PR Resource

Taxes and tax payments are topics rife with political cant and popular mythology.  As such, they are issues that are ideal for public relations — i.e. getting the facts out about taxation.  That is what this study from the Congressional Budget Office tries to do.  It clears the air about who is paying more for government and who less.  It presents facts about tax rates and their change, or lack of it, over the years.  It puts a stake in the ground to counter misinformation about taxes that has grown into a political and cultural battle.  There is one fact about the report that isn’t stated but is certain.  Those with axes to grind will ignore it and continue to inveigh about tax unfairness.  This will happen because taxes are an easy target for criticism and wrong-headed argument.  Because they touch almost everyone, there is personal interest in the topic and an opening for demagoguery.  It would be helpful if the CBO mounted a PR campaign to explain taxation but it isn’t likely.  The report will stand on its own.

The slaughter in Orlando was the occasion of perverse PR when the shooter claimed to be in sympathy with ISIS.  Whether or not he had ever been in touch with the terrorist group, his statement was a pledge of allegiance to savages who use any method of pain and killing to get their way.  One can imagine the communications person for ISIS walking taller this morning and commenting to his fellow terrorists that ISIS needs more such demonstrations of power.  Sunday morning is the reason why the Islamic State must be exterminated before its influence spreads to more lone wolves.  There is no negotiation, communication or other non-violent approach that will work.  In this world, there are people who are not amenable to persuasion of any kind other than violence.

Here is an example of negative publicity for the common good.  Yellowstone Park rangers want the public to have a safe engagement with nature and natural wonders, but individuals persist in bending the rules.  They stray from boardwalks into unsafe territory.  They pick up animals that should be left alone.  They feed animals that shouldn’t be fed.  All these activities increase the danger to themselves and to the animals.  By highlighting the negatives, rangers are warning the public to behave.  They know there will be a percentage of visitors who will ignore safety warnings, and these will become the exhibits for those who are inclined to follow rules.  It shouldn’t be that way, but there is no way to exercise total control of humans.  Even if the Park was flooded with rangers, there would still be some who try to get away with breaking instructions.  They are often winners of the Darwin Award.

Japan has an executive culture in which CEOs take responsibility for bad things that happen on their watch.  A CEO will step down when a negative event occurs unlike most CEOs in the West.  In this case, the company was falsifying fuel economy tests.  Did the CEO know?  It’s hard to say, but if he did, in the US he would be fighting civil and criminal charges.  In this case, he vacated an office he held for decades and retreated to the chairmanship of the company.  In other instances, Japanese CEOs have left their companies altogether.  The recent deck-clearing at Volkswagen in Germany was unusual, but then so was the scandal that caused it.  There, like most Western CEOs, the executive was embedded and it took an enormous failure to get him to leave.  Meanwhile, the board cleared itself of any responsibility for “diesel-gate.”  Maybe the West should learn a thing or two from the East when it comes to taking responsibility.

Donald Trump is the presumptive nominee for the Republicans, but that hasn’t spared him from criticism by members of his own party.  Here is House Speaker Paul Ryan’s take on Trump’s verbal jab at the judge handling the civil lawsuit against Trump University, a failed school.  It should be clear to Trump now, if it hasn’t been already, that his own party is holding its nose while backing him and will rebuke him openly.  Trump’s shoot-from-the-lip style has cost him the support of a number of prominent politicians and the more he doubles down on his statements, the more back-peddling is happening in the Republican Party.  To attack a judge for his ethnicity is bad enough, but Trump as yet refuses to disavow his comment, even when it is pointed out that it is racist.  It is enough to wonder how Trump came to be the presumptive nominee.  Millions voted for him and he attracts crowds to his rallies.  He is selling himself as the anti-politician successfully so far, but he is living on the edge and might have fallen already.

Cancer survivors need special nutrition in order to regain their health.  Since there are millions of them in the United States, they form a niche segment which a food company can serve.  Kudos to Hormel for doing it.  It is smart PR as well because the company is nearly half-owned by a nonprofit institute that researches cancer.  Hormel didn’t just relabel a number of products and go out with them.  It researched in detail how cancer patients eat and what they eat in order to find out what they need in terms of calories.  Its first effort flunked because the taste wasn’t there.  Its second effort is on the shelf for cancer survivors to try.  Hormel isn’t going to get rich with this special line of foods but it should do OK, and it has set itself apart as a caring company.

Citizens of Okinawa, Japan, have long wanted the US military off the island.  Every mistake by a US soldier, sailor or marine is cause for renewed anger and demonstrations.  Issues have become so sensitive that the US Navy has ordered its 18,600 sailors on the island to stop drinking off-base, and it has cancelled liberty for them as well.  This came after a drunk sailor caused a traffic accident in which two people were hurt.  American military bases have been part of Okinawa since the island was taken in a bloody battle 70 years ago.  Army, Navy, Marine and Air Force bases on the island are essential to the US military defense strategy for the Far East.  If the US were to lose its foothold on Okinawa, it would back up its reaction force to Guam, thousands of miles away in the center of the Pacific Ocean.  How did PR become so bad for the US on Okinawa?  For a long time, American occupiers acted without consulting Okinawans and lied to them about critical issues, such as the presence of chemical weapons on the island.  In other words, Americans acted like the conquerors they were.  Now, the US has to watch its footing lest it be kicked off the island.  Activists have stirred up the population to a fever pitch.  It’s not a good position to be in, but it is one of America’s own making.

This article makes clear that the Naval installation where the reporter witnessed a rail gun in action is a top secret facility.  If it is top secret, how come it was being used to demonstrate a new weapon?  The Navy is lifting the veil on a revolutionary technology that someday might replace artillery.  There is no secret here.  The service wants to continue funding for development of the cannon and to keep its political critics at bay.  So, it chooses one of its most high profile weapons in development and it lets a reporter in on the secret.  It is an old trick used by the military services since nearly forever.  And, it works.  The article is a long take on rail guns and their utility in war.  The Navy could not have written a better story itself, and the credibility of the Wall Street Journal is without equal.  Make no mistake.  Naval information officers are forwarding the article to the House and Senate armed services committees with notes attached highlighting the success of the project.  Will they sustain funding for the gun?  You betcha.

When something is well known and has a body of fans, the creator of that thing can use publicity sparingly as a tease.  This is what author J.K. Rowling is doing with her Harry Potter franchise.  She lets her fans know now and again some interesting point or facts not in the book series.  She builds dimensions of her characters on her web site and in public speeches.  She has a play coming out that examines the grown Harry and his family.  Each action is designed to keep her fans wanting more, which they unfailingly do.  There are not many products or creations that have the fan base and marketplace pull to make the tease successful.  Movie production companies use it with film trailers that sometimes work.  Companies will use the “coming soon” announcement to gain interest.  But, for the most part, there is too much noise in the marketplace for people to care.  Rowling is in a privileged position, and she is using it well.

Journalists falling for fake news is all too common and growing more so by the day.  Reporters are suckers for what appears to be a good story and they run with it before making a phone call to verify the facts.  It is the job of PR practitioners to save members of the media from themselves by correcting false reports as soon as possible and preventing the spread of error.  The challenge is that PR practitioners cannot watch all of the news and fake news sites at the same time.  There is a time lag, albeit small, between spotting an error and responding.  In that gap, reports can circle the world.  One wishes that journalists do the basic job of reporting.  But, the human desire to be first with a scoop is too much for some of them.  They become transmitters, not reporters, and as a result, add to the noise of the marketplace.  With the internet and the proliferation of news and news sites, the job of the PR practitioner is more important than ever.