OH WOW. What a week! This week has been the most eventful yet! I’m so excited to share this with all of you. During the past three days, I had a taste of what its like in a real-life CRISIS! It equates scanning newswires and all other media every five minutes while hearing exasperated yells coming from the general direction of the other side of the office.
I must say it really was intense! Let me give you some clues about what it was about. It was about a video of an Unidentified Furry Object found lurking around an “Ulu” road at 2am in the morning, and igniting fear amongst some locals, then later found to be only a guerilla marketing campaign tactic. I’m sure my classmates in Singapore will know exactly what I’m talking about! It’s caused so much controversy, that it’s silly! (Kudos for making it to front pages, though.) As the news continues to spread via newswires and goes global, more and more things have to be done in terms of crisis management.
Some of the things we did were to first and foremost release letter to apologies to the media, and to clarify that it was indeed just a guerilla marketing campaign. Then came the answering of media queries and waiting to see which side the news will swing. Those more senior may agree with me that nothing beats the excitement of anticipating news.
I watched the office buzz with activity and learned the reason why our lecturers are constantly talking about crises and how PR could make or break such situations. Through this, I also found that the best way to “learn” PR is really by experiencing it yourself.
On the topic of application of PR theory, another thought surfaces. Take a trip back in time and remember Dr. Nigel DeBussy or Mr. James Suresh during the first couple of lessons of PR (Principles) 201. The Agenda-Setting Theory was discussed, illustrating the power of the media in influencing the thoughts of the masses. This case is a perfect example.
Right now, as the long, long week draws to a close (finally!), with our fingers crossed, we wait and hope for the best.
2 comments:
Hi Samantha!
I heard about the furry bear mascot stunt that caused a big hoo-ha in Singapore, all the way from Perth!
According to a BBC article which I'd read, the Singapore Zoo dispatched a team armed with a tranquillizer gun. Three members of the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society also helped to scour the area on Wednesday evening! It has been classified as a public nuisance case by the police.
I guess it was a case of bad taste guerilla marketing campaign tactic/ viral marketing campaign gone wrong. It is a good example of crisis management.
I also agree that this incident is an illustration of the agenda-setting theory, in which the mass-news media have given too much prominence and space for the news to be reported on the front page of the newspaper.
Do update on the crisis. I am interested to know how the situation will progress (:
Hi Samantha,
I felt that it is the media that kind of over-reacted to this marketing stunt. Maybe putting the bear near a forested area was not a very clever move but the point of conducting guerrilla marketing is to become a talking point amongst the public.
Which i think in this case they did achieve that, it even got coverage overseas.
But i felt kinda bad for the agency as it got named in the papers for pulling such a stunt. From now one the secret little agency might be forever associated with this bad marketing stunt.
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