The crisis of Carnival’s “Splendor” cruise ship was apparently a malfunction that resulted in 3,300 people stuck for 72 hours with limited food, challenging hygienic conditions, and without electricity. It was no one’s fault, yet surely constitutes a Public Relations crisis for Carnival Cruise Lines. I stand up and say hats off to Carnival for how they handled the PR surrounding the crisis.

Despite countless negative headlines, it is necessary to remember that there is no amount of publicity or spin which can make a situation like this even remotely positive. Sometimes, the goal is simply to minimize the negative and, all in all, I think Carnival handled the issues fairly well – offering full refunds along with a 25 percent discount on a future cruise to a lighthearted blog post from the Senior Cruise Director: http://johnhealdsblog.com/2010/11/10/here-i-am-2.

The piece spoke not of smelling of roses, but smelling “like Paris on a hot summer’s day …that’s Paris the city not Paris the …person.” He continued with “continuous announcements from the bridge.”

It was simply an awful situation, but I strongly commend them for telling the truth and communicating via a press release and an apology from Carnival Cruise Lines’ CEO. He spoke of the challenges on the cruise ship, which are unlike any others his company has faced in its 35-year history, and made the difficult statement, “we are very, very sorry for the discomfort and the inconvenience that our guests have had to deal with in the past several days.”

These are very hard things to own up to and many other brands would have blamed someone else, ignored the problems, or simply taken way too long to communicate (remember how long it took Jet Blue in a much easier situation ?). I commend them for their transparent and rapid-response.   If I was a passenger, there would have been nothing anyone could have told me to make me understand or even tolerate the experience.

The situation will continue with a few days of negative stories from passengers on the boat, and Carnival will continue to need to address the many questions which exist. All in all, crisis is never good, but I think Carnival should be held up as an example of how to handle crisis PR.

In recent weeks there has been a multitude of PR firm acquisitions by multinational Public Relations conglomerates.  This excitement and investment stems from the continued PR growth opportunities that exist, largely, due to increased demand of services by businesses across all nations.

While the airline industry is also seeing intense mergers & acquisitions, I believe PR acquisitions and growth is a nod to our gearing up for a time of intense growth. The PR field is an intense period of reinvention, adapting new and advanced media, and most of all, offering a large return on investment. Part of the breakthrough came through the economic downturn. As social media expands and opens the media world and as the advertising industry changes, intense PR and marketing campaigns are showing a real ROI. 

PR brings a mature approach to strategic planning and management; be it reputation management, brand, media or crisis management. It provides a devoted attitude to research-based practices, allows for accurate evaluation and success measurement tools, and represents the use of social and online media for marketing and positioning goals. As an example, the social media management arena is now handled by PR agencies.

Some tips when utilizing PR to grow your entrepreneurial venture:

Free Media: Breaking the myth about how news is made is a personal favorite. The right PR agency will have proper media relations skills. Knowing the in and outs of media and having relationships with journalists of all kinds is a necessity.

Strategic Planning:  Utilize the right PR firm that asks strategic questions:  Who are your audiences? Are there new publics and markets that haven’t been tapped and how can we reach them through PR? But, don’t let them fool you into a big, fancy consulting agreement which takes months to provide results.

The Message: PR can craft the comprehensive message that covers multiple aspects of your business. Through PR the “what I stand for” gets a practical role.

Evaluation: The most neglected stage in many marketing and advertising campaigns is a component that no PR campaign can be considered complete without. “Is this working for us?” is a question that you can get a good and visual answer for. PR has matured much since the days it used to measure success by mere number of media placements and clippings. Goals and objectives today are much more advanced and are based on its core strategic competencies. These include change in public behavior, predispositions, reputation and market position. Yes, it’s nice to get many media placements, but has all this activity contributed to the ultimate goal of improving your reputation for something?

