He who knows how to manage the media often wins the game. The BP crisis is on everyone’s mind. And before that, Toyota got into a mess. What should you know about public relations?

When clients come to me I often suggest that good PR may be even more important than anything I can do. And I strongly believe that relying on one marketing weapon alone is very short sighted.

Modern public relations – PR - began about a hundred years ago with the world’s richest man, John D. Rockefeller. Rockefeller had a problem.

He had built up Standard Oil very ruthlessly, treating his workers appallingly - though probably no worse than most businessmen at the time. He was so hideously unpopular he could barely go outside without embarrassment. He asked a newsman called Ivy Lee for advice.

I do not know what Lee charged Mr. Rockefeller, but his solution brilliantly demonstrated how to create and manage news. He told Rockefeller to stop hiding away, go out regularly, and always carry with him a supply of 5 cent coins to give to small children.

Lee, no doubt, ensured these generous acts were reported. In no time the ogre Rockefeller was replaced in the public’s mind by the kindly old fellow who loved children.

Was this clever idea an influence for good or bad? It has certainly been much copied. All politicians know it’s a good idea to be photographed with babies, but among the century’s leading experts have been Joseph Stalin, Adolph Hitler and Mao Tse Tung.

Advice from a top expert

When young, I worked in public relations for long enough to know I am no good at it. However a friend, Quentin Bell, was long one of Britain’s leading PR men. He gave me a list of points for good PR, which I have put at the end.

The difference between advertising and public relations is that you pay for advertising space or time; in public relations you only pay for the advice you get. The media print or broadcast what they want about you.

Advertising was once called “the truth well told”. The same applies to good PR. The trouble is, as we all know, the truth can be seen in many ways. If your version of the truth prevails, it is a powerful ally; if not, it can be a disaster. Which it is depends on you.

Public relations are vital when there are problems. The launch of the Toyota Lexus in America was nearly a disaster, because thousands of the first cars delivered had faults. A few years later the Mercedes A-Class was reported to be unreliable on sharp corners. On another occasion a madman poisoned some of the packs of the leading US analgesic, Tylenol.

All three firms acted promptly and managed the news. Toyota recalled every car they had sold and gave owners free replacements while the problem was fixed. Mercedes immediately installed in their A class the same braking system fitted in their most expensive cars and wrote to all prospective and existing buyers explaining the facts. Tylenol replaced every bottle of Tylenol in every store in America.

So none of these firms denied the problem: they admitted there was one and solved it. They told the truth. Moral: don’t lie, don’t hide. Act and be open. I do not think that Toyota and BP, more recently, have managed their PR very well. So what should you do?

Start by asking questions

Good PR – like all good marketing - starts with the truth. First, ask three questions. Who are we? Where are we? Where do we want be or go? If you haven’t asked them, you now know your first – maybe your most important – task.

You must know what you are – not what you hope you are. This calls for research, both inside and outside your organisation. Only then you can work to become what you want to be.

Unlike advertising, PR doesn’t directly promote a product, service or brand. It deals with issues raised by, and surrounding them. They benefit indirectly.

PR is about “our way of doing things” – corporate culture. It takes your special (though not necessarily unique) attitudes and viewpoints and turns them to commercial advantage.

Internal PR comes before external PR. It conveys these messages so well that everyone you work with understands and eventually “owns” them. They become company ambassadors. You know you’ve succeeded when they talk of colleagues as “we” instead of “them”.

Your message must embrace all those groups your success depends on. Not just your people, but suppliers and distributors, communities, investors, regulators, and the media.

One of my partners once told me the best advice his father ever gave him. It was, “If you’re talking, you can’t be listening. And if you’re not listening, you can’t be learning”. PR only succeeds if it is a dialogue – not a one way “top down” monologue. Listening is vital if you wish to respond.

PR is not about slogans and slick phrases. It’s about style plus substance: 90% is about improving the reality, only 10% about promoting it. Image and reality must match. You cannot pretend to be what you’re not – for long.

Don’t rely entirely on the PR agency or marketing department. Your message must course through the veins of the company – inspired by those at the top. Your top PR person is the CEO – the public ambassador. PR should be an important part of his or her job.

Good PR is consistent and continual: inspiration, consistency and dogged determination differentiate the winners from the losers.

Top ten tips for dealing with the media

What if you have to face the media? It can be frightening – unless you’re prepared. Here is Quentin’s advice:

• Know your message: identify your three key points; stick to them; don’t be afraid of repeating them; don’t get sidetracked.

• Be the victor not the victim. You know more about your subject than they do; an interview is an opportunity, not a threat; you can turn their negative into your positive, or at least paint a balanced picture; be businesslike – it’s better to be respected than liked.

• Prepare and rehearse: think of all likely difficult questions for a requested interview – and know your answers.

• Send out all your bad news at once, not bit by bit. Release it with bigger news of the day as a smokescreen. If it’s good news, check the next day’s media agenda for a slow news day.

• Know what the media want: ask them for their angle – they’ll willingly tell you; don’t “answer” but “respond”; use the question as a chance to say what you want to say.

• Admit your mistakes: others will forgive you. Don’t cover up; but always “regret” rather than being “sorry” - that implies guilt. Never speak “off the record”. Assume all you say will be broadcast or published.

• Be humble: be confident but not arrogant; stay calm and “smile” (if only inwardly, because it shows on TV). Remember, an aggressive interviewer gains you public sympathy; don’t lie (you’ll be found out and make matters worse). If you don’t know the answer, say so.

• Speak in headlines: talk about benefits, not features. Think in pictures, not words; keep it simple; listen to questions carefully; don’t fill silences – it puts the onus upon the interviewer.

• Don’t refuse to take difficult phone calls. But give yourself thinking time (“I’ll phone you back in ten minutes”); never say “no comment” - it implies guilt; it provides a vacuum to allow the media to invent their own “truth”.

• Never pretend to be what you’re not, personally or corporately. If the public perception is false, make the truth clear; get the endorsement of your top PR person – the CEO.

Best,
Drayton
www.eadim.com
www.commonsensedirectmarketing.com