The reputation of a brand, organisation or individual can be shattered – or enhanced – by their actions.
In a world where news of unethical behaviour, misdeeds and poor judgement travels fast, PR can play a vital role in making a bad situation better.
Halfway through the year, we’ve taken a look back at some of the lessons that can be learnt from the PR disasters and coups we’ve seen in 2023 so far.
Philip Schofield made headlines following his resignation from ITV’s This Morning following revelations about his relationship with a younger colleague. Further negative headlines for both Mr Schofield and This Morning were generated in the following days and weeks which, it could be argued, were a result of his subsequent actions and those of his employer, ITV.
His “unwise but not illegal” statement aimed to clarify the situation but instead launched a thousand social media memes, while his interview with the BBC seemed similarly mis-managed. Transparency – and accountability – appears to have been missing from all involved, especially from ITV. Fortunately for Schofield and former co-presenter Holly Willoughby (whose own “Are you OK?” speech was widely mocked online), the heat was eventually taken out of the story by the news of former PM Boris Johnson’s resignation as an MP.
The coronation in May had a peak audience of 20m in the UK, showing interest in the royals is far from waning.
While there was some negativity in the press, with anti-royalist comments and concerns about the budget involved during a cost-of-living crisis, overall it can be chalked up as a PR win.
The King has reduced the number of ‘working’ monarchy going forward, with fewer family members holding certain privileges, and the slimmed-down royal party on the Buckingham Palace balcony during coronation proceedings reinforced this message.
The UK’s main business lobby group made the front pages following allegations of sexual misconduct by senior staff members, including its CEO.
The CBI admitted knowing about some of the alleged incidents and organisations including high-profile members John Lewis and NatWest, as well as the government itself, suspended their links with the group while an external investigation tookplace.
The CBI appeared to be taken by surprise by the media storm building around it, giving its dismissed CEO the chance to seize the initiative and share his version of events publicly and hampering its own ability to appear in control of events.
So, what can we learn from these scenarios?
The first lesson is that the best way to protect and enhance your reputation is, simply, to do good things – be clear about your values and behave in a way that’s in line with them.
The second is the importance of being prepared when a negative news story breaks. That means being aware of potential issues in your organisation and having a communications strategy – covering both internal and external audiences - ready to execute for each of them in case it’s needed. A good crisis comms plan will ensure that the issue is acknowledged quickly, the most senior person in the organisation takes responsibility for it publicly as the spokesperson, and there is regular communication while the issue is being ‘fixed’.
A reputation that’s taken years to build can be very quickly destroyed by negative publicity – but the good news is that the way you communicate and deal with problems can be the first step in restoring it.
