Making Lemonade From Lemons: Let the debate begin. The topic: Was it wise for Britain’s Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) to use the infamous situation it found itself in recently with Bell Pottinger to market itself to new members? As you’ll recall, it was PRCA’s report detailing Bell Pottinger’s shady tactics with an equally shady client, and its expulsion of the agency, that helped destroy the prominent U.K. firm ( PRN, September 12, 2017). The next day, though, PRCA director general Francis Ingham sent a note to British PR chiefs stating, “Now surely is the time to join the PRCA,” Britain’s Private Eye reports. The group’s actions regarding Bell Pottinger, the note says, “demonstrate to colleagues, the client community and the broader industry that practitioners are ethical, and are willing to subject themselves to a regulatory process that is rigorous and meaningful…” PRCA garnered media coverage in 1,000 publications during the Bell Pottinger debacle, the note says. Ingham also included what he judged to be a funny, detailing his Week in Numbers: “Members expelled: 1; TV interviews: 5; Radio 4 interviews: 2; and other interviews: 50+.”
Uber’s Good PR Move: When Transport for London (TfL) said last week it would not renew Uber’s operating license, the firm said the organization was showing “the world that, far from being open, London is closed to innovative companies.” Yet the same day, Sept. 22, new Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi sounded conciliatory in a statement emphasizing the value of PR and reputation management. “The truth is that there is a high cost to a bad reputation…It really matters what people think of us, especially in a global business like ours,” he wrote. Khosrowshahi was even more conciliatory after the weekend. On Monday he issued an open apology to Londoners. “While Uber has revolutionized the way people move in cities…it’s equally true that we’ve got things wrong along the way…I apologize for the mistakes we’ve made…We won’t be perfect, but we will listen to you…and we will run our business with humility, integrity and passion.” That tone worked. London mayor Sadiq Khan welcomed the apology and promised TfL would at least meet with Uber to discuss the situation. A slight misstep, though, as BBC quoted Uber exec Fred Jones saying the firm “is not clear” about what the TfL’s concerns with it are. (TfL said Uber is not “fit and proper” to run a business in London.) London is a major market for Uber, with some 30,000 drivers on its rolls. Uber collected nearly 1 million signatures on a petition urging TfL to rethink its decision. But too much PR might hurt Uber. Mayor Khan acknowledges Uber has deployed an “army” of PR pros and lawyers to pressure TfL. Uber plans to appeal TfL’s decision.
About Face: Speaking of reputation management, Facebook took hits the past few weeks with reports Russian agents used its self-service ad-buying tool to undermine the 2016 U.S. presidential election and allowed anti-Semitic groups to target like-minded individuals with ads. Facebook says it knew nothing of the anti-Semitic ads until a report earlier in September from ProPublica exposed them. True or not, saying you’re unaware can raise questions about your company’s security measures. The Russian ads pose a different story, with Facebook announcing its findings about them Sept. 6 and saying Sept. 21 that it will take that information to Capitol Hill. Initially, though, Facebook refused to disclose the information to House and Senate intelligence committees, citing federal privacy laws. In a video, Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg said the brand will make it “much harder” for such bad actors to purchase ads.
Rebrand: Communications firm Hotwire unveiled a rebrand September 20, emphasizing “a global alternative to large multinationals.” The rebrand addresses several market trends, CEO Barbara Bates tells us: “new challenges facing CMOs to connect and engage with customers; the need for every company to be seen as an innovative brand; companies seeking global communications partners feel they needed to compromise quality local programs for global reach; and the difficulty in getting companies to stand out.”
Growth: LEWIS debuted LEWIS EXPRO, a personal branding service. Miles Daniels will head the unit.
People: At our press time crisis-laden Equifaxsaid its CEO Richard Smith was retiring “immediately.” --Congrats to rising stars Amanda Cowie, head of business & strategy communications, Bloomberg Media; Mora Neilson, AVP, integrated communications, L’Oreal Paris; Leslie Pitterson: VP, communications, Nielsen; and Shari Reichenberg, senior director, strategy and planning, Ogilvy; for being named by New York Women in Communications its 2017 WiCi honorees. A ceremony is set for October 10.