I’d love to say that every good media hit is the result of a PR genius, but I can’t. As BP has proven, the type of coverage a company receives or whether its products are revered by consumers is often beyond a publicist’s control.
It all starts with “culture.”
Let’s use baseball as an analogy - some teams have a winning culture and others have a losing one. Down 6-2 in the 9th inning last Sunday but with two men on, you just knew The New York Yankees were coming all the way back to win. And they did. But the Yankee culture doesn’t stop there. SportsCenter immediately followed the game and the first commercial aired featured “good-guy” Derek Jeter in a promo for the acclaimed TV series “Rescue Me".
With JayZ’s “Empire State of Mind” playing in the background, Yankee-Nation and its positive culture was in all its glory.
Conversely, consider the plight of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Already a lifeless laughingstock franchise, team executives recently incited enormous fan outrage after firing their giant Pierogi mascot racer. Why? He posted a critical comment to a friend on Facebook about the team’s umpteenth straight losing season. Last I checked post “Pierogi-Gate,” the Pirates were still losing more games.
Things like that are not coincidental – they reflect a culture.
Were you really shocked that BP’s CEO bolted his Washington, DC grilling for a yacht race the next day in England? Or that BP’s in-house magazine reported the oil spill was a blessing in disguise because Gulf region hotels were suddenly packed with thousands of clean-up workers? Or the infamous Freudian Slip about caring for the “small people”?
The best PR guru in the world couldn’t have saved BP because the company was way too entrenched in a “Culture of Arrogance.” It’s hard to change negative culture overnight. Go ask the Pittsburgh Pirates.
On the other side of the corporate culture universe is Apple. From its savvy, in-control CEO to the endless possibilities, competence and excitement felt when in one of their stores, Apple operates in a culture where it can do no wrong – even if the technology doesn’t work.
When the site to order iPhones crashed, Apple responded with a powerful curve ball and delivered a surprise percentage of phones to consumers a day early. All of a sudden, it was Christmas in June. And after reception problems erupted among new 4G customers and consumed blogs worldwide, it was leaked yesterday that Apple may give Verizon a shot at the iPhone come January. Ouch, AT&T. Coincidence? Those things never are. I think it’s a true stroke of brilliance from a “Culture of Brilliance.”
Ever notice how positive business cultures are copied? It happens all the time in the National Football League to The New England Patriots. Last week, it happened to Apple when Microsoft opened a copycat store right next door in San Diego’s Fashion Valley Mall.
So while a good publicist can be a huge help to your business, my job is a whole lot easier with a great corporate culture behind me.
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