He finally did it. Tiger Woods began his long journey of rehabilitation with a sort-of media conference this morning. Much of what he said and did worked for him. Much of it did not. And, frankly, much of this is of relatively little importance when it comes to defining the post-Thanksgiving Day Tiger. Read the rest of this entry »
In an earlier post, I suggested that the response to the listeriosis crisis by Michael McCain, President and CEO of Maple Leaf Foods was visible, sincere and empathetic. The efforts worked, the brand is alive and well and the stock price is up from the depths it hit at the time of the outbreak of 2008. The performance of Maple Leaf Foods has become somewhat of a textbook case for how to handle a PR crisis in Canada. Maple Leaf Foods raised the bar and Toyota now suffers by having to meet much higher expectations. The trouble is they have a significant disadvantage before they even begin.
On the level of PR and political strategy, the Conservative government’s move to prorogue Parliament (again) seems to make sense. After all, when a competing voice is starting to break through and score some points with voters, why wouldn’t you want to take away their podium? If you can’t beat them on the level of messages (hard to do when your messages keep changing) and you can’t discredit them (they tried with diplomat Richard Colvin), you’re left with one final and unsavory option: silence the opponent. Strategic in the short-term, yes, but will it work in the longer term? It depends… Read the rest of this entry »
We all know how the roll out of the H1N1 vaccine has, shall we say, fallen short of expectations for one of the world’s wealthiest countries, with one of the world’s most expensive primary care systems. Allow me to focus on the lessons learned strictly in the area of crisis communication. There are many. Read the rest of this entry »
It seems Microsoft has a hit with a new series of commercials starring “Kylie” — a five-year-old spokesperson from California. Who would have thought that an endearing school girl could somehow come to represent a company that generated more than $58 Billion in revenue and seems to constantly be entangled in some sort of anti-trust scandal. On one level, of course, the young spokesperson who flies through Windows with ease sends a clear message that the new operating system is so simple, well, even a child can use it. But there’s much more to this campaign that ease of use, it seems to me. Read the rest of this entry »
Much coverage in the media of late over the impossible-to-miss ad campaign funded by taxpayers to promote the Conservative’s economic recovery plan. There’s concern that the government is spending more to toot its horn than to inform us about H1N1. The Liberals have joined the protest and are promising to do better. So, is the campaign strategic? Is it any good? Is it ethical? Read the rest of this entry »
As a graduate student and sessional lecturer at Carleton University, I have to admit from the start that I feel a very strong affinity for the institution and have for decades. Imagine my dismay, then, when I open my morning paper and read the troubling headline: “Sex-attack victim was negligent, Carleton says.” I’ve been in PR long enough to know the university leadership had just jumped into a car and driven at top speed towards a very big brick wall. Sadly, I was right. Read the rest of this entry »
As the father of both a son and daughter, I was privileged to be able to work on a PR campaign on behalf of two not-for-profit groups in Ontario that are dedicated to promoting healthy and equal relationships between boys and girls, women and men. Read the rest of this entry »
I’ve been watching with some interest the efforts by Jim Balsillie to secure an NHL franchise and move it to Southwestern Ontario. I’m a big NHL fan and as a fan in a smaller Ontario market (Go Sens Go) I really empathize with the folks in the other part of the province who would dearly love a hockey team to call their own. Trouble is, Balsillie’s PR efforts are reaching all he wrong people. There’s a lesson there for anyone looking to PR to solve a non-PR problem. Read the rest of this entry »
Two recent “branding campaigns” (an expression I really don’t like) show what’s wrong with most people’s idea of what a brand is. Both Loblaws and Air Canada placed their faith in all the wrong elements. The result? Air Canada stays grounded and Loblaws tumbles further still. Read the rest of this entry »
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