Biggest PR Blunders

6

Chris Christie Beached

6

The Mistake:Even if you sense your career is over, don’t rub it in

your voters’ faces by sunbathing on the same public beaches you just closed over a budget debate

The Cure:Humility

The Result:Public scorn, target of late night jokes

and unflattering memes

6

5

Fox News & the Wrath of Angie’s

List

5

The Mistake:Remaining an advertiser of a program –Fox’s “The O’Reilly Factor” – when others

are bailing amid sexual harassment allegations against the host

The Result:Your customers attack on social media –

causing you to, first, take a dubious public stance and, finally,

cave in 5

The Cure:Always remember your clientele (in this

case, all 60,000 of them)

5

4

Pepsi Ad Rattles Black Lives Matter

4

The Mistake:Appearing to trivialize the

Black Lives Matter movement by having Kendall Jenner hand a (fake) cop a soda

during a (fake) protest

The Result:A “devastated” model,

widespread ridicule and real protests force Pepsi to

pull the ad

4

The Cure:Vet your advertising like you would

any external communication. Somebody should have said, “This might alienate people.

Back to the drawing board.”

4

3

Trump Jr.’s Evolving Explanation on Meeting with the Russian(s)

3

The Mistake:First, not telling anyone about the meeting.

Second, saying it was about Russian adoptions. Third, admitting it might have

been about getting dirt on Hillary. Fourth, releasing emails that show

it was always about the dirt. Fifth, there were how many

Russians in the room?

3

The Result:24/7 coverage about

the changing story, the players, the legal

ramifications for Don Jr. and bro-in-law Jared (he was there, too)

3

The Cure:Get your story straight BEFORE

issuing statements to the media; and once you start commenting, go ahead and fill in the rest of the blanks that will

inevitably be filled by reporters. Get it all out at once!

5

2

Riding Out the

Uber Storm

2

The Mistake:Sexual harassment and discrimination allegations. The

boss gets into a spat with an employee (that goes viral). Oh, and there’s that thing about surge pricing

The Result:Consumers take to social media

to vent, shareholders revolt,the Board of Directors

gets involved,the CEO is forced

to resign

2

The Cure:Humility (again)

Someone needs to keep the founder in line . . . and on message

Chaos in your corporate culture breeds bad PR

2

1

The Angry Skies of United

1

The Mistake:Compounding the

mistake of overbooking flights by violently

dragging a customer off a

plane, or threatening to handcuff them

1

The Result:Start with a social media beat-down

fueled by a viral video, a poorly thought out statement from the CEO blaming the victim, a revised statement and apology,

culminating in a healthy payout to the aggrieved customer

1

The Cure:1. Sensitivity training for all

consumer-facing employees2. Common sense

3. Don’t treat customers like cattle4. Don’t respond until

you have the facts 1

See You Again After Q3!