Doctoring the Spin…

What is it with rugby league players, their clubs and the NRL?

Nobody was surprised to hear of yet more pre-season incidents, involving testosterone-charged, drunken football players.

There is such a thing in the commercial world called issues management. Companies employ consultancies like Verve Communications to assess every aspect and practice of their business for potential risks.

Once the risks are identified, senior management figures out what they will do to avoid the risks and, if they can’t avoid them, how they will respond – in detail – if they occur.

Has Manly or the NRL ever heard of issues management? Clearly not, because if they did, some communications manager somewhere would have been smart enough to predict there would be a pre-season incident involving a badly behaved drunken player.

It is not that hard really. You would assume that someone at Manly, knowing they would be holding a launch function, would have been smart enough to assess what could go wrong, consider the likelihood and potential of an issue occurring and taking steps to eliminate this risk.

On a macro level, wouldn’t you think the NRL would demand the clubs have an issues management plan before they handed over funding?

And wouldn’t you think that part of the issues management plan would be a detailed scenario about what clubs should do to prevent players becoming unacceptably drunk?

Regardless of what Brett Stewart did or didn’t do – a matter now before the courts – after the event, what is quite clear is that Club management, Club board members, players and presumably Manly’s media manager were all at the function.

Didn’t someone at Manly have the commonsense to think through how they would handle excess alcohol consumption by players? Wasn’t someone in the Club management smart enough to work out the potential for trouble?

When are the NRL and the Clubs going to treat players like they should be treated – senior employees with a code of behaviour?

Can you think of any company that would condone their employees attending a function with clients – in this case sponsors – and behaving in such a manner?

So why on earth is it any different for rugby league players when they are “at work”?

There is a huge media opportunity here if only one Club would have the balls to do it.

The first Club that introduces a zero tolerance policy and bans alcohol during the rugby league season will get more positive media attention, more sponsors and more community support for the right reasons than the NRL has had for years.

And the rest of them should spend a half-day working out an issues management plan!

Bill Gates once said “if I was down to my last dollar, I’d spend it on public relations”. Such a statement, particularly from an entrepreneur so renowned in the business arena, is no doubt a sparkling endorsement for the industry.

Of course, while it may be easy for the world’s third richest man to comment about cash, it is no doubt quite a different story for typical business owners, who are, quite literally, shaking their pockets for spare change.

From David Jones to FedEx and Coca-Cola, there is a growing trend for companies to slash their marketing budgets in response to a fledgling economy. To mathematicians and money-grabbers, such a move may be the obvious knee-jerk reaction. Regardless, what is not often recognised here is the fact that, while such actions may cause a short-term spike in savings, the long-term impacts are typically damaging to a company’s name, profits, reputation and voice – four factors that are essential to customer loyalty and business success.

While ‘easily’ deleted from a business owner’s expenditure sheet, a cut in the PR budget will all too often result in a “baffling” business activity decline. It is only then that the inevitable questions recur – how could cutbacks in a mere creative industry have such a great impact on dollars and cents? Isn’t public relations simply an additional extra, a mere supplement to advertising strategies?

Not so.

Far from the reality, such perceptions fail to recognise the hidden values and flow on benefits of a PR strategy. They are all-too-often part of a tradition that lumps advertising and public relations into a single category, viewing the latter as an optional addendum to the more essential ‘key target’ marketing campaign.

While not uncommon, such a perspective seems absurd when considering the essential difference between these two business concerns – money. While advertising is based on the dollars and cents paid for media coverage, public relations is all about getting more for less – an expensive first class ride versus a free-ticket.

In a stable economic climate, PR and advertising tend to go hand in hand, combining forces to create a marketing dynamo for any big brand. Of course, the current global market can hardly be described as ‘stable’. In such an environment, monetary considerations no doubt gain increasing importance as budget belts are continually tightened. To combat increasing costs, big businesses are forced to weigh up benefits of pumping further funds into advertising, or focusing their energies on a cost-effective PR strategy for a widespread branding boom.

Such considerations lead to the inevitable questions: which of the two strategies will have the greatest impact on consumers? Which will be the most effective in terms of increased sales, balance sheets and profits? To put it simply, which is ‘better’ for business?

Despite often being neglected by company economists and bean counters, such queries are relatively simple to answer.

Unlike direct advertising, public relations tends to be based on a multi-faceted campaign rather than a single strategy. Being publicised by a number of media and new-media outlets,  a public relations tool like a press release has the ability to impact on a significantly greater range of potential customers and other stakeholders.

In other words, they give struggling businesses the chance to achieve a higher value and greater return for a minimum spend.

Perhaps even more importantly, while advertising often produces a hint of scepticism, PR placements tend to be marked with a stamp of ‘newsworthy’ approval and credibility.

In this respect, the Achilles Heel of advertising is its self-serving nature. It is hardly likely that the comments an individual makes about themselves will be unquestionably accepted by a discerning audience. We have far too much experience for that. We cast our minds back to 1995 when John Howard stated “no, there’s no way that a GST will ever be part of our policy”, or remember the days when Bill Clinton assured the world that “I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky”. In the same way, what a company says about itself via advertising strategies tends to lack authority in the minds of readers.

Public relations is a different story. With its reliance on the opinion of editors and journalists for coverage, it maintains a degree of credibility that arises from third-party approval. Brands are, after all, primarily based on goodwill, with a loyal customer base stemming from what people are saying about business rather than what business may say about themselves. Such an effect gains increasing importance in an unstable market, where consumers are growing saving savvy and companies are battling it out to remain in the game. In this environment, advertising alone simply won’t cut it.

