No
comment? No way.
People
in the PR business avoid making ‘no comment’ comments, especially
when facing the camera. It's a statement that often gets misused and
abused, especially when an individual or a company is suffering from
negative publicity. Barbara Schenck, small-business strategist and
co-author of Branding for Dummies, says it's easy to be
accused of evading the issue.
In
fact, the only time you should ever utter this phrase is when the law
prohibits you from giving a comment; however, even ‘no comment’
in the legal field can be tricky, especially in Australia.
There
are several better alternatives to the ‘no comment’ response. Say
‘no’ if you deny any negative publicity pressed against your
brand, or say nothing at all if you don't want reporters to quote
you.
Bear
in mind, however, that it is not advisable to let an issue or
controversy go unanswered for too long. When people start coming up
with either dangerously accurate or ridiculous theories, the brand or
business under fire is likely to suffer. A crisis can be a chance to
turn things around by repairing the damage done and re-establishing
the brand's image. In short, the above response may be used when one
needs to buy some time.
No comments:
Post a Comment