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Who
Stepped In It
Hiding Is Never A Good Public Relations Option: For better or worse, our quick-moving, highly-connected society can take a limited amount of media coverage and make it seem like the story has been reported a hundred times. That's what I experienced as I searched for articles on the Norfolk light-rail debacle where a consultant missed 240 pilings for removal because he or she went to the site during high tide, and the HRT CEO took the heat.
All I found was a front-page story, a brief mention in a column, and an editorial in the Virginian-Pilot, plus some coverage on the local TV and radio stations. That's not enough media coverage to make it seem like the story had been reported day-in and day-out for weeks. Everywhere I went, that's all everyone was talking about.
When you're the company at the center of an issue going viral, you may want to take some action to stop the bleeding and protect your image. And that doesn't mean doing a disappearing act, which is what this consulting company did. Hampton Roads is a small place and there's nowhere to hide.
Norfolk city councilmembers and city staff, city officials throughout Hampton Roads, the construction industry, and business people -- and everyone these folks talk to -- know who the consultant is.
These are the leaders who hire the consultant, which means they are the consultant's primary target audience for company PR and reputation management. As it is now, the entire community is wondering who this contractor will hang out to dry next? If the consultant had done the right thing, people could be saying, "That is a responsible company and I respect them. They just made an honest mistake.”
Here are some public relations tactics the consulting company could have used to do the right thing:
- Plan for a crisis: Long before you need to do crisis communications, you should have a public relations plan. Key leaders who will serve as spokespersons should have training and you should practice for a crisis occasionally. This ensures you have direct access to the right leaders and can move quickly. Bad news does not age well.
- Research: Determine what caused the problem. In this case, was it inexperience, a faulty process, or carelessness?
- Institute Change: All problems have a solution. Find the right solution and make it company policy.
- Develop talking points: All external communication should contain the key facts of the situation and your core messages. Talking points will be used in press releases and resulting media interviews. These talking points will help you stay on message and keep you out of trouble.
- Write and issue a news release: Write a one-page or less news release that expresses regret for the mistake, and describes how it happened and what you've done to make sure it won't happen again. Also, correct any errors in the media's reporting.
- Identify the media: Identify who covered the story and send them the news release. Do not aimlessly blast fax or email it. Personally call the reporter to ask if he or she needs anything else. Being open and honest is appealing and will help your position on the issue.
Unfortunately, none of these PR tactics have been done up to this point. If the consulting agency thinks it dodged a bullet by keeping its name out of the media, they should think again. Letting the harsh spotlight fall on another professional can never help your image. If your company ends up smearing someone else's image, you can bet yours is being smeared too.
If your company finds itself in a firestorm through an honest mistake, does your public relations damage control plan contain strategies to protect your reputation and the future of your company?
About Rourk Public Relations
The Rourk Public Relations agency is expert at PR, public relations consulting, media relations, branding, marketing, advertising, web marketing, and web design. It provides public relations consultants and help to clients in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton, Newport News, Hampton Roads, and throughout Virginia.
For a no-cost phone consultation, feel free to call David Rourk at (757) 478-0150. |
