Accentuate the Positive, 3.0

In my “previous life” on television, my last beat was education.

Birmingham’s City School System had an annual problem with students who waited until after Labor Day to come to classes. It was a cultural thing here, and a lot of parents needed re-educated about why missing three weeks of school is a bad thing.

Once the system started having severe financial problems, it became dire. The state allocates funds based on average enrollment for the first 40 days of the school year. If a sizable chunk of the student body isn’t around, the money goes away. Yikes!

To combat the problem, Birmingham instituted an initiative called (I’m not making this up) “Just Show Up“.

Talk about your inspirational messages! It ranks right up there (down there) with “Delta: We Get You There!” (late, sans luggage, and hungry… but THERE.)

Needless to say, the program caught a lot of heat for sending the wrong message to kids. After all, we don’t want them just showing up. We want them learning things, and becoming better future citizens. The project was already being slammed as a dismal failure before it was halfway through.

At the halfway point of the 40-day census period, I asked for the enrollment figures from that year-to-date compared to the previous year. Based on my calculations (ones which the schools lacked either the ability or the creativity to figure), Birmingham’s Board of Education “saved” more than $6,000,000 that would have been lost had the students “shown up” along past patterns.

“Just Show Up” just plain worked, in terms of getting the word out and getting butts in seats. But it still wasn’t working as a positive message once the morning bell rang.

This year, the same program has a new title and a new theme: “Going to the Head of the Class.”

“No comment” is supposed to be a cardinal sin in public relations. But that doesn’t mean that you spill your guts, and talk yourself into a worse position.

Case in point — The Salt Lake County District Attorney’s office.

A mother is angry that her 8-year-old son was charged with an “act of lewdness with a minor.” That other “minor” was his 14-year-old babysitter!

The sitter and the boy were playing “Truth or Dare,” and she dared him to touch her breasts. So he did. And he told mom about it later. (I don’t remember seeing that game in the Babysitter’s Handbook.)

When mom went to the cops, they charged her son, saying the boy was an “equal and willing participant.”

Needless to say, mom got mad and went to the media.

The DA’s office fielded the call about as well as you can. It confirmed the charge, and the dropping of the charge, and declined further comment. Nothing on the record in quotes. It’s not the same as “no comment,” but it prevents further liability.

Why the silent treatment in this instance? For one, there is virtually no potential for a repeat down the line, and no future for this case. The story has a short, shocking shelf life, and it’s gone. Second, there is a liability involved if the DA says too much, and winds up hanging an employee out to dry. The erroneous charge is clearly a case of “no harm, no foul,” and you can bet it won’t happen again. Why jeopardize a career by passing an invisible buck? Additional statements would not have added any clarity or understanding — and would have risked stoking the fire further.

“Damage control” is even harder when dealing with someone else’s damage.

That is precisely the difficulty many Muslim groups now face. American Muslim organizations are recognizing the problem of denouncing terrorism, and those who practice it:

“Islam is not like the Catholic Church, there is no central authority who can give you one quote. Therefore it is impossible for all Muslims to speak in one voice, just as it is impossible for all Americans to speak in one voice,” said Muqtedar Khan, a non-resident fellow at the Washington-based Brookings Institution, who studies international politics.

Some Muslim groups are frustrated with the task that public relations experts refer to as “reputation management.”

Mike Paul, a veteran public relations professional in New York City, says that religious communities should present a consistent message that offers concrete historical examples to back up their statements.

“People aren’t going to believe you if you just say, ‘These people don’t represent our faith,’” Paul said, “They’re going to say, ‘Show me the truth.’“

To that extent, “show don’t tell” means actually doing something to replace the ideology of extremism and violence. The Muslim American Society is launching a slate of seven action steps — a “Declaration of Support and Action Against Terrorism.”

It will take time for this movement to show results, if any at all. Previous silence on the issue has been interpreted as acceptance. A London Telegraph survey showed that nearly 1/4 of British Muslims “have some sympathy with the feelings and motives of those who carried out” the London bombings.

That vacuum of silence has some (like conservative talk-show host Michael Graham) calling Islam itself a “terror organization.” That comment got him suspended, and CAIR is lobbying to get him fired, too, even as CAIR sponsors its own fatwa against terror.

I’ve been expanding my horizons lately.

