MICROSOFT MUCK UP: A PR LESSON FOR ALL
When sending written material to the media there are three things you should always do:
- Check the email text – is it addressed to the right person, and is the message intended for that person.
- Check the attachment – have you selected the correct file?
- Triple check all information, stats and comments in email text and attachments.
Before you sigh and say, “of course I do”, consider the following PR blunder that involved a high profile PR company and their client – Microsoft.
An editor for a technology magazine received an interesting and inadvertently sent email from Microsoft’s PR firm. The contents of the email were the PR firm’s internal notes about dealing with that journalist.
While a PR firm is entitled to keep notes, this story emphasises the importance of carefully monitoring and checking all communication with the media.
Notes about the journalist included:
“It takes him a bit to get his point across so try to be patient.”
“He is digging for tension where it does not exist. We have to be hard core on this point and communicate in no uncertain terms the level of executive commitment and support for Channel 9 and 10?
“Tricky”
“Digs for dirt”
Oh the embarrassment! Oh the irreversible PR damage!
