Tesco and the PR handler’s worst nightmare…

The recent problems at Tesco reminded me that if there’s one thing a journalist hates more than not getting the story, it’s not getting the story when others have got the story. So when you have a big announcement, beware the risk of giving an exclusive – it means you can automatically turn rival media into your enemies. This principle particularly applies to the fiercely-competitive broadcast media, when a decision is taken to ration the boss’s time and give just one or two TV interviews – say to the BBC and one other – turning others down. It may seem the logical thing to do – after all the CEO has many other calls on his time, and broadcasters are used to their interview bids turned down on a daily basis – it’s a standard thing. However in reputational terms it is now more important than ever to avoid appearing to be defensive, and unwilling to answer legitimate questions. This is particularly true now, when social media and on-line video channels make it very easy for correspondents to lift the veil on the kind of horse-trading over ‘who will give what interview to whom’ which the public normally never sees. A classic example was the supermarket chain’s press conference to announce its half-year results and the departure of its chairman Sir Richard Broadbent, after poor trading figures and a scandal over mis-stated profits. Channel Four’s economics correspondent Paul Mason, never known as the shy and retiring type, ‘monstered’ the company’s press minder on-camera until he got what he wanted – and put the results on the Channel Four News website. It’s every PR man or woman’s worst nightmare.
The value of a good reputation to a big company is becoming increasingly well-understood – recent research from the PRCA suggests 76% of PR and communications professionals believe board directors see strong link between reputation and company financial performance. At the same time both traditional and Social media are increasingly quick to judge, and not always fairly. So it is more important than ever not just to be open, but to be seen to be open – to all.