It used to be exclusively executive-level media training and interview coaching, but lately I’ve added a level of “PR sensitivity” for those in an organization who will never be a spokesperson.

In that training, we talk about how to evaluate a potential public relations nightmare, and how to report it up the chain before it becomes to big to deflect.

I can guarantee that after the first hour, everyone who comes out of my training will have enough foresight to avoid something as stupid as this: ‘Ghetto Talent Show,’ Watermelon Eating Contest Outrages Community (Yahoo! News)

Miami city leaders are apologizing for a news release that invited summer campers to a ”Ghetto Style Talent Show” and ”Watermelon Eating Contest.”

The release said that children participating in the summer camp who “know the meaning of ghetto style” would have a chance to “prove just how ghetto they are.”

It’s okay to try to get attention with your news release. This isn’t what we had in mind, though…

Members of the black community expressed outrage at the wording of the invitation to the talent show.

…and for some reason, those in the city offices didn’t seem to be aware. (Maybe they have been taking race-relations lessons from el Presidente Vicente Fox.)

After being criticized by residents of the nearby Model City neighborhood and community leaders, Miami Parks Director Ernest Burkeen, who is black, released a formal apology and announced the renaming of the talent show.

Well, that ought to heal some of the wounds…

The show will now be called the “Funky Talent Show,” according to Burkeen’s written statement. The watermelon contest will still be part of the event.

…just in time to pour in the salt.

I wasn’t sure whether to classify this as a planning bungle, and execution bungle, or a damage-control disaster. Instead, we’ll call it an object lesson in what not to do.

The Office of Corporate Counsel holds a lot of sway in many businesses, but isn’t immune to big PR blunders.

Many times, the office lawyer nixes promotional ideas for potential liability, and even parses your media communications for trivial little changes. That level of internal authority can give the J.D. a bulletproof mentality, especially when it comes to ignoring the expertise of the PR practitioner. Face it… when was the last time the boss told counsel to “hold off” while the public relations department pondered the action?

Well… it should have happened in Baltimore. A Greyhound bus crash injured 34 people there on Monday. While the victims were still hospitalized, Greyhound lawyers combed the hospital looking for people to sign a liability waiver — offering at least one person “medical expenses plus $2,500.”

I’m sure the corporate suits saw this as a no-brainer, and a way to avoid some costly suits. But the strategy did not sit well with passenger Chris Childs:

“I thought it was tacky. It basically matched how I feel about the company,” said Childs, 36, who has retained a lawyer. “I never figured somebody would offer you money on the day of the accident.”

Now, the company will spend an undetermined sum (in time and cash) to re-build a positive image. The bus crash is an accident, and can be forgiven. Sending the sharks into the E.R. is willful, and hard to forget.

In typical fashion, Greyhound’s PR representative had to clean up a mess long after the roads had re-opened:

When asked about Childs’ account, Greyhound spokeswoman Kim Plaskett said that any passengers who want to complain about customer service should call the customer-assistance line at 214-849-8966.

“I can’t confirm what happened in the emergency room,” said Plaskett.

“I can say Greyhound representatives did go to the hospital to make sure they were taken care of.”

…and in typical fashion, the Office of Corporate Counsel gagged her. Hey lawyer-types, when it comes to protecting corporate image, “leave the driving to us.”

Krispy Kreme, formerly the King of cheap publicity, is not so “HOT NOW.”

The doughnut franchise posted incredible growth as it went public in 2000. It was a darling of the Motley Fool guys, and investors just couldn’t resist the slow march out of the South.

Neither could television stations. I was still in the news business then, and Krispy Kreme had a knack for making grand openings in new cities an “event.” Every station that could go live in the early mornings did, just to be a part of those mad lines for the first Krispy Kremes to roll off the racks.

How the mighty have fallen… as Krispy Kreme is struggling to avoid bankruptcy. Stephen Cooper (the post-fraud Enron guy) is doing the restructuring, and now he’s got another hurdle. Some franchises are going to court to keep the doughnut mix and supplies rolling in — even though they can’t pay for them. Franchisees with restructuring plans of their own allege they can’t meet other obligations if they pay Krispy Kreme. (They also allege that Krispy Kreme has overcharged them over the years, keeping the filings from being tossed out of court.)

Some place the blame on accounting idiocy, others on growing too fast. Me? I think Krispy Kreme got KO’ed by Karb Konsciousness.

