agriculture.ny.gov and is here to support the great people and events of our industry. Don’t hesitate to drop him a note with suggestions, thoughts or counterarguments anytime.

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