PR Resource

How potent are protests to those who aren’t listening?  Such is the predicament of crowds demonstrating against Trump’s election to the presidency.  They are five days into their rage against the poll results, and Trump has paid them little, if any, attention.  He called them professional protesters.  It will be interesting to see if the demonstrations continue or whether they peter out as people adjust to the president-elect and his style.  Trump and his family were on 60 Minutes last night answering questions from Lesley Stahl, and for the most part, Trump handled himself well and reasonably.  It is not a side of him we are used to seeing.  If he backslides into his vicious campaign rhetoric, demonstrations might take on real meaning to Congress and his opponents there, and he will get nothing done.  People voted for him because they are tired of seeing inaction in Washington.  Trump promised change, and voters will hold him to it.

Facebook has a problem with fake news.  False stories keep appearing on its web site news and Trend feeds.  Since a majority of Americans now get their news from social media, there is a premium on authenticity.  Facebook understands its PR problem but it hasn’t yet defined algorithms that capture fake news before it is reported.  It might never achieve this.  Humans are creative in finding ways around systems. What Facebook ultimately might have to do is to warn readers of the presence of phony news and counsel them to use judgment before accepting a story at face value.  That would be a poor substitute for software, but it would be honest.

When an unexpected event happens, a large component of reaction to it is fear — fear of the unknown and what changes it holds.  That is the response to the Trump election.  It shows in media stories like this, this and this.  Dread consumes those whose wishes were not granted.  But, the important point to remember is that surprises do not necessarily portend negative action.  One has to wait to find out, and in the waiting there is time to adjust and influence.  Paralysis helps no one, least of all the individual who is too frozen to respond.  The proper PR approach is action, forming coalitions, communications to supporters and friends, movement that will hinder or block negative outcomes.  If public affairs practitioners and lobbyists in D.C. aren’t motivated yet, they should be.  They’ve got slightly more than two months before Trump takes the oath of office.  Fear should motivate action and not stasis.

The unthinkable happened early this morning with the victory of Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton for president of the United States.  Individuals, organizations and companies have to come to terms now with a president-elect whom they did not support.  But, that is true every four years.  Trump is different in that he made few promises other than to build a wall on the border of Mexico and to make America great again — (whatever that means.)   Trump is helped by low expectations for his governance.  Anything positive he does will have a significant upside for his image.  Anything negative will affirm the poor reputation he has already.  From a PR perspective, the Republican party must accommodate him whether it wants to or not.  Congress can put the brakes on him by refusing to pass legislation it considers inimical to the public.  It is hard to accept such an untested leader, but we must remind ourselves that the current president was a novice as well when he stepped into the role.  He hasn’t done badly over eight years but last night’s election was a repudiation of him, which must hurt deeply.

Rumors are the hardest communications to control, especially with consumer products.  A falsehood will get started and nothing a company can do will batten it down.  Consider this case.   Corona, a Mexican beer, was gaining market share rapidly in the United States when someone, perhaps Heineken, started a rumor that the golden lager had urine in it.  Sales plummeted.  Corona sued a distributor of Heineken for starting the false statement and settled with it to include a public admission that the rumor was not true. But Corona’s sales continued down. Even today, there are some who believe Corona has urine in it.  It is maddening for the company because there is little one can do or say to stop people from repeating evil tattle. Well-meaning, gullible people repeat such trash and give rumors a continuing life. It is a never-ending PR nightmare.

Sometimes a store is more than a store.  It is a symbol of the health of a community and a point of pride.  So when the store closes, it sparks anger and disbelief.  That is what is happening with a book store in the Bronx.  It is the last general interest book purveyor in the borough and residents are taking its loss hard.  Never mind that its departure is the result of a rent increase.  The business decision to close stings residents who are underserved by government and commerce.  The same has happened in thousands of communities around the nation when Walmart opened its giant stores on the outskirts of small towns and bled local merchants to death.  There is still a deep bitterness against the company as a result.  When a store becomes a symbol, management should treat it differently.  That doesn’t mean it should be carried when loss ridden but it shouldn’t be closed immediately, as this Barnes & Noble wasn’t.  It took two rent increases to drive the book dealer out.  The landlord is determined to get a better yield on his property and he has already lined up a clothing chain to take it over.  If anyone, residents should be outraged with the landlord, but it is easier for them to focus their ire on management.  The result is an undeserved PR debacle for the book chain.

Sometimes PR takes courage in the face of intense criticism.  Consider Chobani Yogurt.  The founder-owner, an immigrant from Turkey, is making it his mission to hire immigrants to work in his factories.  Right-wing commentators accuse him of employing muslim terrorists and endangering the security of the US.  He could bend to their wishes and fire the immigrants he has on staff, but instead, he has doubled down and is working to make the plight of the newly arrived less onerous.  This could cause him a loss of business and put the company into a bind. He clearly understands the potential difficulties he faces, but he continues to work on behalf of immigrants. He trusts that the larger body of the public will support him, and so far, it seems to be doing so. Still, that doesn’t take way from the fortitude he has shown in the face of ugly nativism.  For that, he is a true American.

Here is a case where careful PR and abiding by rules and regulations hasn’t worked.  A determined group of activists has stopped the thirty meter telescope (TMT) from being built on Mauna Kea in Hawaii.  There is no appeasing the protesters who believe the mountain is sacred to their religion and scientists are defiling it.  It makes no difference that other telescopes have already been built at the peak of the mountain.  For some reason, the TMT has sparked anger.  No amount of rational discussion, fact finding, persuasion has dented the implacable opposition.  So, the leaders of the project are now talking about moving the instrument to the Canary Islands, even though the peak there is not as desirable as Mauna Kea for stellar observation.  The project heads could try to bull their way through objections, but they will need the backing of Hawaiian courts to do so, and so far, they haven’t had it.  It would be a pity for the US to lose the TMT for religious reasons, but determined opposition can still win the day.

The FBI director, James Comey, is in a bind of his own making.  He has started another investigation of Hillary Clinton’s e-mail server just days before the election.  Democrats were quick to say it was a political move.  Comey said that he doesn’t “give a hoot” about the election implications of his decision and he is just doing his job.  The media are piling on and taking the Democrats point of view.  But what if Comey is telling the truth and he really doesn’t care about polls?  Could he have kept the investigation secret? Had he done so, he would have shown an interest in the election.  And, sooner or later, it would have leaked and caused a greater scandal.  The argument that he should have followed established rules is harder to rebut.  If any statements were to be made, it would be by the Justice department and not the FBI.  But the problem there is that the Justice department is politicized and is watching out for Hillary.  That, however, was not Comey’s concern.  This is a case in which transparency served no one, and Comey would have been far better off remaining silent even at the risk of Republicans calling the decision corrupt.  Instead, he has put himself and his agency in a bad light that will take time to change, probably starting with Comey’s firing.

Halloween is a curious celebration whose initial intent is lost in mists of time whether a pagan harvest celebration or a Christian feast for the recently departed.  Today it has no meaning other than to dress up and make the rounds asking for candy if a youngster or partying if an adult.  Retailers have used the holiday for selling sweets and all sorts of gimcrackery.  It is amazing to see the junk on store shelves, most of it to be used once and never again.  There is no public relations purpose behind the holiday.  One won’t find organizations making their vision one of ghosts and goblins.  It is pure publicity — hype that motivates young and old.  If one were to stand back and think about it, the day makes no sense other than it is what is done on Oct. 31.  One point Halloween supports is the irrationality of humans.