In any respect, the company’s growth was built NOT around memorable advertising, but instead around good PR. Alas, rebuilding will not be. You’re only new once, and it’s becoming more difficult to sell questionable nutrition. I’ll bet you dollars to doughnuts that turning doughnuts to dollars won’t be the sweet proposition it once was.

…is just what the marketing department ordered.

Rockstar Games is reaping the benefits of being the Bad Boys on the block, after pretending to have its pants down on “Hot Coffee” grounds.

The makers of “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” are laughing all the way to the bank, and are not in any peril regarding the game. (The GTA series is the best-selling ever, with more than 21-million units.) The PR jockeying now is among the retailers.

Rockstar has “pulled” the game off the shelf, while preparing to churn out a version that lacks the hidden sex games that apparently are the only difference between an “M” rating and an “AO” rating. (Literally, the difference between “Recommended for ages 17+” and “Adults Only, 18+”) [For more on the silliness and subjectivity of the rating, go check out Maddox.]

In the interim, EBGames (Electronic Boutique) is slapping AO stickers over the top and trotting the units right back onto the shelf. Circuit City and Target have announced they’ll wait for the (ahem) acceptable version, and Wal-Mart and Best Buy will look at the new version before making a decision.

EBGames is being fairly straightforward in approach. The PR folks at Circuit City and Target need to prepare for the onslaught of questions about whether they agree with the ratings, and the apparent bias against sex in favor of violence. And the flacks at Best Buy (and their newly-minted counterparts in Bentonville) will have to defend their decisions… even though no one in either company is qualified to crunch source code to see if there are other hidden treasures. Every strategy carries a risk. Do you want to stake your corporate reputation on the “promise” of a video game company that burned you once?

The early afternoon explosions in London – three in the Underground and one on a bus –are eerily similar to the transit bombings from two weeks ago. Someone is obviously sending a message, even to mimic the North-South-East-West pattern. But this time, it was just detonators. A few broken windows, no serious injuries.

The message was clear, but to whom?

An attack at 1:30 in the afternoon isn’t exactly hitting the rush hour. But it is catching the morning news shows in the United States.

Hmmmmmmmm……

…and know when to fold ‘em.

Especially when your name is Kenny Rogers. He’s the pitcher for the Texas Rangers who is fighting a 20-game suspension for assaulting a cameraman *before* pregame warmups. This guy is a walking, talking advertisement for the benefits of media training.

Rogers was booked on the 18th on his midemeanor assault charges, and what did he do?

Surely, he didn’t accost the photographer getting video of his booking. I mean, surely, right?

No.

Rogers stared at the guy for several seconds, then said “I bet you’re real proud of yourself now, don’t you?” The videographer said “I’m just doing my job, Kenny.”

I know the Texas fans love it, but the booing on the road will be the worst punishment. Robbie Alomar had to deal with that for years after spitting on an ump.

Somebody had better get in soon to teach Kenny how to play well with others, before another poor soul finds himself defenseless in Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.

…entertaining my new best friend, Dennis.

My day job with the American Red Cross will overshadow my PR musings for a little while. Please keep all of us in the path of the storm in your thoughts and prayers.

And it might not be a bad time to support the Disaster Relief Fund, which pays for all the the pre-and-post landfall activities, from sheltering to recovery.

Timing is everything, and you have to applaud the guys at NASA… when it comes to public relations, these guys are real rocket scientists!

With the Deep Impact mission, not only did they perform the equivalent of hitting a moving bullet with a BB at a range of 1000 miles, they also timed it beautifully. Making the actual collision between the probe and the comet occur on a holiday weekend ensured that

Having worked in news for 16 years, I came to know the calendar very well. There are just certain weeks and extended weekends where there is little news to cover. When you’ve got the time to think and plan, you can take advantage of slow news days to extend the value of the coverage you get. The week between Christmas and New Year’s Day is among the worst. So is the weekend after Thanksgiving, which is why merchants and retailers want to focus the world on shopping. (By the way — the day after Thanksgiving is not the biggest shopping day of the year… but a lot of people still buy into that hype.)

Have a safe Fourth… back next week.

Is this the beginning of the end of reality show mania..? Or does this mark a new turning point in the marketing thereof?

ABC’s new reality series “Welcome to the Neighborhood” is apparently no longer welcome to a time slot. The network has pulled the show just days before the debut, despite several weeks of heavy promotion.

