Brett Banter

We wrote a post not too long ago about how the issue that just won't go away in our state -- the Confederate flag -- continues to command attention from both sides ten years after the flag was removed from the dome of the South Carolina Statehouse. Though the flag was taken down from the Capitol and placed on a 30-foot pole on the Statehouse lawn, the NAACP and others continue to protest the flag's presence on state property. The issue that just won't die in South Carolina has positioned our state on a perilous ledge until it is fully resolved. The ongoing ferocity potentially jeopardizes not only our own internal political and social relations, but has the opportunity to also directly impact the state's economy by causing businesses to shy away from bringing industry to such a cutthroat political climate.

Anyone who loves a crispy, classic McDonald's Filet-o-Fish may have been just as horrified as many other Americans were to read in a September issue of the New York Times that hoki, the somewhat generic fish used in that fried McD's goodness, are dangerously near depletion. Hoki farmers in New Zealand, who harvest hoki fish in mass quantities to keep up with demand, were of course none too happy with the story.

So what did the New Zealand Seafood Industry Council do on behalf of its hoki farmers? They bought Google Adwords that people who might be fishing for more online information about the story might search for, such as new york times and hoki. And those Google ads that, as a result, online searchers saw pop up? They were, of course, blatantly critical of the New York Times piece.

The reporter, too, found himself caught up in the ensuing stir - his name was one of the Google AdWords purchased. If someone Googled "William Broad", they would see ads pop up denouncing his New York Times hoki story.

We won't re-hash the entire story written by Harvard's Nieman Journalism Lab, but this one is a must-read. See more.

Undeniably, reporters and PR people have to work together. In a sublime world, public relations staff and reporters would offer one another easy, fluid transfer of information, but let's get real. Reporters seek facts and instant access to experts that will validate their stories, while PR folks usually have a solid idea of precisely how they think a story should be told. And rightfully so, as their job is to craft a positive image for the person or entity for whom they work. While the need for information can at times create a bit of a love-hate relationship, quality public relations people will ultimately establish and maintain good media relationships.

On Sunday, Taegan Goddard's Political Wire ran a short blip from political strategist and Obama heavyweight David Plouffe's new book, The Audacity to Win. The book quote points to former Presidential hopeful John Edwards. After deciding his campaign was finally kaput, Edwards apparently tried to turn his loss into an endorsement bargaining chip laid on the table between remaining candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. An Edwards aide indicated that Edwards might be willing to jump ship to Team Obama ship to help defeat Mrs. Clinton.

As you probably know, we like to harp on how substantial a role public relations plays when it comes to politics, campaigns and the political climate. Positive public relations and perceptions equate to gold, particularly in a state like South Carolina where the partisan divide remains profoundly distinct and scars from political scandal still bleed profusely.

The Sword and the Script blog's Frank Strong wrote an enlightening post back in June that underscores strategies for dealing with negative bloggers. While traditional PR is all too familiar with negative feedback through traditional means such as editorial pages, product reviews and telephone comment lines, the digital and internet age has stirred a whole new pot of feedback opportunity. Between social media, blogs and other contemporary forms of communication that allow people to produce user-generated content, the world is more alive than ever with criticism, evaluation and assessment opportunities.

Bloggers can self-promote as experts on just about anything they wish, and depending on their readership, their work can have an impact on your PR efforts. Strong offers some great tips for intervening with a negative blogger.

Read them here.

Politicians walk a precarious wire. As public figures, every move they make in public and private becomes subject to scrutinization by constituents and the media at large.

All the ado over the past couple of days about the new, re-vamped website by the GOP got us thinking about the overall impact of the fuss. If you follow politics, you've likely heard that the Republican National Committee finally launched their new site earlier this week, complete with a bright red banner and an "O" in GOP that apparently metamorphoses into a different human face each time you click the page... to represent party diversity. The intent of the site re-launch is to create, according to Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele, "a forward-looking, open platform for the party of new ideas."

Critics pounded the site for looking too much like the Chinese flag, being short on content and crashing. Steele changing the name of his blog to "Change the Game" from the much-mocked initial title "What Up" didn't help much with the critics, either.

Bugs and other glitches aside, problems will eventually get fixed. But as you've probably heard many a time, no press is bad press. Our initial thoughts were how many MORE people will, as a result, be driven to the GOP.com website. GOP.com got many more web hits, links and traffic because of what's been called "negative press". Probably far more people - Republicans, Democrats, Independents and those unaffiliated with any party - are now familiar with and/or interested in the site, as a result.

So What Up with GOP.com? It may Change the Game more than you think.

More on the re-launch of GOP.com:

Wesley Donehue had some great insights.
The Washington Post
Politico
We also just learned via The Discust that there is a GOP site specific to South Carolina.

Major, unpredictable events can and will happen to good companies, strong political campaigns and solid organizations. These looming threats usually catch you off guard and offer very limited reaction time.

Cross your fingers that your company or campaign will never have to manage a crisis, but part of the responsibility of staying away from that risk is keeping constant tabs on what your organization and the people within it are doing.

Want some practice in crisis management? The following advice virtually guarantees your organization will run into a crisis. (Note: these are practices you want to AVOID)

1. Practice indifference to public concerns.
2. Keep a low profile. Communicate with the public only when you absolutely must.
3. Don't trust any of your constituent groups - employees, community leaders, etc.
4. Ignore the feelings and opinions of the key groups you deal with.
5. Treat the media as the enemy and don't talk to them at all.
6. Blame any problems on people and practices outside the organization.
7. Don't acknowledge any potential public dangers caused by your organization that will "only alarm people unnecessarily".
8. Keep potentially embarrassing information top secret.
9. Don't look for areas where you may be vulnerable to a crisis.
10. Don't waste time planning for a crisis before it happens.

Brett offers training in Crisis Management as well as Spokesperson Training to prepare your organization to talk to the media and others. For more information, contact us.