Fashion faux pas: #BoycottDolceGabbana and the art of crisis management PR

It’s the latest scandal involving fashion, celebrities, babies and LGBT – which, in short, makes it media gold.

Over the past few days, we have seen the rapid response to Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana’s (D&G) comments that in vitro fertilization (IVF) is “unnatural” and produces “synthetic children”.

The comments, made in an interview with Panorama magazine, have raised a furore among the press and the entertainment industry. Media commentary has lambasted their shortsightedness, while celebrities have initiated a boycott of the designer brand.

This boycott was led by no other than Elton John, thanks to a spat on Twitter, which generated the trending#BoycottDolceGabbana hashtag. It has since received support from a league of celebrities, including Madonna, Courtney Love and the Beckhams.

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It’s a dramatic turn of events, which provides an interesting and essential case study for some pointers in crisis management.

It’s not clear if there were broader motives behind D&G’s comments, but chances are they were off-the-cuff remarks made without the foresight to see how it would affect their brand identity.

From a PR perspective, there are numerous lessons you can learn about avoiding potential media nightmares – and how to react once the damage has been done.

There’s no such thing as “off the record”

It’s a game of trust. During interviews, you always have to be prepared before speaking with the media. One would have expected D&G to be aware of this after years in the spotlight, but goes to show that even media moguls can forget, and fall prey to the obvious rules.

Always err on the side of caution and be aware that anything you say can, and will, be held against you.

Don’t fight fire with fire

After Elton John led the boycott, D&G decided to go on the offense on Instagram with #boycotteltonjohn.

Although their efforts to make a point about free speech received considerable support from punters, their response was unnecessary. It is easy to forget the virality of social media, and these public spats only provide an opportunity to spawn more undesirable news.

A wise man once said, “An eye for an eye makes the world go blind”, and it is always good to be the bigger person, take a step back to assess the situation and see the best way to go about handling it with integrity.

Sorry seems to be the hardest word

If you do something that upsets millions of people, the right way to respond is to say sorry. A response carefully crafted to at least include the word “sorry” or “apology” isn’t difficult, and a quick turnaround can do wonders to backtrack on a flippant mistake.

Instead, D&G sat down for an interview with CNN, in which Dolce defended his comments and made it clear that they were his personal beliefs.

“It is impossible to change my culture for something different. It is me… I respect all the world, all the culture,” he said.

He went on to say he “loves the music of Elton John”, and that while his views were private, they could have definitely expressed their views better.

While D&G came across as very frank and honest in the interview, there was no apology. Sticking to your guns is one thing, but not acknowledging and expressing remorse at the damage their comments may have inflicted is an oversight.

Need help with your PR? Drop a message to [email protected] 

The dos and don’ts of media interviews

When it comes to publicity, as Richard Branson once said: “A good PR story is infinitely more effective than a front page ad”.

And it’s true – a good PR story is what every person, professional and business wants. But understanding how that story is crafted and the role the interview plays in the entire PR process is where people lack an incredible amount of knowledge.

The media is your best friend and your worst enemy. Understanding how journalists operate and what editors want is essential to building your story. Members of the media, like you, have their own objectives and – let me absolutely frank here – none of their goals are around helping you build your brand. However, if you’re able to understand what they want and how to position your story in a way that will interest their readers, then you’re light years ahead of most people.

If you are prepared, you can turn the interview into something truly beneficial for yourself and your business.

If you don’t know why your story is newsworthy or how to present this to the media, then perhaps it’s time for you to hire a PR expert. But in the meantime, here are a few tips to broaden your understanding.

  • DO understand what “off the record” actually means

Rule number one: If you have just finished the interview and turn to the journalist and say, “by the way, that stuff I said about XYZ was off the record”, I have some news for you: it was absolutely, 100% NOT off the record. If you have a good relationship with the journalist and you’ve just realised you let something confidential slip, then you might have a chance to retract it, but otherwise… you’ve effed up.

Stating something is off the record is a game of trust; it doesn’t legally require any journalist not to publish something, or absolve you of responsibility around something you said. That being said, most journalists will honour the request if you state beforehand which comments are off the record.

