As PR professionals, hearing about a media crisis generates great deal of conversation in the office; heated debates of how we would help a client bounce back. Below you will find our solutions for the Biebs!

(Image Source)

1. Apologize and seek self-help

Bieber has obviously upset a lot of people as a result of his behavior. It is time to apologize and work on being a better role model. We think a short direct statement, no longer than five sentences, should be released indicating that he is sorry for his recent actions and he plans on seeking help. This would show a level of maturity and poise from the superstar that would help to quiet the critics.

2. Get out of the pubic eye

The public has seen a lot of Justin Bieber lately and very few of the reasons for this have been positive. We would advise the Biebs to try his best to disengage with the media for a while. Get off social media (it seems to only make matters worse), diminish public appearances  and  lay low for a while. Make the public aware of the time you are taking to better yourself.

3. Get the Help

Bieber’s career can be far from over, but in order to sustain himself he needs to get things together. Whether there are behavioral issues, drug issues or something else going on with the young pop star, his talent and showmanship is undeniable. It is one thing to say you are working to better yourself and it’s another to put the time and effort in. If Bieber does the work, great results can be achieved.

Known for his work with charities, going the extra mile for fans and winning the hearts of boys and girls worldwide, the majority of Justin Bieber’s career has been positive. We know Bieber can bounce back from his indiscretions if he plays his cards right. Bieber should seek whatever help and guidance needed to make good, positive decisions in his personal and professional life. 2014 has not seen the end of Biebs, we just hope he can turn it around soon!

This past month has been a tough one for clothing company, Abercrombie & Fitch. It’s definitely been a lesson in tough love after comments CEO Mike Jefferies made back in 2006 came to light thanks to a book co-authored by Robin Lewis that exposes the inner workings of the retail industry. All the comments made by Jefferies in the interview concerning his company were pretty jarring, including the stipulation that his company sell nothing larger than a woman’s size large for shirts and a size 10 in pants. In that interview with Salon magazine back in 2006 Jefferies had this to say,

“In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids. Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely… we want to market to cool, good-looking people. We don’t market to anyone other than that.”

Now the problem here isn’t that A&F choses to only cater a specific body type/type of person, that’s the whole point of segmenting and targeting a market, you cannot possibly appeal to everyone. The problem plaguing Mike Jefferies is that he is speaking about it publicly and alienating a good portion of the population in the process. People use a variety of factors when deciding what brand to purchase and a person’s morals and ethics often play a role in their buying decisions. Which begs the question, why would a consumer make the conscious decision to purchase items from a brand that is openly feeding into society’s obsession with the ‘supermodel image’ and fanning the flames of teenage girls’ body issues?

On that issue, Ellen probably says it best:

After these comments started making the rounds a few weeks ago many different groups, from body image activists, to parent and consumer groups, even groups of teenagers and young adults came out against A&F staging protests and starting online petitions. A Change.org petition garnered 70,000+ signatures quickly, each standing up against the elitist nature of the clothing company. Benjamin O’Keefe, who started the petition, had a chance to meet with the team at Abercrombie & Fitch and tell his story of eating disorders, body image issues and suicidal thoughts. Speaking to Huffington Post Live yesterday, O’Keefe announced that A&F was working toward announcing changes to their brand. While this news is great to hear, has the damage already been done? Or can the brand image be saved?

From a financial perspective, the company has been taking a hit this year already. Before any of these comments hit the mainstream media sales in the first quarter of 2013 were down 17%. Consequently, the announcement of the sales slump led to a 10% drop in stock prices. Now Mike Jefferies contributes these sales drops to shortages in supply and outside influences, which very well may be the case, but let’s wait and see what becomes of the company’s second quarter numbers. As Robin Roberts of Good Morning America stated, “The consumers have the power to vote with their dollars.” Let’s see what the consumers will do with them.

As for apologizing, the company has issued 2 apologies since Mike Jefferies’ comments were made public. The first from Jefferies himself that stated that his comments (which are 7 years old remember) were ‘taken out of context’ and he’s sorry that people interpreted them the way they did.  The second was made by a company spokesperson after they met with Benjamin O’Keefe and the members of a group that protested Abercrombie in Chicago. Thankfully this one seemed to show more understanding reading,

“We look forward to continuing this dialogue and taking concrete steps to demonstrate our commitment to anti-bullying in addition to our ongoing support of diversity and inclusion. We want to reiterate that we sincerely regret and apologize for any offense caused by comments we have made in the past which are contrary to these values.”

What do you make of this whole PR disaster?

Sources

http://globalnews.ca/news/592736/elite-to-elitist-how-the-abercrombie-and-fitch-ceo-may-have-crossed-the-line/ 

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2013/05/abercrombie-apologizes-retailer-meets-with-teens-to-address-controversy/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/31/abercrombie-fitch-female-employees-mens-clothing-kjerstin-gruys_n_3367200.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/04/abercrombie-protesters-brand-attitude_n_3380628.html?ir=Business

With the tag line, “No More Tears” on your products, consumers tend to foster a certain level of customer trust that your products are safe to use on the whole family.  Unfortunately for Johnson & Johnson, one of the leading family care brands in the world, this hasn’t always been the case.

In 2009, the coalition group, Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, conducted a study on a wide array of personal care products and the results were quite shocking; a number of Johnson & Johnson products contained now identified carcinogens such as formaldehyde and 1,4 dioxane. The ‘trick’ of sorts is that these (and other) harmful chemicals weren’t listed on the ingredient labels! Why? Because ‘technically’ they weren’t ingredients, just by-products of the preservatives breaking down as the products aged.

