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We’ve seen again this week that when a business doesn’t have or execute a comprehensive PR plan, it’s leaving its brand to fate.  Take the Big Three American auto makers. I’m willing to bet that hours and hours were devoted to preparing for the November testimony of the Big Three CEOs before Congress in an effort to win their cut of the now infamous “bailout.”  Statistics were researched, arguments crafted, well-respected communications and PR teams summoned to coach and polish these three powerful men—all with the intention of putting the best face of the companies forward.  I’m sure there was a plan.

Whether or not it was in the execution or the planning, though, the public “takeaway” from the testimony was not that these once mighty titans were deserving of public assistance, caught up in the irresistible storm surge of the perfect economic storm.  In fact, in spite of the best efforts, it appears most folks will remember that these powerful CEOs, while pleading for billions in public funding, somehow scraped together the funds to arrive in our nation’s capitol in three separate private corporate jets.  So much for credibility.

Whoops!

The PR lessons to be learned?

1.         The media, and those who consume the media (listeners, viewers, readers of all industries) still look for stories and visuals.  We are a sound-bite society.  We ingest data and information in its most synthesized forms.  We want a summary.  The grand story here was one of complex figures, statistics and economic trends.  Boring!  One can wrap one’s mind around the picture of a corporate jet or a greedy robber-baron type (not that these CEOs are, necessarily, of that ilk…).  They make better stories or visuals than dry economics.  And so, they did.

2.         Credibility is king when it comes to public relations.  We are a cynical society.  We’re always looking for the catch, the rub.  Here, the words of the CEOs may have been eloquent.  The arguments may have been convincing.  But, as a society, we expect that from persuasive communications.  Here, the arguments were undercut by a few simple facts.  “How did these guys manage the gall to beg for money when they’re using existing funds to fuel their private chariots?”  The answer may not be as simple as it seems, but when it comes to media channels, simple is better.

The bottom line here?  Public relations is more than a key message and a few well-crafted deliverables (news releases, feature pitches).  Just like marketing, any element of exposure for the brand is taken into consideration when the consumer/customer/prospect/viewer sees the story, and decides for herself whether it’s credible or not.

Just ask the good folks at the Big Three, all of whom drove cars or flew coach on their return trip to D.C.