Brand PR, Blunders and Handling Bad News

by Michael Fineman
from Inside the Minds: Public Relations Best Practices

My Emphases
The practice of public relations is often misunderstood and under-appreciated. Public Relations is critically important to any organization’s success, whether it is for marketing purposes or for maintaining a responsible reputation. Unfortunately, public relations is often dismissed as just the dissemination of news releases, the communications of fluff or spin, or it is confused with advertising and sales promotions. Additionally, many executives fail to understand and recognize how their actions and reactions may be fully perceived by their various audiences.

To help communicate the need for good public relations, I have tried to bring attention to the practice of public relations in words and ways that others will better understand. As an example, I coined the term “Brand PR” in the mid- ‘nineties for marketers familiar with the notion of branding. In another example, we provide a lesson each year for the general public on “PR Blunders,” a reverse definition that graphically, often humorously, illustrates what good PR is not. Finally, we help define good public relations by example in our, often, high profile crisis communications practice. In this practice, we strive to create positive case examples for organizations on how to communicate when there’s trouble and when the whole world may be watching.