Costs: In a nutshell – not what you thought.  PR today attracts more small businesses and individuals due to the fact that for every dollar you inject into your campaigns your return is guaranteed to exceed your expectations.

We are blessed to be in the center of a flourishing industry and one that only gains more momentum every day. Although PR crises this year have put the limelight on our actions, you will find Public Relations growing in the routine work, as well. The process of becoming one of the strongest industries within the media & communications field has reached a milestone now that the playing field was “cleared” and cleaned by recent mergers.

As Published Today In Chain Store Age at:

http://www.chainstoreage.com/GuestCommentaries_Archive.aspx?id=155395

New media lessons from the Gap logo fiasco

The Gap recently learned the painful lesson of today’s new media world: It is fast and furious. Following consumer outcry in social media channels, the brand reversed its proposed logo change. Many questions arise from this: Did this $3 billion dollar corporation spend the same time on their brand as they would changing a supply chain element? Did the corporation review and test the logo enough to not change it back simply on a whim? Many unanswered questions will harm the brand, regardless of their move back to the original logo.

One wonders, did Gap underestimate the immediacy of social media impact, and fail to understand that today, everyone has a voice, and everyone is counted. Today’s media tools mean brands must become accustomed to a rolling press conference, and just as they need to manage reporters, so too must they manage online social media elements. The days of breaking an exclusive with one outlet are well behind us.

Social media today is open forum for questions to be asked, and issues to be raised, and clearly speaking, they did. Did the ad executives (both on the agency and in-house side) speak to any actual consumers? People will always comment on the new and Gap should have recognized and proactively managed that process online. Will retailer now go in and comment on every single criticism of blog posts that exists?

In a brand’s shelf life, it is vital to make milestone “stops” along the path and consider strategies, requiring budget, effort and C-suite attention. Such milestones should include periodic research efforts, focus groups, Q-sort research, case studies and surveys — diverse manners to analyze and evaluate campaigns and PR plans. The input you receive through these initiatives is invaluable and can sometimes set the divide between a successful campaign and total failure. Social media today is vital for brands to interact with consumers and to listen to consumers.

Brands today with the proper tools in place have even figured out how to generate sales from social media. But one wonders, without tools in place, do brands such as the Gap even know if it’s their consumer they are talking to online?

Perhaps the lesson can be that Gap feared its new logo would lead to drastically reduced sales as Tropicana experienced a few years ago, or maybe the lesson is the speed: What took 2 months only a few years ago, takes a week now.

Gap isn’t the first company to deal with the online social media crisis, and they won’t be the last. The question is: Will other brands react, pay more attention, and contribute more time and money to the arena, and not make similar mistakes?

(As Published In The Washington Post at: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/politics/blog-network/2010/10/pr_advice_for_brett_favre.html )

I haven’t spoken to or met Minnesota’s Quarterback Favre, but if he calls, I would tell him he needs to speak up, and damn quickly.  I would remind him that large portions of the Tiger Woods hysteria could have been avoided had Tiger stood up quickly and taken responsibility, which he failed to do until months later. It’s a mistake in PR and crisis communications to keep silent during the heat, and this story will not go away until Favre addresses the issues surrounding his texts to Jenn Sterger.

Having handled many celebrity crises, I would insist on sitting down with him, learning the real story and understanding what really happened. I’ve worked with these situations for a long time and trust me what we read isn’t always the whole truth. I would insist on knowing where his wife stands in the picture, and how he truly personally feels about all the media surrounding this. I have had some celebrities who genuinely do not care, while others are only concerned with what headshot the media is using. We need to understand the touch points for Favre – the person, the father of 2 daughters, the husband, and not just #4 on the football field.

The headlines this week read, “Maybe Brett Favre should have stayed retired”, “A Sad Ending For A Sad Man”, and ask, “Should Wrangler drop Brett Favre?”

