The headline in the New York Post Sept. 9, 2003 screamed "Music Pirate," with the subhead, "N.Y. Girl, 12, Sued for Web Songs Theft." The story couldn't have been music to the
ears of the Recording Industry Association of America, which had sued the girl, along with dozens of other computer users, in an effort to crack down on Internet music-
swappers.
Although the RIAA had the law on its side, the story was a no-win situation for the music trade group. After all, the most effective communications plan in the world is no
match for a saddened 12-year-old girl saying, "I thought it was OK to download music because my mom paid a service fee for it. Out of all people, why did they pick me?"
Rather than look at it as a negative, however, the RIAA used the newspaper headline to make its case with consumers. "We saw [the headline] as a free media opportunity that
presented itself," said Amy Weiss, senior VP/communications at the RIAA, who, starting in late May, takes charge as VP, Public Affairs at the UN Foundation. "We were not
apologetic and our thinking was that nobody is above the law."
Still, aware of the baggage it carries with consumers, the RIAA was quick to turn to third parties to help articulate its message. "We know we're not a sympathetic voice,"
Weiss says. "But there are other parties, such as artists, unions and retailers, who have been hurt by file sharing."
RIAA's campaign against file sharing was part of a recent PR NEWS-sponsored virtual seminar titled "Minimizing Crisis Through Grassroots Efforts and Coalition Building."
Properly preparing for crisis is top of mind right now for many PR execs. Few companies deploy third parties to help assuage concerns sparked by a crisis. Yet -- per the RIAA
enlisting the support of popular musical artists -- they can be highly effective at minimizing the likelihood that a crisis will spiral out of control, or that a legal matter will
snowball into a full-blown trial.
Even before the lawsuits, the RIAA had mounted a massive communications campaign to change the national conversation about file sharing. For starters, the organization
recruited several musical artists, including Madonna, Missy Elliott and Sting, who were quoted in a full-page ad titled, "Who Really Cares About Illegal Downloading?" The ad ran
in several national newspapers across the country, including the New York Times and the Washington Post. The RIAA also worked with retailers and online services to demonstrate how
to download music legally, since there are now a bevy of Web sites, such as iTunes, MusicNet and Napster, that offer songs to download for 99 cents a pop -- or less. In addition,
the RIAA took pains to educate members of Congress on the consequences of file sharing.
"We had to combat a lot of groups that thought anything on the Web is free and that we [the RIAA] should be punished because we were late to the dance," Weiss said. "But we
were able to explain the economics of the business and why stealing one song is a problem for the entire [music] industry."
Consumers have certainly changed their tune about file sharing since the RIAA's PR campaign started. In June 2003 an RIAA-sponsored poll found that 49% of respondents thought
that file sharing should be legal. By January 2004, that figure had dropped to 34%. (See sidebar.) "Through free press and earned media we have shifted the debate," Weiss
said.
In addition to putting a human face on a corporate problem, a third party can serve as a spokesperson; one that, since he or she isn't an employee, won't be perceived by
consumers and/or the media as being in the back pocket of management. "The messenger is crucial and is even more important than the message," said Jack Bonner, a nationally
recognized coalition-building expert and founder of Bonner & Associates, who has worked with Aetna, Dow Chemical, General Motors and Merrill Lynch. In the last few years
Bonner has assembled several third party groups to help, for example, roll back efforts to reduce government money reimbursed to doctors for chemotherapy treatment. "You need to
find people who will resonate with each of your audiences," he said.
Richard Levick, an attorney and president of Levick Strategic Communications, who has handled the media for more than 150 law firms, including the Roman Catholic Church debacle
and the dogfight over the now-defunct Rosie, stressed that when companies are under attack they must deploy a "jujitsu" strategy.
"It's a matter of embracing your opponent," says Levick, a contributing editor to PR NEWS. "If you're coming from the right you move left and vice versa." He pointed to the
Martha Stewart trial as a prime example of a PR campaign that cried out for a grass roots strategy. "She should have used other women-owned businesses to make her argument" that
the Feds were going after a successful female business executive, he said.
Levick said there are three essential ingredients to nipping a crisis in the bud:
- Protect the brand. This more often than not involves educating attorneys - who often want to take the path of least resistance -- on the built-in equity of a brand and
why it can't be squandered. - Recognize the problem. The early bird catches the worm. Don't be "at the precipice" before you acknowledge that something is wrong with the brand. It makes it all the more
difficult to get your hands around the problem. - Perception Rules. Understand that that there are long-term implications to how your company is going to be perceived post-crisis, yet another lesson for lawyers who prefer to
go mum rather than tackle the crisis head on and proactively.
Contacts: Jack Bonner, [email protected]; Richard Levick, [email protected]; Any Weiss, (till May 21) [email protected]
To order the complete CD proceedings from "Minimizing Crisis Through Grassroots Efforts and Coalition Building", visit https://www.prnewsonline.com/webinars.