 Is
All Publicity Good Publicity?
News has been defined as ‘What someone, somewhere
doesn’t want in the paper’
But in these days of 24 hour rolling news on demand, reality TV
‘instant celebrity’ and an environment where culpability
(and resignation issues) seem to be old-fashioned and even obsolete,
it’s increasingly difficult to envisage negative news as
having lasting effects on a whimsical population.
You can be exposed as a cocaine-sniffing supermodel one day and
be awarded meg-modelling contracts the day after.
In the corporate world though, damage limitation and crisis management
is a growing and often vital element of a PR brief.
When something happens that could affect a company’s share
price and its earnings capability it’s vital to respond
quickly – and professionally.
Companies, regardless of size, should have the safety net of
a corporate crisis management plan which will outline reaction
protocol to operational, security and customer related crises.
E.g.: In a hypothetical scenario a major manufacturer has experienced
a major plant failure and could face serious disruption and associated
environmental and safety issues.
This is all bad news.
It must be managed expediently by the company’s management
and its PR resources.
Damage limitation will involve a nominated corporate spokesperson
to be available quickly to talk to the press.
That spokesperson will outline concern for any people involved
and for the environment.
He or she will commit to ascertain the cause of the crisis and
put it right as soon as possible and he or she will demonstrate
that the company has very quickly assumed control of the situation.
If the crisis management plan is put into operation swiftly the
company can quickly regain its footing and transform a potentially
devastating situation into a positive response enabling a spokesperson
to tell the press; “Yes we’ve had a problem but we
have a well-rehearsed plan of action for an event of this kind.
We’re dealing with it and we’re dealing with it professionally”
Increase business using publicity: Contact
us now to discuss your business requirements.
CASE STUDY: Seward Developments
Essex-based millionaire developer Gary Seward called in wordengineers.com
after falling victim to persistent negative rumour-mongering following
the failure of a long-established (third party) construction company
– and his subsequent decision to try and save jobs and contracts.
Within 24 hours wordengineers.com
had gained headlines in local papers, effectively quashing all
damaging rumours.
A few weeks later another news opportunity presented itself
when Mr Seward’s company stepped in to ensure a state of
the art cancer-treating linear accelerator was installed on time
at a local hospital, following earlier contractual challenges
faced by the hospital trust.
Said Seward: “It was a double whammy for us - thanks to
wordengineers.com.
The news coverage we attracted with the first story completely
vindicated our actions in trying to save jobs and contracts at
the failed construction company.
Then we got another big hit a few weeks later when we were able
to ensure the precision-driven hospital work was completed on
time.”
He added: “wordengineers.com
not only succeeded in limiting the damage caused by erroneous
rumours but then created a ‘white knight’ story about
us with an entirely new approach.”
Increase business using publicity:
If you want to know more about the wordengineers.com
approach to creating positive news about your company’s
products and services, contact
us now.
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