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What the Carlow school uniform story tells us about accuracy and reputation

What the Carlow school uniform story tells us about accuracy and reputation

About 10 years ago a journalist colleague told me they had never encountered a story that was worth going to jail over.

It happened while as we discussed a story about alleged banking corruption, what we intended to publish, and how strong and assertive the language and headline could be.

His argument was not that there would never be a story worth going to jail over – the fact that some 248 journalists globally are languishing in jail for doing their jobs suggests there are stories that are. No, it was that journalists have a responsibility to ensure that they are operating fairly and legally when reporting and that there can be consequences when they don’t.

This much was clear following last week’s false news story about Presentation College Carlow, which quickly transformed into a story about journalistic ineptitude, and the dangers of following bad reporting and sensational content.

“Female students at a Carlow secondary school have been told by teachers not to wear tight-fitting clothing to PE, as it is distracting for male staff.”

Thus tweeted journalist Kacey O’Riordan, attracting more than 10,000 likes and 4,000 retweets. The very fact that the tweet was presented as a statement rather than an allegation should have caused alarm bells to ring. But no, what followed was a frenetic and unprofessional rush to judgment by a journalists, commentators, politicians, and members of the public.

  • “There is an old-fashioned narrative or viewpoint within the school, and this has stemmed from this,” said a radio presenter who had no specific familiarity with the school.
  • The Lord Mayor of Dublin chimed in on Twitter, accusing teachers of “shaming and blaming the wrong party”.
  • The Labour Party issued a press release demanding that the school “apologise to the students and parents”.

The problem was that it was a story built on second-hand information which the reporter ran without verification. Others similarly failed to verify the facts, or lack thereof, as the story spread like wildfire.

By the time the school stated that asking students to wear the correct uniform at PE was part of a regular reminder of school rules and regulations, the damage had been done. The story was all over national and local media. Teachers had been demonised for being sexist or, worse, paedophiles, all based on unreliable, second-hand information. Some tweets were deleted, including those that started the furore, but no clarifications or apologies were forthcoming.

Elaine Byrne’s article in the Business Post provides a good analysis of the basic lack of professional standards employed by journalists and media organisations.

In journalism, there are stories where you’ll get away with reporting rumours – the stories where the information doesn’t defame anyone. You’ll find lots of them in the sports section.

But when a story contains allegations that are potentially damaging to people, journalists must tread carefully – and so must anyone who chooses to comment on social media or anywhere else. If something is true then you’re on solid ground – but here the terrain was clearly shaky.

Why did it happen? It might be the rush to publish on Twitter – generating attention for an upcoming story – meant the usual checks and balances weren’t applied. Either way reputational damage was sustained by individual and organisations. Media organisations may not be responsible for their reporters’ personal social media accounts, but mistakes like this reflect badly on them.

So what's the lesson for businesses, brands and communicators?

Personal social media accounts, despite stating ‘opinions are all my own’ or ‘do not reflect those of my employer’, cause collateral damage. With that in mind, here are three things to think about:

Whether you’re a journalist, commentator, politician, CEO, or self-opinionated spoofer, you need to be able to stand over what you say and write. If you can’t, you will be called out on it.

It doesn’t need to be your mistake for it to impact on you. Retweeting or liking might not be an endorsement but it can impact on you by association.

If you do get it wrong, issue a correction – and do it quickly. You may also need to consider apologising. Admitting you got it wrong speaks to integrity, and your colleagues, customers, followers, and members of the public will respect it.

If you would like advice on your business or brand’s reputation, issues management, and social media, get in touch with 4TC.

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Corporate Communication PR

Hello – can you PR this for me?

Hello – can you PR this for me?

No. Neither can I ‘PR the hell out of this one’. (Both things I have actually been asked to do, I should point out.)

Public Relations is a lot of things – but it’s not a verb

At its core – and very simply – PR is telling people things so that they will like you.  And if people like you, they will be happier doing business with you. They’ll be better at doing business for you. They’ll be happier giving you permission to do business.

Of course, there’s lots of different people you might want to build relationships with. Which is why PR is divided up into different areas.

Broadly speaking, those areas are:

In order that they keep buying it, or decide they want to give it a try

Or that are important in the production of their own products and services

Walking the walk as well as talking the talk, authentic, beyond reproach and prepared for the unexpected

Because it’s mandatory, or because the company wants to sell something, to buy something or just wants to raise money

Particularly when it comes to regulation and legislation, by talking up the organisation’s societal and economic benefits

News about performance, strategy, product development, positions on issues, vision, values, culture, purpose, benefits and reward

Letting them know what it’s doing, how it’s doing it and why, and sometimes lending a helping hand, though sponsorship, or donations, or simply doing a bit of work around the place – so that the community feels involved and important

OK – got that – but how’s it done?