The concept — three white Christian families in Texas pick their new neighbors — was apparently too offensive to too many. The seven families vying for the new home included an Asian family, a African-American family, a Hispanic family, a gay couple with a black child, a Wiccan family, a family of tattooed and pierced Republicans, and a poor white family. In addition to all of the stereotypical comments that ensue, conservative Christian groups are assailing the show for making all of them look like bigots.

All I can say is… what a way to generate buzz for placing it on the fall schedule. Nothing makes people more curious than what they can’t see.

How do you fend off a shark attack?

Forget hitting it on the nose… apparently, you spin it to death.

An article in the Tallahassee Democrat features a swarm of tourism officials trying to undo the damage of shark attack headlines.

Here’s a summary of what they have to say:

“We’ll be beefing up (beach) patrols because we’ve got this big festival coming up,” — Paula Pickett, Gulf County Director of Tourism.

That’s reassuring.

“We’ve got a strong volunteer fire department and beach and rescue (members) with jet skis and boats.” — Pickett

At least I won’t bleed for very long.

“Instead of looking for kids misbehaving, we’ll have an extra eye of caution in case of additional shark attacks.” – Pickett

You’re more likely to drown, or get caught in an undertow.

“You’re going to see sharks, but we were looking for swarms of shark,” — Gulf County Sheriff Dalton Upchurch, commenting on an aerial view.

How many does it take to bite me, exactly…?

“It’s so rare for something like this to happen. I don’t think it’s going to hurt (business) at all.” — Lizzette Dearinger, property manager.

No siree… (whistling past the graveyard)

“I think what it will do is help raise awareness that, when swimming in the ocean, you need to be cautious,” – Vanessa Welter, PR director for Visit Florida.

You don’t have anything to worry about, except far all the things responsible people ought to worry about.

“It’s not a public swimming pool. It’s an environment with large animals.” — Welter

Stay home, or go to the “Y”, you pansies.

“They are very rare in the state of Florida,” — Pat Smith, corporate communications director for Visit Florida

In Florida, your chances of becoming shark-bait are very low…

“We basically want to remind people to take safety precautions, but Florida remains a safe and secure destination.” — Smith

…but out in the ocean, you need to be careful.

See how ridiculous things can get after awhile? Pat answers and reassurances don’t soothe any nerves when they are in conflict with each other. All of these spokespeople have similar goals, but their messaging doesn’t reflect that. I’ll say this… your reputation is at a much greater risk of being damaged by mixed signals than by a Great White.

Dear Mr. Scrushy:

Congratulations on beating the rap in your $2.7-billion accounting fraud trial. That is no mean feat.

However, there are a lot of people who are coming to terms with your acquittal, not ready to attach “innocence” to your name. Just ask Michael Jackson, who beat his charges, but was labelled as a “probable pedophile” by one of the twelve who set him free.

So, here are some things I recommend you do to repair your public image:

1) Be Gracious. Avoid speaking ill of anyone who wished you the worst. Keep the focus on you and your family. And take a vacation.

2) Don’t storm the citadel at HealthSouth. Yes, it’s your baby. Yes, as far as the law is concerned, you’ve been vindicated and have every right to reclaim your office. Don’t. They will make your return ugly. Express your relief that HealthSouth is on better financial footing. You can go home again, but don’t sour your public persona by running back inside today. That would look too greedy.

3) Do not cancel your “Morning Viewpoint” show. Too many people saw this show as a transparent ploy to recast your image. Prove them wrong.

4) Re-invest in the community. Yeah, a lot of organizations were quick to pull your name off those schools and buildings and streets and libraries that carried your name. That’s not what you need to re-approach. Let your next wave of philanthropy be quiet — let word of mouth carry the day. As long as you don’t appear to be “buying” good will, you’ll succeed. You lost a lot of people at once, you need to get them back one at a time.

As I write this, you are already putting some of this advice to use. I heard you say something to the effect of “We give all the glory to God, who gave me and my wife the strength to endure this torture…” It’s not enough to say the right things… you’ve got to live them over time. Just use the same discipline you did in the pre-trial phase.

Just be content to re-cast a new legacy. Leave the old one behind. There was too much baggage there anyway.

Trying to be fair, your pal…

Ike.

(p.s. — some of my friends reading this may have other advice for you too. They’ll add it to the comments section.)