In the last week, several Publicity Hounds have asked my opinion on news releases or other tips they want to issue to piggyback off Hurricane Katrina.
In at least two instances, the tips were inappropriate and invited criticism.
Regardless of how well-meaning your intentions, it’s important that you understand the difference between acceptable publicity and that which makes a Publicity Hound look either ignorant, insensitive or greedy.
Here are several examples of inappropriate publicity:
—Tips on how hurricane victims can keep their spirits up, or relieve stress, or any other self-help tips for survivors. These might be appropriate in a few weeks or months, but certainly not now, while many survivors are still dealing with the shock of having lost everything.
—Finger-pointers, particularly those far-removed from the hurricane, who issue news releases that try to lay blame on any one person, agency, or group, just to get their name in print or further their own cause or issue. As a recent Wall Street Journal explained, experts already have identified a long chain of weak links, from a total breakdown of communications systems and a failure to plan for the possibility that New Orleans’ levee system would fail, to a military stretched thin by wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
—“Buy from me and I’ll contribute” marketing messages from companies large and small. Even though you mean well, some of these offers smack of greed.
—Publicity Hounds who grandstand by berating other businesses that take a “business as usual” attitude, while the rescue effort is still under way. Some people believe everything should come to a grinding halt as long as a bad news story is unfolding.
Examples of appropriate publicity include:
—A company that offers its experts to comment on public policy issues, from the challenges of rebuilding a city below sea level to what the U.S. needs to do to be better prepared for natural disasters.
—Experts who offer predictions of what the impact of the hurricane will mean on specific industries such as insurance, engineering, building, architecture, etc.; on the stock market; and on the economy in general.
—A minister who explains how to form a prayer circle to pray for those who have died in the hurricane, or survived it.
—Almost anything that tells people what they can do to help the rescue effort.
—Creative or unusual fund-raising campaigns. Everywhere you look, somebody is asking for contributions for hurricane victims. So don’t expect routine contributions to make the news.
—Announcements of what your company or organization is doing to help hurricane survivors, including donations of food, supplies and labor. Local newspapers and TV stations are devoting a lot of time to these kinds of “local angle” stories.
—Tips on how to ensure that your money is donated to the right agency so it isn’t pocketed by thieves hoping to get rich quick from this disaster.
—What your company is doing, or not doing, to contend with high gasoline prices. But please, no whining. People who are shown on TV complaining about high gasoline prices, just minutes after we’ve seen film footage of those dead and dying as a result of the hurricane, sound petty.
—Opinions (but no finger-pointing) from people outside the U.S.
When in doubt, err on the side of good taste.