By telling stories, mostly. You see, you don’t often get to tell people things on a one-to-one basis. Mostly, you’ll be using media to get your information across – digital, social, print, broadcast and your own channels – social media feeds and your website.

And to get journalists to publish your information, or people to read it on your website, or engage with it via social, it’s got to be interesting.

And that means wrapping it in a story. We can give you guidance on what makes a story – and how to tell it.

Right – but back to what PR is – do I have to do all of it?

No – do the bits that help you with whatever it is you want to achieve.

That might be one element, or it might be two or three – we can make a recommendation as to what bits you should be considering.

How much does it cost?

Nothing.

OK – it costs nothing to have a conversation about public relations and strategic communication.

After that, when you’ve considered what we’ve discussed, and decided what’s right for you, we’ll look at what it might cost.

The cost will comprise the cost of our time (the fee) and any third-party costs – which could include research, photography, videography, design and possibly print.

The fee can be calculated in one of two ways.

The first is as a fee per activity or piece of work, which is based on our day rate. Second, as a ‘retainer’ fee, which is a sum paid monthly that includes the cost of our time to carry out the agreed activity and – importantly – any extra activities (within reason) that we might agree together.

Right then – how do I get my free conversation?

Put your details into one of the (many) contact us forms on our website (www.4TC.ie) and we’ll call you back.

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Communication Training Content PR

Successful Communication Means Writing for Your Audience

Successful Communication Means Writing for Your Audience

“If you’re trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use the language they use every day, the language in which they think. We try to write in the vernacular.” David Ogilvy, 23 June 1911 – 21 July 1999), advertising tycoon, founder of Ogilvy & Mather, and known as the “Father of Advertising”.

There are many variations on this quotation – appears no-one can really decide (or remember) what it was that David Ogilvy actually said about writing. What’s certain, however, is that he believed in talking to his audience on their level.

Here are a few pointers to getting it right:

You’ll sometimes hear people saying ‘why use four words, when one will do’, and we’d wholeheartedly agree – unless that one word is ‘footfall’, or ‘outputs’ or ‘aligned’.

Even better, hear the voice you want to use in your head, and write that. Write everyday conversation. Leave your parties of the first part to the lawyers. Don’t think that lots of big words give your topic weight or make it more important.

Very few things are actually fun – and new products or services aren’t on the list. Besides, who actually gushes to friends and family about how ‘fun’ a thing is – or, worse, how ‘fun’ they are?

Same with being super-something. Being super-something simply means you can’t think of a proper superlative to describe how something you are.

There may be a million different reasons for people to do the thing you want them to do, or buy the thing that you want them to buy. But you can’t list them all – so pick the two or three that will most suit your audience, and that are the most easily explained, in common language.

Just because something is important to you, doesn’t make it important to everyone else.

Authenticity is not best delivered by half-a-dozen people working on a story, and it will be obvious. Discuss it beforehand. Agree purpose, direction and parameters – then let one person get on with creating the content.

Plain language is a discipline, forcing you to evaluate the way you communicate. Sometimes jargon and techspeak is an easier way to go than spending the time translating it into plain language that people will understand. And plain language does not devalue the product or concept that it is describing – if anything, it clears its path.

By which, obviously, we mean run it past someone who’s not been involved with the product, concept or project that you’re building a story around. Someone who doesn’t share your localised language, your buzzwords, your jargon, your shorthand. See if they understand what you’re saying – if they do, you’ve succeeded, if they need explanation – then it’s back to the drawing board

Writing in the vernacular actually isn’t that difficult. It just takes a bit of a shift in thinking and a little bit of practice.

We can help you with both things – and we’d be happy to talk to you about it.

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Everyone Likes A Tech Story

Everyone Likes a Tech Story

Find the right angles, look for the hooks – everyone’s got something to say. We’d be happy to talk to you about finding your story, and telling it.

Everyone likes a tech story. We’re all fascinated by the rise of the machines. AI is the big buzzword, even if, truth be told, we’re not really sure what AI is. Just a few years ago – no more than seven or eight – the big buzz was around the IoT, or Internet of Things. Now, with the advent of 5G, the Internet of Things is set to become a real thing and – no exaggeration – revolutionise our lives.

Just as a refresher – because what with the information overload that is modern life with a smartphone, it’s sometimes difficult to see the tech for the vapourware – the Internet of Things (IoT) is machine-to-machine communication, without a human intermediary. It will enable smart cities – in which everything will be available, where you want it, when you want it.

We’re talking driverless taxis, parking spaces that let your car know they’re free, real-time information about queues, about loos, about booze and about news. Stuff that changes from location to location. You literally ain’t seen nothing yet.

