If you haven’t already seen the endless coverage in your Facebook or Twitter feed, this year’s Miss Universe 2015 ended with an awkward twist as host Steve Harvey announced the wrong winner. As a PR professional, I question if these types of “media mishaps” are in fact such, or if this was a PR stunt to help Miss Universe’s recent decline in ratings and Steve Harvey’s fall from the spotlight. Regardless, we’re addressing 4 things we learned after watching the night unfold in what can only be described as “uncomfortable.”
- Even the most well media-trained professionals make mistakes. You would assume that anyone with as much media experience as Steve Harvey would have prepared for his shining moment on Miss Universe, but the reality is that sometimes human mistakes happen, and live TV is not forgiving. It’s important to be well prepared and invest in media training for situations where live broadcast and interviewing can directly affect your brand image.
- Response to a PR crisis should be human and empathetic to the situation. If I’m evaluating Harvey’s immediate response on live TV when he apologizes and says he’s made a mistake, I think he did a great job, given the situation. It would have been inherently worse to say nothing, and he takes responsibility for a “human mistake” which he says later in the evening. In any situation where a company or brand makes a serious mistake that could cause its fans to question its intentions, it’s important to remember that responses need to be genuine and empathetic. Admitting fault and taking responsibility in this case was definitely the right thing to do.
- Consult a PR professional when addressing the public – especially on social media. Following the awkward crowning (and un-crowning) moment, Steve Harvey took to Twitter to apologize to the fans who were in an uproar over his oversight. His initial tweet, below, makes me cringe as a PR professional, because there’s no way he talked to someone in PR when he wrote this. An emotional Harvey spelled both countries wrong, to which fans got even more upset and fueled further outbursts. If you’re ever in a crisis situation for your brand, it’s so important to reach out to your PR team, or someone who understands how to address a crisis situation. While it’s important to address issues quickly, it’s most important to address them effectively.
(source: Mashable)
- Bad publicity is still publicity. Some of the most outrageous celebrity mishaps have resulted in significant positive exposure for that celebrity. Take John Travolta’s butchering of Idina Menzel’s name at the 2014 Oscars, or Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” at the 2004 Super Bowl, to name a couple. Both of these incidents brought a spotlight to two events that saw lower-than-normal ratings, and with celebrities who needed a boost in exposure. Another example is Jessica Simpson’s famous Chicken of the Sea goof, which put a spotlight on a once forgotten tuna brand. So, the good news is that, if you have a team of people who are able to positively address the issue at hand, your negative PR can lead to significant brand exposure. And significant exposure gives your marketing team an opportunity to divert attention away from the mishap, and into positive brand messaging.
As fresh produce marketers, we may not have to worry about a media mishap of this scale, but it’s still just as important to media train the people within your organization who are speaking on behalf of the brand. A VP who gives false information about a recall in an interview or a Director of Marketing who accidentally says something offensive on a local news station can easily damage a fresh produce brand, given how easy it is to share information via social media.
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