Talespin: Public Relations Disasters - Inside Stories and Lessons Learnt

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Many PR practitioners believe that the obsessive reporting of the concept of ‘spin’ has unfairly tainted the entire PR discipline. But others believe that PR people themselves make the catastrophic errors of judgment that create PR disasters. From the top celebrities who have publicly slated their sponsor’s products to corporate photo-calls that were disasters waiting to happen, Talespin reveals why PR consultants are so often accused of ‘sexing-up’ information. As each tale unfolds and spins out of control, the perpetrators of shoddy PR practice are exposed. Gerry McCusker gives us an amusing, yet shocking, peek behind the scenes of 79 real-life public relations disasters from around the globe. Documenting both the infamous and the unreported PR disasters from the worlds of branding, business, media, music, politics and sport, he asks the question: "How can these catastrophes continue to happen?" While Talespin makes for a compelling and entertaining read, its message is deadly serious: malpractice, misjudgment and the media’s own agenda are the combustibles that combine to cause PR mayhem. Anyone working in the media-related industries will learn unforgettable lessons from these real-life PR horror stories. About The Author Gerry McCusker has over 20 years experience of working at a senior level in the PR and advertising industries. Based in Australia, he now runs his own consultancy, Generation Text, and is a Media Trainer with public speaking consultancy Kissing-with-confidence. His client credentials include: BMW, Dunlop, Espirit/Sprint Telecoms, Gateway Supermarkets, Irn Bru, Malvern Star, MINI, National Australia Bank, Pacific Brands, Repco, Tennent, Caledonian Breweries, Ultra-Fresh, Unisys Computers, Vauxhall Motors and Whyte & Mackay Whiskey. A regular contributor to lifestyle and marketing publications, he also presents at seminars and conferences in Singapore and Australia. Table of Contents A - Ambassadors - Clearly there’s no substitute Announcements - The Information superhighway Astroturfing - PR create smokescreen B - Brands - Cola brands fizzing after allegations Briefings - Master plan Leeds to nowhere Broadcast Media - PR man of letters C - Celebrities Community Relations - Community relations good intentions turned around Contingency Planning - In a frorth over debt collection Crisis Management - Motorists let down by trye fiasco D - Damage Limitation - destabilizing the PR Effort Diplomacy - Love thy Neighbour Direct Mail - Volkswagen Blasted Over Bomb Mailer Disclosure - ’Virus’ catches Consultancy Out E - Endorsement - Radio star makes waves Ethics - The lie of the land Event Management - PROs left feeling sheepish F - Financial PR I - Sharevalue takes a kicking Financial PR 2 - From relations to investor relations G - Goodwill - Trouble brewing Government - Grave error in burying bad news Grassroots Campaigns - Boob job exposed Guerrilla Marketing - Naked ambition H - Healthcare PR I - open doors policy opens wounds Healthcare PR 2 - A bitter pill to swallow Hype - Bottled water launch becomes washout I - Icons - home truths for lifestyle icon Internal Communications - mechanical failure Interviews I - Losing the PR war Interviews II - Dogged by bad publicity Issues Management - Pouring oil on troubled waters J - Journalists I - Registering disdain Journalists II - Investigating journalism Journalists III - Smoke and glass mirrors K - Kobe Bryant L - Launches I - Unsinkable enthusiasm Launches II - Creating media impact Leadership - Conservative Libel - Lawsuit hard to swallow for PR people Lobbying - PR hall of shame M - Mascots - Costume drama Media Lista - List hysteria alert Media Relations I - football guru’s PR own goal Media Relations II - News release hits wrong note Minority Groups - Taking the message to market N - News Management - Courage of convictions Newspapers - Retraction drives newspaper bananas O - Off the Record - All that glitters… Opinion Formers - Image is a bankable asset P - Philanthropy - A good strategic fit Photocalls - Hotel reservations over photo call Political PR - Battle for hearts and minds Promotions - Operating in a PR vacuum Propaganda - Truth is the first casualty of PR war Publicity - Falling fowl of public opinion Public Opinion - The offal truth Q - Quotes R - Radio - promotion leaves station cooling its heels Reputation Management - Even plating field Research - Own goal for football brand Rumour Management - Devil of a stain mars reputation S - Smear Campaigns - Virgin sullied but reputation intact Soundbites - When the chips are down Speeches - CEO caught pie-eyed Spokespeople - Legal eagle sings the blues Sports PR - Kicked into touch Stakeholder Relations - airline grounded over PR response Stunts - Tearing strips off publicity attempt T - Targeting - Scouting for revenue Television - Bogged down Testimonials - Word is our U - Undercover Operations - A royal pardon V - Video News Release - Video killed the media star Viral Marketing - Maize of deception W - World Wide Web I - Kick in the teeth World Wide Web II - Room for improvement X - X X X X Factor - fail is a four-letter word Y- Youth Marketing - Knickers in a twist Z - Zephaniah, Benjamin - Poetic licence Conclusion - What’s making PR such a disaster area?