REICH COMMUNICATIONS

Marketers' PR Dilemma ...Take a Knee?

 

 

The recent take-a-knee actions by many NFL players has taken center stage, thanks to divisive tweets and statements by the president.

While it's made for interesting TV and a diversion (perhaps intentionally by the White House) from Russian collusion, healthcare, tax reform and other important national discussions, it has also created a public relations problem for marketers whose audience and campaigns are connected with pro sports and its players. 

At issue here is the individual's right to free speech, which has been wrongly conflated by the tweeter-in-chief to incorporate respect for our flag and our military. 

Initially, before the president got involved, perhaps five or six players had spoken out and taken a knee as a way to protest what they felt has been unfair treatment of minorities by some police and some courts.  But once the president jumped into it in his usual brash and uninformed way, upwards of 200 players – in many cases, entire teams and their owners – showed support by taking a knee and/or locking arms during the national anthem, directly in protest of the provocative statements by the president.  At the same time, the athletes have made it clear that their actions in no way are intended to reflect disrespect for our flag or our troops, but rather are a way to call attention to an issue that impacts many of them, their families and communities. 

It has been the president's trash talk that has made it into a broader issue, dominating headlines and diverting attention from more important things.

Many of the president's supporters are following his uninformed (or intentionally divisive) rallying cry, echoing his calls for boycotts of the NFL and its advertisers.  Ironically, TV ratings for NFL games this past week have gone up.  And, historically, boycotts of advertisers don't have any lasting impact, if any at all.

Marketers who advertise on NFL broadcasts and/or have tie-ins and endorsements with NFL (and NBA) players face a dilemma.  Do they take a knee by supporting the players, or do they distance themselves by either doing nothing or directly criticizing the players?

My advice – Support the players’ right to express their views.  Good ads and thoughtful statements can keep the issue on topic, making clear it is NOT about disrespect for our flag and our troops.  In fact, marketers can use this as a time to put forth messages of unity that can be inspiring in these times of red and blue division, putting politics to the side and upholding basic American freedoms such as the right to speak out.

Let's see what happens this weekend as pro football returns to the field and the tube.

 

Today is National Coffee Day

...   ahhhhhhh!

A New Year

 

Thursday and Friday are Rosh Hashana, the New Year for Jews. 

It's not a time to party and celebrate, but to reflect on our actions during the past year and ask for guidance and strength to help us be better people in the coming year. 

Traditionally, at this time we pray for a few things -- the wisdom to do better, health, happiness and above all, peace.  One of our key prayers ends with the word "Shalom"  -- Hebrew for Peace.  It is peace of mind, and peace on the larger scale -- peace among people and nations.

What We Do: Governors Highway Safety Assn. conference

 

 

I'm in Louisville for the Governors Highway Safety Association annual meeting.

The theme of the conference this year is "Highway Safety in a New Era."  Sessions will deal with behavioral, technological and political changes that are impacting traffic safety in the U.S.

It begins Monday morning with a keynote address from U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao.

We've been in the PR end of traffic safety for about 25 years, starting with creating the World Traffic Safety Symposium for the New York Auto Show, nearly two decades of handling media outreach for NHTSA and working with non-profit The National Road Safety Foundation and some app developers who are harnessing technology to help deal with distracted driving.

Social Media: A Love/Hate Relationship with Journalists

 

Journalists these days seem to have a love/hate relationship with social media, according to a survey of journalists by ad agency giant Ogilvy.

Increasingly, journalists rely on social media to spot trends, track public attitudes and source information and background.  But they also acknowledge the big challenge that comes along with social media -- the accuracy and credibility of what they find online.

The journalists surveyed -- some 255 of them -- cite Facebook as the leading news gatekeeper.  At 39 percent, Facebook edges out "traditional" media sources, which they scored at 32 percent.  Other digital platforms scored much lower. Google was cited by 15 percent and Twitter by 4 percent.

Journalists also cited social media as the primary cause of the rise of "fake news."  Other reasons given included increasingly polarizing media coverage and what they called "confirmation bias," where readers pick and recirculate stories that tend to echo or support their personal bias or political leanings.  It's also been called the "echo chamber effect."

The challenge that most of the journalists saw as impacting their work is the need to do comprehensive fact-checking, rely only on credible sources and maintain transparency in the reporting process.  These steps, they believe, will be the best way to fight the continuing charges of "fake news." 

They also are basic tenets of good journalism.

 

 

After 16 Years... We Remember

We remember

The Victims

and

The Heroes