When fighter pilots lose power in an engine, they don’t consult the manual. They respond instinctively. The information in this chapter will help you react in much the same way when things go wrong. How you handle bad news reflects greatly on how your good news will be accepted by the media in the future.
Major Disaster No. 1: No Press
It’s a sad sight I’ve grown accustomed to in every city I visit. Mini-malls, America’s immortal contribution to late twentieth-century architecture, stand on nearly every corner, offering shoppers a startling array of choices in nail boutiques, tanning salons, doughnut shops, and one-hour photo labs. The mini-malls stand as mute testament to the power of the American dream of entrepreneurship and captaining one’s destiny. They also stand as very eloquent testament to the failure of that elusive dream.
Strip-mall business bankruptcies and space vacancies have skyrocketed in the past few years, surely owing in large part to overall economic conditions, but also, I believe, to the lack of P.R. initiative on the part of new business owners. Every single one of these malls and their stores seems identical. Each needs to stand out from the pack. Each needs some good press. Yet, few ever seem to go for it. Mini-mall businesses are the perfect example of those who need press and usually never get it. But what about you? Whether you own a business or are involved in some other kind of project, perhaps the most devastating response you can get from the media, should you seek their attention, is to get no attention at all.
You’ve got an impressive mailing list, selected your targets, assembled a press kit, mailed press releases, called papers, TV, and radio. You’re pumped, primed, ready to take on the world. But you find your tracking sheets are blank. Nobody gives a damn. What now?
First, let’s do a reality check. Reexamine your written materials. Bring trusted friends and family back into the discussion. Look for signs of poor presentation or unimaginative pitches. You should have noted these long ago when you sensed the media were yawning as you pitched them. But these kinds of problems should be remedied now.
If you feel your fundamentals were sound, look to your outlets. Could you have chosen the wrong ones? Reconsider your target audience and media. Perhaps you should expand in another direction? If you were going for the financial press, maybe Business Week was a little too far out of reach at this time. How about a smaller business journal in your neck of the woods? Take another long look at your list. Comb through the names you have. Perhaps you should move up to regional and national media? Or ratchet down to local and smaller press? This kind of retooling can often make a miraculous difference.
Although you may think you’ve exhausted the possibilities, go back to the library, newsstand, or bookstore. Seek out different media guides with expanded listings, and add new names to your master list. Every week, fledgling publications make their debut, and perhaps you can get in on the ground floor with some of them. The key here is to reignite your initial enthusiasm and keep up the search.
Recontact the journalists you’ve contacted before. Being careful to keep the focus on newsworthiness, inquire again whether they can run something—anything—on your project. If your presentation has been professional, courteous, and energetic, you should arouse a certain degree of sympathy on the part of the reporter or editor. But never ever say anything like “We really need some publicity.” Reporters were not put on this earth to give you publicity, and they will invariably take great offense at such a statement. And don’t forget, you have at your disposal a variety of Guerrilla techniques: magnet events, press conferences, protests, parties, mailings.
Stir new ingredients into your P.R. stew. Maybe now you should conduct that survey, poll, or trend prediction, and thus generate a new slate of releases? Could this be the time to throw a gala party? Have you called local TV stations to see about an appearance on a public affairs program? Maybe this would be a good time to send that picture to the paper, or write a letter to the editor? Just like a big-league hurler, you want to mix up your pitches to become as effective as possible.
What if you don’t have time to waste? What if your charity event is just around the corner? You’ll have to work quickly. Select the two or three most important outlets, and concentrate your efforts there. Do as much of the journalistic legwork as you can, present it to the outlets again, and this time stress the urgency of the matter. If you still get no response, at least make sure all local calendar listings are reserviced, make your follow-up calls, and get a mention that way. The main point is this: If you’re being ignored, you have to shift your focus to something un-ignorable. Synthesize the key elements of your project, and create something controversial, newsworthy, challenging, funny, or unprecedented. Even if it’s tangential to the heart of your project, it will get you coverage, and that’s what you want.
Don’t beat yourself up if you have to make changes. George Bernard Shaw said, “Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”
Moi?
What if you’ve followed all these steps and still find the media turning their backs? Publicist, heal thyself. Maybe there’s something about you that needs a little work. Don’t be hurt or offended by this. I’m talking about a little fine-tuning to make that personality engine of yours hum. Start by taking stock of the basics. Examine your dress, grooming, and interpersonal performance. If they check out, move on.
If you did or said something you shouldn’t have (after all, you are new at this), keep your composure. The more relaxed you are, the less you will appear to have screwed up. Only a creep would write you off for one gaffe. If you accidentally misled a reporter, offer a sincere apology, make amends, and pick up the pieces. Don’t resolutely avoid mention of your mistake; it makes you look sneaky.
People appreciate openness and honesty. Above all, forgive yourself. You don’t have to be perfect. That’s one of society’s most pernicious lies—that we can do it all, have it all, and be it all. You’re a human being. You have your own mission on this earth, but that’s between you and God, not between you and the daily paper. Carry on with that mission. Return to your Guerrilla P.R. posture. What’s the worst that can happen? What’s the best?
