3 lessons for PR companies dealing with the Internet
It’s as a favor — both to a friend and a certain PR company — that I point out three things: overt criticism product or service isn’t necessarily the end of the world; the last thing you should do is try to fool your way through; and sometimes it’s ok to say sorry.
An irritated blogger
Jepoy Bengero is an ardent supporter of Star Trek and “P-Pop” boyband 1:43 on the Internet (though he professes apathy regarding the latter). As an active local blogger covering geekery in general, he was invited to a press conference last month. The event was scheduled for 6:00 pm, as confirmed by Mr. Bengero the day before. When he and his companions arrived, however, the venue was full of “hotel staff cleaning the room.”
What happened? The press conference actually started four hours earlier. The PR company managing everything failed to notify Jepoy and company. There were also other attendees who arrived at 7pm, hoping to be fashionably late for what was actually an early afternoon event.
Out of irritation, Jepoy sarcastically published a one-word blog post “reporting” on the event: “null.” The article was followed by a “disclaimer”, which called out the PR company for not telling Jepoy about the last-minute schedule change.
Fake comments revealed
What followed was equal parts hilarity and facepalm-inducing. Someone posted comments on Jepoy’s super-short article, under different names:
Berry Berry - “I got invited too. I just wasnt available on that day so i passed. But my invitation says it's 2pm and i heard nga marami raw hindi nakapunta on time.”
Lenna - “I was supposed to attend here too! Crap missed it :(”
EMOS**T - “Why dont you write them a formal email instead of ranting out here? its useless what your doing. you have no breeding.”
Jepoy looked at the IP address attached to each comment above: all three were the same. All computers connected to the Internet are automatically assigned (in most cases) an IP address, which is a relatively unique ID that tells other computers where to send or receive data from.
With a common IP address, it was clear that the comments by “Berry Berry”, “Lenna”, and “EMOS**T” were written with the same computer — or at least on different computers that share the same internet connection. The closer? All emails that Jepoy had received from the PR company used the same IP address as the fake comments.
Damage control gone wrong
It was thus obvious that someone within the PR company was practicing misguided damage control. Any sort of criticism can be fatal in an industry where impressions are everything. But a “solution” involving deception can end up making the problem worse, especially in situations where simply saying sorry would’ve resolved everything faster. After its fake comments were revealed, a representative from the PR company finally said sorry — after the organization’s reputation took another hit.
Even if an issue reaches the front page of a major newspaper — which enjoys much more exposure than a blog post — it’s not the end of the world. Sometimes a sincere apology is all it takes for forgiveness, both from the aggrieved party and anyone from the public who’s been paying attention.
Of course, there are some media personalities and the general public who consider “sorry” as validation for their entitled worldview. They showcase any apologies received as the spoils of their little word wars, and an affirmation of their “right” to be “disgusted” by the tiniest of issues. Part of the challenge contemporary PR companies face is figuring out who not to deal with, so as to avoid complications down the road.
When faced with an Internet full of opinions on your clients and services, exerting total control over the discussion is nigh impossible. It’s better to participate in the conversation and be transparent. That kind of advice on online PR became cliché a couple of years ago, with good reason.
