The excitement of seeing your client featured in the media can quickly turn into disappointment when the coverage is critical. Instead of praise, your client becomes the subject of negative press, whether through direct complaints about their products, services, or actions, or unfavourable comparisons with competitors.
When this happens, your client may be understandably upset, feeling unfairly portrayed to a wide audience. Many organisations, especially smaller ones, may not fully understand how PR works and might believe that PR professionals control what is published. To them, not only have you failed to generate positive coverage, but you’ve contributed to negative press.
So, how should you respond when faced with a negative story about your client? Here are eight steps to help guide you:
The golden rule is ‘don’t panic.’ The article has appeared in print and isn’t going anywhere. It is already in the public domain and nothing you do will retract it. Jumping on the phone and sounding off to journalists without a considered response may cause more damage in the long run by affecting your future relationship with them. Online versions can be amended, but you still need to make sure you have your facts straight first.
Firstly, reassess the article. Is it genuinely negative? You might be too firmly entrenched with your client to be able to step back and look at it objectively. Run it by a third party to gauge their opinion. It may be that you are overreacting to the piece by interpreting subtle nuances incorrectly.
After reassessing the article, ask yourself if the journalist is being reasonable. Perhaps they do have a legitimate point, however unpalatable that may be for your client. You may still need to approach the journalist about it, but acknowledging that they are right when you contact them may give you a more sympathetic hearing.
The next step is to talk to the journalist who authored the piece. How you engage with them will depend on your relationship. If it is good, point out your concerns and say that your client would like the opportunity to reply in print. If it is bad…
If the issue is part of an ongoing problem with the journalist, speaking with the publication’s editor might be the best course of action. While not ideal, escalating the matter could be necessary if you believe the journalist is being unfair.
In addition to requesting a right of reply from the journalist or editor, you could also offer them an exclusive on some other aspect of your client’s operations. Talk to your client and see if they might be prepared to extend their budget to cover a meal at a nice restaurant for the journalist. This informal meeting can be the background to a new article and the basis of a more positive relationship moving forward.
As a result of receiving negative PR, your client may demand that the publication in question has no further invitations to their events, access to their activities or receive any more of their press releases. You will need to manage this carefully by explaining to the client that such a policy can backfire. Journalists will always find a source for their reporting. Denying them direct access simply means that they are not given the chance to receive positive PR from your client in person.
Sometimes, journalists and editors stand by their work, and you’ll need to accept the outcome. This doesn’t always lead to the dire consequences you might fear. In one instance, a client faced ridicule after sending an altered image of a sports star to the media. Although initially angry, they eventually accepted their mistake and agreed to handle things more carefully in the future.
By following these steps, you can handle negative PR effectively and help your client navigate the fallout with a clear and considered approach.