Major Disaster No. 2: Bad Press
There it was on ABC’s World News Tonight. An exposé revealed that a new series of history textbooks for high schoolers, published by the top educational publishers in the nation, were riddled with inaccuracies—over five thousand, in fact. Among the mistakes, the books claimed that we dropped the atom bomb on Korea and that both Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy were killed during the Nixon administration (it was, of course, during the Johnson years).
A senior executive of one of the publishers courageously faced the cameras to explain the disaster. He blamed human error and admitted there was no justification. Then, helping to trash his own case, he added, “History is more than dates.” I had to avert my eyes. I don’t know which is worse, too little good publicity or too much bad publicity. The former is no doubt frustrating, but the latter can be devastating. It can ruin a business; it can ruin lives. I hope you will do everything possible to avoid negative press in the first place, but should you get sideswiped by it, don’t freak out. Here’s what to do.
If you are faced with a crisis (e.g., the media are all over your tail for some alleged misconduct, impropriety, or misstatement), your first duty is to respond immediately. Do not delay in dealing with the problem. Remember how the Soviets covered up Chernobyl? They couldn’t have looked worse. In fact, the fallout from their secrecy and cover-up was arguably more damaging than the reactor explosion itself.
How you handle the bad news will play a large role in how your good news will be met by the media in the future. But to meet a crisis head on, you have to prepare in advance. While designing your Guerrilla P.R. campaign up front, ponder also a few worst-case scenarios.
Make a list of potential problems, then opposite them list all your explanations and courses of a
ction. That way, you’ll be ready when a hostile press knocks on your door.
And I do mean hostile. It’s a chilling experience to stare into glaring TV lights, to have a steel bouquet of microphones thrust in your face, and to be battered by terse questions from people you don’t know. If you’re confronted with this, center yourself as best you can, and remain calm. Answer positively, offer facts, and show an upbeat attitude. If you don’t know the answer to something, say so.
If worse comes to worst, you can always say “no comment,” but those two words have a dreadful ring. It’s better to say something like “I’d really prefer not to comment about that at this time.” But a “no comment” can’t be attacked. It keeps you in balance while the crisis blows over. You don’t want the heat of the moment to cause you to say something you’ll regret. Remember, today’s headline is tomorrow’s fish-wrapping.
One of the worst drubbings I ever saw anyone take from the press was that administered to Rob Lowe, following the embarrassing release of his homemade pornographic video in which he engaged in sex with an underage Georgia girl. Some of my friends and colleagues still say his career never recovered, but I think he played it smart. He refused comment for a while, then came back with what I felt was a sincere apology. Later, he was able to joke about his circumstances with an appearance on Saturday Night Live in which he made fun of himself. This diffused the discomfort people felt and allowed him to return to the mainstream, tossing off the incident as “youthful indiscretion.”
Today, after a successful starring role on The West Wing, his career is back on track.
But I’d say the textbook illustration of skillfully handling bad press came with the Tylenol tampering tragedy in 1982. As you probably recall, some lunatic laced several bottles of the pain medication with lethal doses of cyanide, and before anyone could do anything about it, seven people were dead.
The manufacturer met the crisis head-on. Without delay, all Tylenol products were withdrawn from the shelves. An all-out effort to find the culprits was launched; immediately, new tamper-proof measures were introduced that changed the industry. Most important, the company took the time to let a jittery nation heal. The company was prepared, acted coolly and responsibly, did not duck the tough questions, and, in the end, retained its dominance in the market. The company used the media to show genuine concern and a determination to take the lead in resolving the crisis. It was a message of courage and leadership via public relations.
One of the single most important points to keep in mind when facing a negative situation of your own is to follow the old dictum: The best defense is a good offense. You must never go on the defensive. By anticipating negative questions you can stand ready to counter with positives.
For example, let’s say you’re a developer who bought a large apartment complex occupied by senior citizens, and you plan to turn it into a luxury hotel. The old folks are due to be turned out. That’s the kind of juicy Simon Legree story the media love. But if reporters demand to know why you’re putting seniors on the street, don’t say, “We’re not putting seniors on the street.” That’s like Nixon saying, “I am not a crook.” It merely confirms what you’re denying. Instead, you should say something like this: “I’m glad you asked me that because now I have a chance to explain to the public what we are doing. Not only does every resident have six months rent-free to search for alternative housing, but we’ll give each one a six-month extension if need be. In addition, we’re actively helping the residents find new housing, and we’ll pay their moving costs. If anyone in this neighborhood is willing to do more, I’d like to meet him.”
Here’s another hypothetical scenario: You’re launching a new manufacturing center in a small neighborhood worried about increased traffic, air pollution, and noise. Instead of denying, or getting defensive, tell the media (and thus the public) that you’re offering staggered work shifts, increasing the local tax base, and increasing property values, and that you’re donating a certain percentage of your profits to a local charity. In other words, you take away from the hostile press the very weapons they plan to wield against you.