It will also enable the rise of the machines. Not – I am fairly confident – robots from the future, but definitely smart appliances in the home. “Smart appliances?” you mutter, suspiciously. Yes.

Toasters that anticipate how much toasting they’ll be doing and on what setting, based on information received from the breadbin. Mattresses that may firm or soften their springs, acting on updates from the wine cooler. (OK – I made that one up.) Fridges that know when you’re out of milk and either add it to your grocery order themselves, or Whatsapp you to make sure you buy some.

Flights of fantasy? Nope. Samsung have not only already produced a ‘smart’ fridge, but are actively promoting it.

Recently, on this very blog, we talked about stories and what makes them. We identified a selection of things which – if they appeared in your story – would go a long way to making it newsworthy, and lead to the media coverage you’re looking for. One of them was technology – read the first two sentences of this post again, they explain why.

Samsung, of course, have got this covered. They’re not short on a bit of tech. But the way they got coverage for their smartfridge was nothing less than opportunistic genius. Because one of the other things that makes a story is human interest. And another thing that makes a story, which doesn’t get talked about in a communication context so much, is – sex.

Samsung came up with ‘refridgerdate’. A service you can sign up to in which the contents of your fridge match you with other people who have similar contents in their fridges. All done by the fridges themselves. Yes, you’re shaking your head. Yes, well, you’re saying, that can’t be real.

Doesn’t matter. It’s a fantastic story and, as it should have, it got the coverage. I listened to a radio piece – the presenter knew that it was stretching the boundaries. He said so. Samsung admitted that only 15 people had signed up – and they were all employees.
It didn’t matter. In the slightest. I smiled, because it was funny. It was up-to-date. It was relevant to one of the biggest shifts that will happen in our lifetimes. It pulled the strings and made itself news.

Your business may not be a tech giant. You might not think that you’ve got a story that could be news.

Well – don’t think like that. Find the right angles, look for the hooks – everyone’s got something to say. We’d be happy to talk to you about finding your story, and telling it.

 

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Plain English and Authentic Communication

Plain English & Authentic Communication

If you’re concerned that you might be on the road to unlocking consumption occasions, we‘d be happy to talk to you about a sense check on the language you’re using and some recommendations for improvement – as and if necessary.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, there was a company with a really impressive brand. One day the lawyers arrived and slapped a whole bunch of new rules on it, one of which was that it now had to capitalise BRAND in all of its external communication.

Come on – the communicators said – it looks ridiculous and, as this is earned media we’re talking about, it’s not going to survive into actual coverage and, more than anything, it is wholly inauthentic. No, said the lawyers, you don’t understand. You will do as you are told and whenever you mention the brand, you will refer to it as BRAND.

All the joy and spontaneity that you’ll find in a young, growing brand, or in a new industry sector, or a start-up company was sucked away overnight. And, probably as a knock-on effect, there was a shift in the language used when talking about the brand – notably it moved away from plain English, from how people actually talk, to how the brand guardians think people talk.

It’s not an uncommon phenomenon. Lots of big brands have suffered the same fate. Here, for example, is a compare and contrast – two food brands, in a 2020 BBC article about changing eating patterns during the lockdown:

“With so many meals being consumed at home it has unlocked many more occasions for consumption bringing families together at mealtimes.”

and

“We knew straight away with more people cooking and eating at home that it would go bananas and May was our biggest month ever.”

The first is a food company with a big brand of sausages. Roughly translated, it says ‘with so many meals being eaten at home, bringing families together, there are more opportunities than ever to enjoy your favourite foods’. Go further – replace ‘foods’ with ‘sausages’, why not? But ‘unlocking consumption occasions’? This isn’t how real people talk.

The second is a young company with a growing brand of tofu – which, the lawyers would say, is not bananas. But as there were no lawyers there, the spokesperson was able to sound genuinely excited about the success the company was enjoying.

And the moral of the story? Twofold. As communicators, we have to realise that the larger and more successful a business or brand becomes, the more rules there are around what you can and can’t do and what you can and can’t say. And we need to work within those.

However, as communicators we have a duty to ensure that the brands, companies and organisations in our care are remaining authentic, using plain English and explaining themselves in the language that their stakeholders would use.

If you’re concerned that you might be on the road to unlocking consumption occasions, we‘d be happy to talk to you about a sense check on the language you’re using and some recommendations for improvement – as and if necessary.

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Spokespeople and Messages

The Right Message, The Right Spokesperson

So let’s talk a bit about messaging and spokespeople and audience engagement.

So let’s talk a bit about messaging and spokespeople and audience engagement.

A commercial radio news bulletin, here in the Emerald City, concerning the renewal of a corporate sponsorship of a leading entertainment venue.

An opportunity, with the right messages and delivery, to enhance the general perception of a company, and get people on board.