The allegations around sexual misconduct required the NFL to consider suspension and run a ‘fast track’ investigation into the matter – another event to which Favre did not respond. But, again, this investigation and its findings are sure to receive ample media attention.  To make matters worse, he’s also distracted on the field.  After apologizing to his team for his missing team practices, he was still completely unfocused and missed several crucial throws, leading to their loss to the NY Jets.

Anyone advising Brett Favre – or any crisis PR agency – needs to be very, very frank.  This incident will not go away and may threaten the Favre legacy.  I guarantee, at this point, a lot more Americans will know his name not from his conduct on the field, but for his texting incidents. Not to mention, no brand will endorse with him in business after he does retire.

Today’s comments from former NBA star and current TV bigmouth Charles Barkley will inflame the situation further, as Barkley tells the world, “Favre has handled himself perfectly.” I would beg to differ, and I would remind Barkley of his infamous comment years ago, “I am not paid to be a role model.”  That’s true, and Favre is yet another athlete reminding America of just how true his words were.

Whether it’s a one-off interview with a friendly Reporter, or a taped interview which he releases on his own, a statement which is forceful and real needs to be made and released.  Is his wife standing next to him?  Is he in jersey or out?  All of these scenarios have to be carefully considered, or this incident shall forever tarnish the Favre legacy, and be the subject of countless late-night skits.

Favre needs to come up with a strategy – whether it’s to focus on field strengths and throws, or to just say it’s a lie.  He needs to tell the truth, for the pictures of the gorgeous Jets cheerleader won’t go away until then. Favre is not the first, nor the last athlete to be accused of making a mistake. However, he’s not accused of murder, like OJ Simpson, or facing jail time. It’s important to remember that America is a forgiving nation (lets hope his wife is also). Brett Favre needs to stand up and say something, or the media’s going to continue speaking for him.

Overseas Filipino workers, the Maguindanao massacre, the Abu Sayyaf, and the Spratly Islands – surely not mainstream issues or topics that are seen in the media here in the U.S. regularly. However, thanks to the hard work of a Public Relations agency (not 5WPR), The New York Times, Bloomberg News, Reuters and others interviewed visiting dignitaries from the Philippines this week regarding the topics above.

Despite the firm’s success, the hiring of a NYC PR firm was a scandalous front page story in Manila, with headlines blaring: “Palace admits hiring US PR firm.” Outrage is now abound in Manila; hiring a Public Relations agency to assist in building support within the US?

On the front pages of Manila media, you can read of the administration defending the $15,000 PR budget at:

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/201737/15000-pr-budget-a-necessary-expense-rp-officials

As the President of the Philippines explained, the U.S. visit will likely “generate tens of thousands of jobs for Filipinos.” Upon arrival, he interviewed with six of The New York Times newspaper’s staff. Later media reports spoke of interviews with Bloomberg News and Reuters.

We work extensively in International Public Relations for dignitaries visiting the U.S., and I would imagine this campaign involved wining and dining along with tons of calls and follow-ups to arrange the NY Times, Reuters, and Bloomberg interviews. Not to mention researching the background of the Reporters doing the interviews, providing talking points and escorts to the interviews, and dozens and dozens of hours.

In my eyes, the scandal is the absurdly low fee which this firm earned – one, that in many other professional service industries, would cost at least 10 to 20 times more. Advertising campaigns, which few people see, don’t require hand holding, attention, or hours of work – which are all things built into a PR firm’s fee.

Its high time that Public Relations is afforded more respect. In a case like the one above, jobs will be created, international favor won, and attention earned. Of course, there is an obvious positive effect at home in the Philippines, as well.

As CEO of 1 of the 15 largest privately held PR firms in the US, I spend a lot of time managing crisis communications & crisis PR projects. It’s hard, time consuming work that reaps results. The above low fee crisis is one which is absurd and, to be honest, is unsettling.

The bottom line: be fair and give credit and reward where they are due. Why does PR consistently receive the short end of the totem pole ?

Ronn Torossian

5WPR