If I were to boil it down to one word, it would be this: courage. That’s what it takes to weather such a storm.
I know these guidelines seem hard, but you must follow them, or you’ll come across as just another lowlife caught by the vigilant free press. It’s how you come across that matters. So act your heart out. Be a De Niro or a Streep. Pretend to feel differently than you do. It takes an emotional toll, but in the end it will be worth it.
* * *
FROM THE GUERRILLA P.R. FILE
Though we’ve all experienced a bad meal every once in a while, nothing can compare to the queasy stomachs the directors of a major book publisher (not this one) experienced in February 1993, when it was discovered that one of the recipe ingredients in a recently published cookbook presented a potential health hazard. The cookbook featured a recipe recommending lilies of the valley as an edible flower for cake decoration. Turns out this is a poisonous plant to eat (though not to grow and handle). The publisher immediately sent out a press release, recalled all copies of the book from wholesalers and retailers, and offered a toll-free number for all customers who desired a full refund. A good example of a responsible company acting promptly and correctly.
* * *
Major Disaster No. 3: Inaccurate Press
Actually, I don’t think of this as much of a disaster, but it could create problems. As I’ve said, P.R. is a gamble because you don’t have authoritative control over what appears in print or on the evening news. Sometimes your message is truncated, misinterpreted, or juxtaposed with issues or symbols that defeat your purpose. Sometimes the media just plain get it wrong.
For example, a couple I know, Richard Epcar and Ellyn Stern, both actors, did a segment for a national TV magazine show. The setup showed them performing a scene for a noted Hollywood casting director. The scene went well, and the casting director raved about the couple’s acting. The magazine show’s producer asked the casting director, “Isn’t there anything you can say that’s not quite so positive, just to give it some balance?” The casting director replied, “Well, I suppose the scene did go on a little bit too long.”
Wouldn’t you know it—the only sound bite that wound up on the show was the director’s single negative line. Not one word about what wonderful actors Richard and Ellyn were. Sad to say, there’s not much you can do about this sort of thing.
The media are often in a hurry and frequently get facts wrong or cut a piece to fit given space or time limitations. If a newspaper gets something wrong, you can request a retraction or a correction (though the publications don’t always comply). The same is sometimes true of TV news. You should make your request firmly but without rancor. If a retraction does run, then you’ve gotten two mentions for the price of one.
But by and large, you’ll have to let this sort of thing go. You just have to take your lumps and look on the bright side. After all, you did get some media coverage, and that means your message got through on some level. Generally, I feel it’s better to get skewed press than none at all. If you keep your cool, you can always come back to them later. Handling it psychologically is no mean trick. Just don’t take personally anything negative or incorrect the papers write about you. The longer you play this game, the thicker your skin will become. Believe me.
Online inaccuracies can be even more infuriating, as they take on a viral life of their own. If someone writes something untrue about your project in a blog or on a Web site, there can be hundreds of links to the inaccurate information within minutes. It’s a major problem, and worse, it can be unbelievably irritating.
But beyond correcting the error in your own blog, or on your own Web site, and then asking friends to link to your correction, you shouldn’t try to do too much. Complaining to the online reporter who missed the point or flubbed the fact would be satisfying, certainly, and maybe even helpful if you can convince that per
son to make a correction, but it can be a death blow to your reputation if you come across as acrimonious and/or petty. You have to take the high road in these cases, or stay silent. Starting a “flame war” is the worst possible solution. You’ll just gain a reputation as a thin-skinned blowhard who couldn’t take it when someone pointed out an unflattering truth—no matter how false that “truth” might be.
Money Troubles
Guerrilla P.R. is grounded in low-cost techniques. But what if they’re not low enough? I speak often of appearance, perception, quality. These things can’t be plucked out of thin air. They require an unavoidable minimum outlay of money. So in this section, I offer a few tips that help you save some dough.
Your biggest costs will likely be printing, mailing, and telephone. As for the first, obviously you should shop around for the least expensive copy store; unless you’re working on an extremely small scale, a home printer just isn’t going to cut the mustard. Many have computer terminals that offer desktop publishing. I don’t recommend handwriting envelopes, so if you don’t own a computer, it’s probably time to think about buying one, or leaning heavily on your friend next door who has one. Frankly, I’m willing to bet you own or have access to a computer and a printer, but there’s certainly one at a local college or high school that you might use. Photocopying costs are low, usually no more than a dime a copy, so that shouldn’t bust your budget.
Perhaps you can ask local printing firms if they’d be willing to tack your materials on to the end of a big job at a reduced cost. They may be more inclined to do this if your project is of a charitable nature, or if you’re likely to become a regular customer who will give them a lot of business. It’s a good way for them to use up excess paper that might otherwise go unused or tossed.
Guerrilla PR 2.0 Page 26