Thorough Research Can Lead to a Public Relations Coup

Several years ago when I was covering the dot-com bubble, a German magazine featured me in a story. “The Harbinger of Death,” the writer called me, noting that if I wrote about a company there was a good chance that said company was on its way to the grave. “The Harbinger of Death” is back, but these days I’m an analyst, studying corporate executives who disastrously borrowed money against the stock they own in their company. (Read more…)

Public Relations Tips: Protecting Your Brand and Working with Investor Relations

Part of protecting your company’s brand is ferreting out which public relations opportunities are being presented by questionable companies. Recently, I turned down the opportunity for one of our company analysts to give an interview to MN1.com, an online video company that covers the stock market. By weighing, and rejecting, this opportunity for seemingly easy publicity, I saved our company from a public relations nightmare. (Read more…)

How to Avoid the TV Talk Show Bait

In the world of modern TV talk shows, civility is a forgotten art. The term “talk show” is probably not even apt; these shows are basically televised confrontations. It’s odd how many talk show guests still expect to be treated with a certain sense of decorum. That’s why PR firms should be wary about booking clients for talk show appearances; seated in front of a combative host, what you thought would be an opportunity for easy publicity can quickly turn into a public relations nightmare. (Read more…)

Poor Customer Service Can Lead to PR Headaches

A wave of relief washed over me after I called the customer service line of Dow Jones. After three months of paying for a subscription, I had only received two issues of the weekly publication to which I had subscribed. The customer service agent at Dow Jones was courteous, changing the delivery method and extending my subscription for three months, free of charge. This kind of excellent customer service is rare, which is surprising considering that customer service experiences are directly related to how the public views a company. Poor customer service can quickly snowball into a public relations nightmare, as evidenced by the snafus of two large corporations. (Read more…)

Good Intentions Turn Into Bad Public Relations

It was just a simple contest. For Toys “R” Us, Inc., however, it turned into a public relations nightmare.

The toy retailer started off 2007 in ugly fashion after a contest to award the first baby born in 2007 a $25,000 United States savings bond went awry amid charges of xenophobia and racism. The company smartly did an about-face, but will consumers be forgiving? (Read more…)

Saying I’m Sorry Is Never Easy, But Just Say It Once

Poor Trent Lott. The Mississippi Senator and the incoming Senate’s Republican leader is in the middle of a public relations nightmare. The Magnolia State’s most important political leader in decades is apologizing left and right and supporters, if he has any left, are keeping quiet. There is a lesson to be learned here. (Read more…)