If you ever wanted a lesson in how not to manage a PR crisis just turn to the World Cup horrors of this week. It should have been the week when World Cup fever gripped the nation. And sure enough it did, but for all the wrong reasons.
When David Beckham headed off to Zurich to hand over our 1752-page World Cup bid little did he realise the storm he was flying into. And no matter how great a PR machine he is, not even our top sporting ambassador could detract enough attention away from the unsuspecting Lord Triesman and the Mail on Sunday’s corrupt referees’ revelations.
As a former journalist I’m finding the Mail on Sunday’s actions hard to swallow as I’m not certain I could square the information reported as genuinely in the best interest of the nation.
That aside, when the bombshell did land, the FA chose a totally irrational and inappropriate method to respond – it sent an apology to the two incriminated footballing bodies in Spain and Russia – by fax!
I’ve been a journalist chasing a genuine good lead that you know is quite rightly going to land someone in hot water. I’ve also been a PR executive for a former client with a true but potentially threatening story just about to be exposed.
Both instances might seem a media game but they are far from it – people’s reputations and livelihoods can be at stake – and you can’t afford to get it wrong, whichever side of the fence you work for.
That’s why a decent PR agency or in-house PR team should naturally swing into action with what’s commonly called a crisis management strategy. I guess the FA’s PR team didn’t get a call, or perhaps they don’t work weekends when this all broke.
A faxed apology is a complete rebuff and gave the immediate impression the FA wasn’t taking the issue seriously. And it’s taken a further five days before the FA PR people have got their act together properly, using our other great sporting ambassador and London Olympic champion Lord Coe to provide proper and meaningful comment on the matter.
The week has unravelled with a mix of responses – Mail on Sunday columnist Gary Lineker has ditched his weekly contribution in protest to the paper’s revelations while UEFA President Michel Platini, not traditionally a champion for England, has insisted our World Cup bid can recover and go on to be considered as a serious contender alongside the other bids.
Whatever the rights or wrong of the media revelations in the first place, it’s fair to say the FA hasn’t managed the crisis particularly well and only time will tell what long-term affect it has had on our World Cup bid.
Would you agree? What could the FA have done differently?
Dawn Strange
Accounts Director
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