After the discovery, the real work and PR balancing act began for Johnson & Johnson as they strived to reformulate their products while assuring their millions of users that while they’re doing this, their current products are still safe. Susan Nettesheim, VP of product stewardship & toxicology for Johnson & Johonson commented on the situation by saying, “Even though as a scientist I will sit here and tell you these things are perfectly safe,” consumers are worried about reports that call these conclusions into question, “I understand that and we can’t ignore that.”

So the company set to work reformulating their beloved products, some of which have been on the market for 50 years. The first wave of reformulation included all of their baby products and was promised for completion in 2013. The company delivered on their promise and earlier this month were presented with a collection of 30,000 names from consumers giving thanks to the corporation for their efforts in product safety. Johnson & Johnson also launched a new website outlining their commitment to safety.

The next step for Johnson & Johnson is their adult personal care brands including Neutrogena, Aveeno and Clean & Clear. They are striving to remove all triclosan and phthalates from these products by 2015 but will continue using 3 parabens and in exceptional cases, Formaldehyde where there is no other preservative option. From now on though the company has agreed to complete transparency when it comes to product ingredients. Company spokesperson Samantha Lucas stated, “We’re committed to absolute transparency about what’s in the product, and what’s on the label. We’re very involved in the complete supply chain, including holding our suppliers and our raw materials providers to our high standards.”

The efforts of Johnson & Johnson aren’t passing unnoticed by environmental/consumer groups either, Kenneth A. Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group praises the company, “We’ve never really seen a major personal care product company take the kind of move that they’re taking with this… Not really even anything in the ballpark.”

What do you think? Is this a PR win for Johnson & Johnson, or is it too little too late?

Sources:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/16/business/johnson-johnson-to-remove-formaldehyde-from-products.html?_r=3&smid=tw-nytimeshealth&seid=auto&

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=johnson-and-johnson-removes-some-chemicals-from-baby-shampoo-other-products

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=johnson-and-johnson-removes-some-chemicals-from-baby-shampoo-other-products

Nowadays, it seems as though public relations professionals are everywhere. From wine tastings to product launches, they are the ones connecting the dots and making sure goals are met on both sides: the business and the consumer. Here’s why it makes sense to hire a PR professional for your business or personal brand…

Connections
Public relations is all about relationships. Seasoned PR professionals know that it has, and always will be, part of their job to network with media and influencers. Journalists and public relations people, especially in the lifestyle realm, enjoy a reciprocal relationship with one another. They each have something the other wants and needs to effectively to their job. The public relations professional or firm wants coverage for its clients and the media outlet’s life is made easier when an interesting product, business venture or other story is provided to them, with all the information neatly outlined in press releases and fact sheets. Most of the time, PR people and journalists are even friends. Either way, PR people provide access to an outlet that you may not have so easily available at your fingertips.

Ability to Cross-Promote
Public relations people are strategic, with an ear to the ground at all times as to what is going on in your city. This means that they are in-the-know when it comes to opportunities for exposure, whether that means the sponsoring of events, presence at (and access to) gifting suits and ability to cross-promote with other clients or initiatives of people and organizations in their network. For example, if your business is a gourmet catering company set to launch in the city, and your PR firm also represents a popular art gallery that is celebrating its one-year anniversary, your catering provided at the event will now be exposed to all of the media and influencers gathered to celebrate the now thriving gallery’s well-attended event. Similarly, a well-known author could hold a book launch at your new clothing store, drawing journalists and influencers to the store and exposing them to the space.

Writing Capabilities
Public relations professionals are good writers – it is a part of the job requirement. Their talent in the art of writing, and subsequent way with words, can make anything (i.e. you, your business or your product) sound like the best thing the world has ever seen. PR people have a knack for marketing as well, and know how to strategically craft a release to capture the attention of journalists, in everything from the email subject line, title and subtitle of the release. Furthermore, journalists (often bombarded with multiple releases per day) have zero patience for poor grammar, spelling errors or amateur writing. In other words, just because you received an “A” in high school English class, doesn’t mean you are the person best suited to craft promotional material.

Makes Your Life Easier
Public relations people save you time in doing things that may take you a while. They can whip together fact sheets (whereas it may take you days), can access journalists with a quick phone call (when you will likely have to plough through red tape), and have relationships with suppliers like printing houses and graphic designers who may offer discounts. In terms of marketing initiatives, where you and your team may waste countless hours in brainstorm sessions, PR people are able to think creatively and “outside the box” when it comes to both long-term strategies and accompanying tactics. PR people have seen it all and, even if you think you have come up with the best idea to market your business, it may in reality be so three years ago in the PR world.

Damage Control
It is the professional job of PR people to manage the reputations of their clients. A seasoned professional knows that his or her job goes beyond promoting their clients; they need to protect their client’s image as well and have been trained in the art of damage control and how to effectively manage any negativity surrounding your brand. A poor restaurant review can be turned on its head by a stellar media event, a lapse in judgment by a public figure can be mitigated by a strategically crafted statement for the media, and an accident or safety concern in your establishment can be addressed through access your PR people have to the media in addressing the public and assuring them that measures are actively underway to correct the problem or concern.

To see the article in it’s original post on Notable.ca, click here.