I was asked if I worked at a PR firm, how/if would I handle a client who was undergoing a scandal. The example presented was a baseball player who was accused of using performance enhancing drugs that could possibly be steroids, but it is unknown. I would welcome the baseball player as a client. The player may have made a mistake in the past, but it is nothing they can not move on from. I would respect the agency's honesty ethics, and try my best to keep the image of the player in good light. My proposal would look something like this:
As we know, as children we look at sports players as heroes. Every game, the players give their all, and show hard work and dedication to their craft. But on the other side of being a hero to millions is the harsh reality of having to live up to constant, almost unreal expectations. As we have seen time and time again, players turn to the use of steroids to enhance their athletic performance. This is definitely a wrong decision, but not coming from the wrong place. Baseball is a very competitive sport, and there are so many players, that the media really focuses mainly on the star players.
Recently, we have received a client who plays professional baseball and the media has suspected the player may be on, or have a history with steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. Right now, this is all just speculation. They need our PR team to support and help him through the brutal media scrutiny. We hear this story time and time again, however when meeting with the player's agent, it was said the player took a substance. The player is unsure if it is steroids or not. Now the steps to conflict management, we must take a proactive and systematic approach:
- Predicting problems
- Anticipating threats
- Minimizing surprises
- Resolving issues
- Preventing crises
The problem would be the media ripping our client's character into shreds and really ruining his career he has work so hard toward. The first step to getting the media on our side is to have the player begin to make rounds to elementary and middle school for anti-drug pep rallies. He could tell the children first hand that illegal drugs are bad, and ruin lives. He cold also show up at public charity events to show that he cares about bettering the community and uses his craft to do so. For anticipating threats, we must know that if the player is proven guilty of steroid use, he could be exonerated, and he would have disappointed millions. As we saw with Mark McGuire, he denied steroid usage for years, went on to break records, and now his image and hard work is shattered because he was not only on steroids, but lie to the media. With that being said, the media will not sit down with no answers for much longer. We would need our client to sit down on a daytime television show and talk about the pressures of being a public figure. Our client should tell the complete truth and let the interviewer know that they took a substance at one point in time, and was unsure if it was steroids or not, however, they have not/will not be doing it again. Our client would then apologize for letting down people, but still hold on to their integrity by saying how they have learned to be healthy and not put foreign substances in his body. This tactic would minimize the surprise and put an end to the media speculation before it gets out of control. After the daytime show appearance, we need our client to participate in an anti-drug commercial to solidify that they have changed their ways and are no longer on the "substances". Interviews after this should speak about how they overcame the obstacle of caving into pressure, and how they feel better and less guilty not taking steroids and still playing well and entertaining the fans. The player would also speak about never wanting to jeopardize his career for something so minuscule like drug use, and nothing is worse than losing that. This would prevent the crisis from blowing out of proportion. The good the player has done with the community and admitting their faults and moving on in the right path should paint a picture of a strong individual who really cares about the viewers and does not want to let them down again.
REFERENCES:
Cameron. Public Relations Today: Managing Competition and Conflict. Pearson Learning Solutions
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