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April 2006 online newsletter Episode 1 A dark night in a city that knows how to expose company secrets, but on the corner of Calamity and Success Streets, one woman is still trying to save the world from bad marketing and the mullet. It was one of those nights that couldn’t make up its mind to be Spring or Winter. The wind was blowing so hard it could have made Don King’s hair lay flat. I had just decided to call up Jackie Chow at Chinese Heaven for the #12 Pu Pu Chicken Platter when the door swung open like it was trying to jump off its hinges and run away. He was wearing a cheap trench from last year’s collection and dripping water all over my freshly mopped Victorian checkered tile. “I heard you know someone who can solve marketing communications problems,” he said in a voice that made you long for the sound of a fork scraping on china. “If it’s that Donald Trump comb-over you’re talking about, bald is in, Mister. It communicates self-assurance. Lose the marathon lock and we’ll call it a successful day.” His hand glanced his damp forehead as he tried to surreptitiously wick the water out of his single strand. “Uh, actually it’s my company that needs help. We’re in a heap of trouble. Someone has leaked a damaging rumor to the press.” “Well this isn’t the Hollywood Hills where any publicity is good publicity. You’ve fortuitously stumbled into the right place, and I know just the person to help.” In the usual manner, I excused myself abruptly and went into the closet where I could don my disguise. Upon reappearing, I introduced myself. “Patty PR. Nice to meet you Mr---” “Landerer. Phil Landerer, CEO of ACME Trade Goods. But wait---I thought you were going to get someone who could help me.” “That was Betty. I’m Patty. Patty PR.” “But you just put your hair up and put on some glasses, a suit and do those even have lenses?” “Every superhero needs an alter ego, Phil. Now let’s get down to brass tacks. Have you retreated to your strategic communications plan and found how best to address potential crises with the best solutions for your company?” “Uh no, I can’t say we ever anticipated this sort of thing happening. We’ve never had bad publicity before. Actually we’ve never had ANY publicity before.” No Crisis Management Plan? I’d seen this happen before. Classic case of “it won’t happen to us, and don’t think about it till it hits the fan”. The company doesn’t have a crisis management plan (or any plan) in place until after the crisis. “I don’t mean to point out the obvious, Mr. Landerer, but you’re cookin’ your own goose if you don’t have a plan in place in case of emergencies, whether financial, natural disaster, bad publicity or strategic, like when new technology makes your product seem archaic.” “But can’t we avoid the press somehow?” “Not a wise move Phil. The public doesn’t take well to smoke and mirrors. They may forgive your mistakes, but they’ll never trust you again for covering them up. It’s best to clearly communicate your message. Use the company’s positioning statement. Get out there and stick to your key messages and face the music.” “My company what? Key what?” I could see Phil Landerer needed to be educated in the marketing communication basics. Phil Gets Educated in the Marketing Communication Basics “Your company's positioning statement provides the focus for your organization. It is how you are different from the competition, and it needs to reverberate the essence of your company. Don’t simply spit out the words from your tired company brochures. Also, the faster and more honestly you reply to a reporter’s requests, the better. Trust can be regained through the honesty, sincerity and consistency of your actions. And, if you have a positioning statement and key messages well strategized and in place, you can stay on topic and not be tricked into something that makes you look worse than you already do. When you do get the chance, Phil, for an interview, remember the clearer your communication is, the less chance a reporter, and hence the public, will misinterpret what you have to say. A good PR team will work with you to practice what you have to say in a mock interview with tough questioning. You’ll probably only have short amounts of time to get your message across, so be succinct. That way you’ll have time to strengthen your message through repetition. Practice makes perfect. Having those key messages determined ahead of time, and understanding how they can help you, even when it is not a crisis, is simply smart business. If you are doing an interview for television, no large gestures or fiddling, Phil. And we may need to hire a voice coach to work on that—uh--tone of your voice. And how you respond to a TV reporter, the look on your face, the intensity and concern you show, is something that comes with some practice. Bringin’ in the Big Guns Be sure to hire a team of crisis management experts - PR experts who know your business and theirs. The best crisis management team, on board and partnering with your company in good times, oftentimes can assist your company in turning something negative into an opportunity. And for the future, Phil, get your ducks in a row and build that crisis plan I told you about. Your PR firm can get your team together and brainstorm possible crises in your company. They won’t forget to brainstorm crises for all scenarios, financial, natural disaster, public relations and strategic. They’ll help you think through how these crises will affect your company and identify possible solutions.” Phil seemed to soak up my advice like a two year old hearing naughty words. Together, we created a timely and professional response for reporters, targeting the bad press his company had received. I also convinced him to communicate with his stockholders and his publics with a positive spin on his bad company news. And in an incredible moment for the betterment of GQ elevation, I convinced him to start with a clean pate and uncover the lie that lay atop his head. I suggested he use it as a leash for his runaway puppy. A dark night in a city that knows how to expose company secrets, but on the corner of Calamity and Success Streets, one woman is still trying to save the world from bad marketing and the mullet.
corecubed can help! Whether in a crisis or just trying to grow a business, it is important to use expert media relations consultants to perform proactive strategic planning to include crisis planning and crisis communications activities. corecubed has an entire team of superheroes to assist you with your crisis planning as well as marketing, design, and public relations needs. Using strategic marketing communications services that bring results, we specialize in integrating your business needs with the best strategies for success. Our team of marketing and PR professionals provides quality services that are unsurpassed at any agency at any price. For more information on how corecubed can help assess your needs and use our superheroes to build and implement a strategic marketing and PR plan to expand your business, visit us online at www.corecubed.com, contact us at 1-800-370-6580 x2 or email us at info@corecubed.com . We’ll come to your rescue, on time and within budget.
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