 

Include detail, avoid buzzwords

The spokesperson talked about transforming the sponsored building into a ‘smart venue’.  This may well be a thing – but without any explanation, it’s a lost opportunity to connect with the audience. 

Then there was ‘improving customer experience’. Without specifics, why should anyone care?

It is too easy to substitute a shorthand term for the real message. 

‘Smart venue’, when we mean a building that can tell you where things are, tell you how long the queue for the ladies’ loo is and allow you to pre-order two hot dogs and four pints via an app on your smartphone. 

‘Improving customer experience’ when we mean discounted gig tickets, a chance to meet the band and 4G in the mosh pit.

Messages are the detail that gets people interested, draws them in, makes them want to be involved. In this case, however, both key points sounded like buzzwords from an approved list. 

 

Suitable spokespeople, not senior spokespeople

Agreeing a spokesperson is not easy – often simple seniority carries the day.

An approach is to establish a panel of ‘subject matter experts’ who take the spokesperson role when it’s their area. 

Another is to spread the responsibility – get agreement that a handful of senior people should alternate as spokesperson, thus limiting the exposure of any one in particular. 

And there’s selection of opportunity – the less able spokesperson gets the less pivotal gigs.

 

Training to tell stories

In the real world, of course, this doesn’t always work. The media want to speak with the CEO, and no-one else will cut it. 

Or maybe the news story is about a ground-breaking use of technology and only the CTO will do. 

Which is where, of course, the message and the spokesperson should be managed in tandem. 

Messages are not buzzwords, and a spokesperson is not someone reading buzzwords off a script. Training and rehearsal – above and beyond a simple ‘briefing’ – help the spokesperson to build their own story around the messages.

Telling a story that they’re comfortable with not only brings the message to life, but allows the spokesperson to be genuine in their delivery.

It’s the combination of interesting detail and genuine delivery, by someone who’s comfortable with the material, that creates audience connection and propensity to engage.

If you would like to know more about messaging, identifying spokespeople and training them to do the best job they can, we’d be happy to talk to you – for free, with no obligations.

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The Art Of The Story

The art of the story

At the risk of stating the blindingly obvious, at the heart of every piece of communication is a story.

At the risk of stating the blindingly obvious, at the heart of every piece of communication is a story. It might be a story that wants to be told, or needs to be told, or has to be told. It might be a good story, it might be a dull story, it might be – heaven help us – a bad news story. No matter – there’s no communication without a story.

A good story, one that leaps out at you, one that grabs the attention, is a joy to work with. We were fortunate enough, not so long ago, to be involved with the launch of a new company in the technology space – and, hell, did they have the story. An indigenous company, first in the sector, with a billion euro project that will create more than a thousand jobs. This was news.

Which was reflected in the results – by the end of the week, we were able to report more than 50 pieces of coverage, including TV, radio, national, regional and trade print and online and a smattering of international titles. Probably more importantly, our client’s ‘phone lines were going like the Batfone on a bad evening in Gotham.

Now – obviously – something like this doesn’t come along every day. Most of the time, stories are smaller, or more local, more specialist or simply a result of your ‘business as usual’.

Sometimes you might think that you haven’t got a story at all – but don’t panic.

Broadly speaking, there are a handful of things that make news. If you can find one or two of them in your story – or add them as extra elements – then your communication will be that much more effective.

They Are (in no particular order)

As Tom Cruise famously shouted: “show me the money”. Big numbers make news, whether it’s the cost of something (the million-euro Mont Blanc pen on sale at London’s City Airport), investment in something (our clients and their billion euro project) or money spent on something (millions of euro to provide new medical equipment).

Everyone is fascinated by the rise of the machines. Technology that makes lives easier (Siri, Alexa), technology that shapes the future (contactless payments) technology that was science fiction a few years ago (driverless cars). The current massive interest in AI is a case in point.

Things that touch people’s lives, that they can relate to, that are important to them, or that simply give them a warm, fuzzy feeling. Think job creation, think community initiatives, think food and drink and leisure, think health and exercise and – if all else fails – think cuddly kittens.

Because there’s nothing like a good argument, or a challenge to the status quo. Proposing a new way of doing things, questioning established procedures, espousing causes, targeting the unpopular – all of these can get you noticed and talked about. Corporate Health Warning – being controversial can attract unwelcome attention and less-than-positive responses. Preparation, thought and planning are necessary.

The lives of the beautiful, the famous, the rich and the powerful are fascinating. An endorsement from a celeb (whether it’s a politician in a photo opp, a sportsman at your fundraiser, or a blogger talking you up) adds another dimension to what you’re doing and can help your communication cut through.

At the risk of being repetitive – a good story is a joy to work with. If you’d like some help telling your story, we’d be more than happy to have a chat.

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