It is important to look good and reflect a positive outlook about your industry during an interview. It is equally important to know the most current facts about your industry seconds before the interview takes place. If you do not know the most current information you run the risk of looking foolish if a story has been released and you know nothing about it.

Let’s review. After the Kentucky Derby race where Big Brown won and Eight Belles had to be put to sleep, an interview was conducted by Bob Costas in the winners circle with David Novak, president of one of the sponsors who seemed unaware of the tragedy that was going on around him. He said, “Well, Bob, what a great day for the commonwealth of Kentucky and the world. On behalf of Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC, Long John Silver’s and A&W, Yum Brands is the proud sponsor of the greatest event in the world. Thank you very much.” (http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/05/07/business/sponsor.php)  He expressed his joy and excitement about the win for Big Brown, yet seemed to ignore the sad moment of Eight Belles. Most viewers thought it was a PR move to avoid any negative feelings. The truth, he had no idea that Eight Belles had been euthanized. The result was devastating however. People were furious with him according to the International Herald Tribune, one viewer said, “Based on the YUM reps’ disgraceful smiling and product plugging - while Eight Belles was dying yards away from them - I’ll never buy ANY of their products again.” (http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/05/07/business/sponsor.php)  Yikes!
           In hindsight it seems like an honest mistake. In actuality this type of blunder is easily avoidable. Any time you are going to make a TV appearance make sure you know what is going on around you. If you are doing a phone interview, go to Google and see if any news stories recently came out about your industry. If you are at a conference, ask for a newspaper, or simply pay attention to discussions going on that may affect you.

Tags: David Novak, Eight Bells, Kentucky Derby, Yum Company

This entry was posted on Friday, May 9th, 2008 at 4:23 pm and is filed under Speaking to Media, crisis communications. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.