How many times have you heard people say: “There’s no such thing as bad publicity”? Oh yeah. Ask Bernie Madoff about that. Or O.J. Simpson. Or Jim Cramer. How do you think they feel about their bad publicity? Have I made my point? Bad publicity is bad…period. It’s nothing you want. But odds are you may come across some bad publicity somewhere in your life, especially if you own a business. So how do you handle it?

Let’s talk about O.J. Simpson first. Why do you think he was found not guilty of murdering two people when all the evidence pointed right to him? Was it because justice prevailed? Yeah, right. Keep believing in Tinkerbell, Scooter. O.J. Simpson was found not guilty of murdering two people, at least in part, because, he had piled up so much positive publicity in the years before the murders that people couldn’t believe he did it. Not O.J. Not The Juice. Not the guy I saw flying across the football field and leaping over the ropes in the Avis commercials. Not Saint O.J!

Then what happened to his image after that verdict? Talk about bad publicity. I’d hate to think that there are millions of people sinking back in their easy chairs with their feet up and a smile on their faces, knowing that The Juice is now behind bars. Now let’s take a look at a well-known victim of bad publicity – Jim Cramer.

You’re probably familiar with the brawl Jim Cramer and Jon Stewart got into over Cramer’s questionable recommendations of stocks. Cramer could have turned that situation around so easily and in the process looked like a saint. But nooooo. He had to do what 99.9% of people do in his situation. He’d didn’t fess up and tell the truth.

Even in the face of Stewart showing clip after clip of Cramer blatantly recommending one particular company and voicing his undying support, Cramer tried to defend the indefensible. Schmuck! If you know Cramer and he needs good PR advice, have him call me.

Now picture this – Jon Stewart calls Cramer out on his questionable stock recommendations. Cramer calls Stewart and asks to be on his show to give his side. Stewart would have jumped at the opportunity.

Then, the night of Stewart’s show Cramer starts out by saying: “What was I thinking about, recommending that one particular stock over and over for weeks? That had to be the worst call I ever made. Now, Jon, if you’d permit me, I’d like to point out where I, and so many other financial advisors, went wrong so that your viewers don’t go through this again. Then, to balance things out, I’d like to go over some of my big successes and show people how to do the same thing.” How do you think Cramer would have looked then? Once again, have I made my point?

I remember hearing Ed Koch, former mayor of New York, being interviewed on radio after he left office. A listener called the radio show, furious at Koch for a law he pushed through. He was livid.

After the listener vented, Koch simply said: “I remember that well. Wasn’t that the dumbest thing I ever did as mayor? I don’t know what I was thinking.” Crisis immediately defused.

The lesson here – gather as much positive publicity as you can now, before anything negative happens. Then, when the inevitable happens and some bad publicity comes your way and you know you’re responsible for whatever you’re being blamed for, come clean. Yes you might be embarrassed for a while. If you screwed up you probably deserve it. This too shall pass.

If you have some legal liability, obviously you should get appropriate legal advice. But if it was a simple screw up, admit it. You’ll look a whole lot better.

Get the most reliable advice on how you can get massive publicity for your business at http://www.Hartunian.com and http://www.hotpublicitytips.com

Get the most reliable advice on how you can get massive publicity for your business at http://www.Hartunian.com and http://www.hotpublicitytips.com

Author Bio: Get the most reliable advice on how you can get massive publicity for your business at http://www.Hartunian.com and http://www.hotpublicitytips.com

Category: Marketing
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