PR Resource

The Taliban are holding captive an American teacher whom they kidnapped. His health is poor and the Taliban are blaming the US for his condition because the US has failed to negotiate his release. It’s a lame publicity attempt to influence world opinion. The US has a rule that it won’t bargain with terrorists or pay ransom because if it does even once, the kidnappings will never end. The situation is hell for the captive and his family. It seems like his government has abandoned him. Yet, in principle and practice, the US is right in withholding money. It just looks bad.  There are times when perception goes against one who is doing the right thing. There is little one can do except to hope for a better understanding later on — eventual redemption. Meanwhile, the Taliban grab the headlines.

How do you tell the world your country is open and eager to exploit innovation? Well, you can grant citizenship to a robot as Saudi Arabia has done. This publicity stunt garnered worldwide headlines and reporting on the Future Investment Initiative, a conference in Riyadh, sponsored by Saudi rulers. They had Sophia, the name of the robot, speak and answer questions. It was a disembodied presentation and hardly lifelike, but the robot showed some facial expressions and human qualities. One problem was around her eyes, which are lifeless and fixed. The bulk of her expressions were around her mouth where she smiled and seemed to chew her lip. She was fixed in place and could not move, which also contributed to the artificial nature of the presentation. Still, as a new citizen of Saudi Arabia, she acquitted herself with her answers to questions from the moderator. One wonders how she will be counted on a census form.

The NAACP has advised African-American travelers to avoid American Airlines. The rights organization has cited several incidents in which the airline’s personnel have acted badly when dealing with black passengers. American Airlines is upset over the advisory and publicly noted its disappointment. It is now a PR challenge for the carrier to show the African-American community that it has no bias against any of its passengers. This is more than messages to the media. It extends to gate personnel and airplane staff who need to be sensitized to the situation.  One outcome is that airline personnel will “walk on eggshells” to avoid upsetting African-Americans. That is not desirable either. All passengers should be treated equally without bias to any group. What this calls for is training. One hopes American Airlines is doing it.

It is a truism that companies with great power in the marketplace might not stay there long. We have two examples now – Nike and General Electric. It is no overstatement to say both were fearsome competitors and unbeatable for decades. Now, they are trying to find their way. This happens because the world doesn’t stay the same. As events evolve, companies must react and change with them or fall behind. Nike’s competitors have caught up with it. General Electric, which was a bank under Jack Welch, ran into trouble in the 2008 financial meltdown and hasn’t recovered since. PR practitioners should keep these examples in mind when promoting their organizations. It is dangerous to be too effusive. Boasting is a ticket to humiliation eventually. Marketplace power vanishes as quickly as it came.

The family that sold OxyContin to the American public used classic pharmaceutical marketing techniques — medical spokespersons, giveaways, detail men, studies, etc. There was nothing novel about the methods. That the pills were addictive was de-emphasized in favor of pain management. In fact, the drug was marketed as non-addictive for some time. Purdue was able to get away with this fraudulent behavior because it is a private company with little public oversight other than the FDA. The Food and Drug Administration failed to understand the dangers of the drug and let Purdue have free rein in selling the pills. Now the US is in the middle of an addiction epidemic brought on by abuse of OxyContin. It is serious and people are dying from overdoses across the US. The lesson here is that pharmaceutical marketing in itself isn’t bad, but the misuse of it can be devastating.

This is cute and clever PR. KFC planted the references on Twitter and waited until someone would find it. When they did, it provoked an explosion of media reporting, all positive and tickled by the genius behind 11 herbs and spices. There is plenty of room in social and traditional media for creative presentation, but it is not frequently used and many times it is me-too, following the lead of someone else. Give KFC credit for developing the idea and acting on it. It will be interesting to see what they try next.

Who is better to caution a leader than another one who has been in the same position and knows the strains of it? That is why George W. Bush’s comments are credible in his veiled criticism of the current occupant of the White House. Calling bigotry and white supremacy “blasphemy” against the American creed, Bush left no doubt about where he stands. He all but invited a counter-attack from President Trump. So far, Bush hasn’t gotten one. Bush’s speech served to isolate Trump who has alienated himself from all sides in his first year as commander in chief. All that remains is for Republicans to disavow him formally as some are doing individually. Some politicians hope to impeach Trump, but that remains a distant prospect. Right now, it looks like we will have 3+ years of the man before the public can get rid of him.

PR can fail. Authorities, companies and other organizations can plead with the public to no avail. For example, this case. Governments and not-for-profits harangue citizens to put away cell phones while driving. But, they haven’t. They continue to talk and text (!) while steering vehicles down the road. There is little wonder accidents have increased. The logical solution to this dilemma is enforcement — tickets and steep fines for people caught using phones while driving. It is difficult to do but not impossible. Police are trained to be sensitive to how people drive, and they can spot egregious infractions — people with cell phones to their ear, drivers looking down rather than at the traffic around them with only one (or no) hands on the steering wheel, citizens slow to take off after a light changes because they are distracted by texting. There should be no quarter given for mistakes like these. Distraction is worse than speeding. When automated cars become standard, this will change, but for now PR needs the backing of strict enforcement.

Yet another city has entered the beauty pageant to win Amazon’s second headquarters prize. The promise of 50,000 jobs eventually and the prestige of having such a large e-commerce firm in one’s town has sent mayors and governors into a frenzy. One town and state after another has proclaimed it is best for the second domain. States have already promised billions in tax breaks should the company choose them. Jeff Bezos must be enjoying every moment of the competition because Amazon will get buildings and operations tax free for years. Is such pandering to a corporation unseemly? It is but the promise of jobs is driving the competition. Every mayor and ever governor wants to flaunt success in bringing increased employment and high-paying wages to his locale. It is a huge bonus come election time. So, the madness continues as one city after another dances to Amazon’s tune in an all-out public relations war.

There are times when proper public relations is to maintain an atmosphere of calm control. This is one. Cabin staff on airlines are supposed to be heavily trained for what to do in an emergency. It is a sign of professionalism to maintain certitude in the face of massive uncertainty. The steward’s and stewardess’ job is to prepare passengers for the unknown be that a chance at life if the plane is brought down safely on land or water. In an environment of fear, people look for an authority figure to guide them. This has been true since the dawn of the human race. People are frightened by a loss of control. They seek divine help. They look for leaders to guide them to safety. Only a few are brave enough to stand up and take charge. Airline staff are supposed to be those beacons of aid and losing control is a fundamental failure in doing their jobs.