Keeping in mind a quote from Reputation Management by Doorley and Garcia, let’s explore how the following threatened the reputation of my breast cancer organization, the Maurer Foundation. Doorley and Garcia wrote “Reputation = Sum of Images = (Performance and Behavior) + Communication.”
On July 15th, 2011, a woman at the Maurer Foundation said this DJ wanted to donate some of the proceeds of a party he was having to us. Before agreeing to this third party fundraiser, we set up a telephone meeting with the DJ for July 20th to get our who, what, where, when, why and how questions answered.
On July 18th, two days before our initial meeting, our Social Media Marketer called. “Check your email,” she said. “I found something alarming in my Google alerts.” Mouth open and steam coming from my ears like a cartoon, I read the following:
CassWorld
Event Details
Time: August 13, 2011 at 10:30pm to August 14, 2011 at 4am
Location: Park Central Hotel
Event Type: fundraiser
Latest Activity: Jul 18
Event Description
Imagine Your In a Room Filled With Sweet Aromas, Music That Touches You Soft & Beautiful Pink Roses Fall To The Ground With Every Step You Take.
Imagine Your In a Room Sipping On Sweet Champagne Pink As Rose' With Chilled White Diamonds In Every Glass.
Join Us As Canville L. Mason, In Da Clutch, Lexx Luv Of PME, Suga Chea Of Team Rockout, Exclusive Ladies, Mel Of $tr8 Dymez & Roe Of T.I.M.E Presents To You....
"White Diamonds & Pink Roses" The Upscale Pink & White Affair
The Color Scheme Of This Event Will Be Set At Pink & White Whether You Are Male Or Female We Intend To Show Our Support To The Victims, Families, & Woman Struggling With Breast Cancer.
Mission Statement
Since 1995, The Maurer Foundation Has Been Dedicated To Raising Awareness Through Our Mission Of Breast Health Education. For more info visit:
www.maurerfoundation.org
This ad was copied from the DJ’s website and posted on CassWorld, a website we never heard of. Besides the fact that the ad was posted without our knowledge and permission, it’s obviously a landmine of writing errors and the antithesis of clear writing.
This is one part of a long ad. There was a hard push later in the ad to pay $250 and up for bottles of liquor. Drinking alcohol increases your risk of developing breast cancer! If you worked for a breast cancer foundation would you want to be connected to a party that’s selling overpriced bottles of Ciroc and Grey Goose? A quick Google search showed the same ad on eleven other websites!
So what do we do? Do we take the money and keep it hush? Or do we state that we will not be involved with this fundraiser and demand our name be taken off all current and future ads. We decided on the latter.
Again, the book Reputation Management states - Reputation = Sum of Images = (Performance and Behavior) + Communication. A company’s website and who you are connected to online affects reputation and image. It’s kind of like that crazy friend or family member that makes you look bad. Our horror story unfortunately ended with us sending a cease and desist letter. We solved the problem, then told our board members what happened, and how the situation was solved. That part is essential in covering your a**.
Reading the invite and seeing "str8 dymez", which is typically slang for hot women (straight dimes), is not how a person brings respect to a breast cancer awareness function. Know your audience Mr. DJ! Good for you and the company for taking action.
ReplyDeleteThis gave me a serious case of PR anxiety. And I had to read it through a few times to make sure I was really reading what I was reading.
ReplyDeleteTo use a little modern text-speak: OMG. And to use a little crass, modern text-speak: WT[BLEEP]?