  • DO also understand the importance of exclusivity

Press conferences are great, but sometimes a journalist is looking for something new and exclusive from you when they approach you afterwards for comment.

If a journalist has spent time gathering information about something and then asks you about it – and you answer them – don’t then go and tell every other journalist you know what their fresh story angle is. Honouring the fact the journo has done the hard work is something that goes a long way to build trust in an on-going media relationship.

  • DO your research and come prepared

You should do your research on the publication and the journalist interviewing you. They may not like it, but it’s all part of the game (and they’ve done all the same research on you, of course.) Often, your PR agency or internal communications will do this for you, but if not, just give them a quick Google.

Go into the interview understanding the kind of stories the newspaper or magazine runs, the tone of the articles the journalist writes and their interview style. If you can get an idea of whether the journalist is a total ball buster or a more friendly interviewer, you’ll have a better idea about how to prepare any responses.

  • DO learn how to answer the same question three different ways

Some journalists love to do this thing where they’ll ask the same question a number of different ways to try and get as much information out of you as possible. It’s an effective tactic, and it also lets them know of any holes in your facts.

Unless what you’re being interviewed about is controversial or scandalous, you don’t really need to worry too much about this, but it can’t hurt to practise a few different ways to answer the hard question you know they’re going to ask you.

  • DO keep your emotions in check

A sudden angry outburst or stream of emotion is never a good thing in an interview. Keep it professional – even if it’s difficult. Some journalists will probe knowing full well it is frustrating you, but absolutely nothing good comes from letting them see the steam coming out of your ears.

  • DO have a PR professional on hand

Public relations staff are there to act as support during an interview, so if you need to, use them. However, journalists hate it when an interview subject repeatedly turns to their PR person for direction, so avoid using them as a crutch. Instead, practice your answers ahead of time and work together to have a clear idea of how you will (or won’t) approach certain questions.

  • DON’T turn down an interview with no reason given

If a journalist calls you for an interview and you’re not interested, don’t turn them down without giving them a legitimate reason. Legitimate. If you keep fobbing them off because you “don’t have time”, they won’t buy it, but if you say you can’t speak at the moment because you’re bound by an internal communications policy, then tell them that. And always, always honour their request as soon as you are able to talk.

  • DON’T tell the journalist what kind of questions to ask

There’s nothing a journalist hates more than being told how to do their job. Think about the times when someone might have questioned your credibility or ability to operate – it’s not nice, is it? At the end of the day, it will put the journalist in a bad mood and could sour the relationship. One day, you might want them to ask you certain questions about a new product or a positive business story, and maybe they just won’t.

  • DON’T argue if they change their line of questioning

Journalists are often asked to provide a line of questioning ahead of an interview. Some will do it, others absolutely will not (in Asia, this practice is more common, but in other regions a journalist will scoff if you ask for their questions ahead of time.)

If they have given you questions, be aware these are only a guide. Depending on the flow of the interview, how well you answer questions and the direction the conversation goes, a journalist will almost always change their line of questioning or ask additional ones. Don’t point out that they’re not sticking to the plan – or they’ll stick you the middle finger.

  • DON’T answer with “no comment”

If you can’t or won’t answer a question the journalist really wants an answer to, be prepared for them to source the information from elsewhere.

Where possible, it’s not recommended to respond with “no comment”. It leaves your position vulnerable and the subject matter open to discussion on the basis that they have sought a right of reply from you (for a fair and balanced article) and you’ve simply told them you’re not interested.

If you cannot comment, tell them why. Legal reasons and confidentiality agreements are legitimate answers (provided they’re true) and if you simply don’t know the answer, let them know. Tell them you’ll look into it and get back to them, and then honour that commitment.

  • DON’T lie, spin or ‘tweak’ the truth. Ever.

Lies have a way of being exposed, and your reputation will be hugely damaged if you were found to be fudging information. Not only will the interview have been a complete waste of time, it will make you and your company look dishonest, unprofessional and foolish.

Need help with media interviews? Drop a message to [email protected]