01.16
Every industry has its bad apples, the ones who just give the whole profession a black eye. Public relations, for some reason, seems to have more than it’s share. But there is a big difference between unscrupulous villians and simple bad judgement. The recent blunder by Rolex’s PR practitioners is not the former, but the latter.
Fortunately, the PR community has policed itself well on this one. Here’s one example.
While I’m incredulous at the thought of my comrades in arms hatching this as a way to leverage a news story into a PR opportunity, I do understand the drive to take advantage of any opening.
PR is most effective when it is an ongoing stream of messaging. We preach this concept to every client and prospect. In this regard it’s just like advertising. Watch any football recently? How many times does the same Ford truck ad come on during those three hours?
Similarly, PR requires continuous messaging. Finding opportunities that fit your client and match with their message is what PR people get paid to do. So I do understand, on a conceptual level, why the Rolex team examined the opportunity. What no one in this business quite gets (including me) is how the evaluation and judgment meter went so far awry.
One of the most important assets we bring to our clients is sound judgment. Our professional worth is based entirely on our ability to deliver sound advice so that we never hurt our clients. Unfortunately for Rolex, this PR gaffe is a serious wound to their credibility. This blunder is breaking one of the PR 10 Commandments.
Yes, the Rolex team should apologize to their peers and Mr. Wilson. Censure? Maybe. Recalibrate their judgment criteria? Absolutely.
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About the author:
Brian Courtney is a Sr. Social Media & PR executive, bringing Schubert more than 15 years of corporate PR and editorial experience. Brian enjoys traveling to exotic locations, creative writing and spending time with his family.
While continuous messaging is an important element of PR, tagging one’s brand to every breaking news story goes beyond bad judgment. It’s unprofessional. PR practitioners should understand the news medium intimately, and show respect for our colleagues on the other side of the desk. Frivolous news releases make the entire profession look bad. This particular release went far beyond tying a brand to an opportunity…trying to justify it in anyway is simply ridiculous.
I completely agree. I wasn’t trying to justify or minimize the egregious nature of their blunder at all. I hope that was clear. I spent seven years as an editor for consumer publications, so I understand better than most PR pros exactly how bad a problem frivolous releases really are.
Evaluating every opportunity for your client must take place in context. That context is full knowledge of the markets and mediums with which you are working. That’s the only way practitioners can deliver their clients the sound judgment that the Rolex team was so clearly lacking.
I look at PR counseling much in the way that artists view painting: the quality of the work is as much about what you choose to leave out as what you choose to put in.