At the end of the day, in a climate marked by bankruptcies and retrenchments, firings and failures, public relations should by no means be considered dispensable. Quite the opposite. Perhaps more than ever, now is the time to take the advice of Bill Gates and not let public relations become another casualty of a currency crisis.

Nathan Rees has a problem…and it is not just that NSW is in the financial doldrums and his Government has a huge credibility problem.

He is looking more and more frazzled, sounding more and more stressed, and appearing to be totally overwhelmed by the enormity of the challenges he faces and his position as the State’s top politician.

Lesson number one in media relations, Mr Rees. No matter how you are coping personally, the people of NSW want to feel as if you are in control.

When you accepted the poisoned chalice as NSW Premier in September, you made the rounds of the media with your shoulders back and determination to address the challenge before you.

NSW breathed a sigh of relief – ex-garbo, straight-talker, solid, strong. These were the impressions we were left with.

Ten weeks is a long time in politics and Mr Rees is showing the strain.

His delivery and explanation of this week’s mini-budget were defensive, his tone of voice was aggressive and he looked like he needed a Bex, a cuppa and a good lie down.

His commitment to the credibility of the mini-budget sounded lukewarm and he did a very poor job of convincing NSW that this onerous list of budget cuts was in their best interests.

Love him or hate him, John Howard always managed to look like he was in control. Even when he was under siege, he kept his cool, watched the tone of his voice, and gave the perfect delivery of key messages.

He could ooze sincere concern at the same time as he gave his audience the impression he was managing whatever crisis was on his doorstep.

Kevin Rudd is another consummate media performer…always immaculately dressed, not a hair out of place, speaks slowly and succinctly and keeps his body language relaxed.

Not that the Prime Minister has really come under heavy media fire yet but you get the feeling he would handle it with aplomb.

Contrast these images to Nathan Rees this week. He looks tired, drawn, harried, defensive…slightly hysterical. Not a good look.

Mr Rees could do with a few basic tips in media training so Doctoring the Spin will give him a couple at no cost to the State.

Breathe…Mr Rees…breathe. Before you front the media, take two minutes to deep breathe. Shut your eyes and focus on your breath. This does several things immediately. It relaxes your face, it re-pitches the tone of your voice, it slows you down a fraction so you appear relaxed and in control.

Slow down the delivery of your key messages. When you are under pressure, your voice speeds up and the pitch gets higher. Make a deliberate effort to talk at a slower pace…this will automatically keep the pitch of your voice under control.

Think about what you are wearing. You tend to favour brown hues. There is nothing more convincing than a navy blue, perfectly cut and fitted suit, crisp white shirt and contrasting tie. You are, after all, trying to convince the constituents of NSW that you know what is best for them so you need to look the part.

Cold tea bags, Mr Rees. Women have been using them for centuries to reduce the bags under their eyes. Try it before you front the media along with eye drops to reduce the exhausted, blood shot look.

Yes, you do have a very difficult task before you but at least try and pretend you have a handle on it. Take a look at your media presence 10 weeks ago and look at your performance this week.

You look like a different person!

By Louise Di Francesco, Director, Verve Communications

The birth of blogging is a God-send for opinionated people like Prue MacSween and me. As many people have found out over the years, ask us for our opinion and you will get it.

Prue can regularly be heard expressing her opinion – on 2UE, on Channel Seven’s Weekend Sunrise, as a guest on Channel Nine’s A Current Affair, Channel Seven’s Today Tonight and on Sky News.

Now we have our own blog, we will be expressing our opinion on the state of just about anything.

We often comment on PR blunders…and there seem to be more and more every day. From politicians to prominent business executives to celebrities…who is advising these people, we wonder?

Take a recent case, the messiest news story to hit our airwaves this year - the Coogee Bay Hotel poo scandal.
Ninemsn Video - Ice cream sample tests positive for poo

Sydney’s Sunday morning papers were in a lather about a family who had allegedly received human faeces in their complimentary dessert at the beachside hotel in the Eastern Suburbs on NRL Grand Final day.

Sunday night’s television news had the Coogee Hotel’s General Manager, Tony Williams, fronting a news conference where he read from a prepared statement.

Regardless of who is at fault here – and that may never be established – Mr Williams made absolutely no effort whatsoever to present a sympathetic, concerned approach to the issue.

He strode aggressively to the front, dressed in trousers and a jacket, stony-faced and clearly “not happy, Jan”.

His demeanour shrieked belligerent anger, his manner suggested the beleaguered couple were shonky at best and con artists at worst and the statement was brief and harsh.

Wrong, wrong and wrong again.

The only thing the Coogee Bay Hotel got right was to front the media; it went downhill from there.

The impression they should have worked hard to manufacture (manufacture is the right word as they are clearly disputing the facts) should have been sympathetic, concerned, disbelieving and horrified. They could have done all of this without compromising their legal position.

A bit of sincere reassurance to regular customers wouldn’t have gone astray either.

They would have been far better off having a woman fronting the media – a woman can often display a much more sympathetic approach than a man – and a concerned, caring Coogee Bay Hotel management would have scored kudos.

If Mr Williams was the only choice as media spokesperson, he could have dressed in a polo shirt and trousers – a much more relaxed look (it was a beachside media call on a Sunday, after all) and taken a few deep breaths and a different attitude.

In subsequent radio interviews on the following day, the messaging was not much better.

Okay, everyone understands the very difficult situation that has arisen, but there won’t be a diner in Sydney who wouldn’t think twice about complaining if their Coogee Bay Hotel experience was less than fabulous.

The whole fiasco could have been managed much better and there are lessons to be learnt.

In a crisis situation, whether you are right or wrong, you should always present a calm, concerned and caring image to the outside world.

The anger, aggression and angst should stay behind closed doors.