GT Media - Strategic Communications

With so many high-profile media gaffes/blunders/slip-ups and "transgressions" to choose from in 2009, it was hard for the speakeasy to nominate a favourite. So we put together a list of honourable mentions. Not restricted mind you, to the world of media per say....

Let's just say we cast a wide net to find the best examples of (in our view) poorly managed public fallout.

Hard to top Tiger. We're not going to stay here too long, but we will just pose this question - How QUICKLY did that story die down once he finally came out and said something? Let that be a lesson to everyone....

Kanye West (GT's favourite - don't ask her why). His outburst - either appalling or legendary, depending on your point of view, at the MTV Music Awards forced an awkward apology from the singer.

Storming the stage to proclaim Beyonce's video was "the best of all time" and stealing little Taylor's thunder was in our view, very uncool to say the least. One celebrity tweeted that it was like "killing a kitten". But we digress...

Kayne has a self-inflicted reputation wound. OR he generated a stack of free publicity for the both he and the angelic Ms. Swift...YOU be the judge of that one...

Actually, we MUST come back to Tiger. Sorry.

The gtmedia team was devastated to learn of Tiger's infidelities, or as they've been labelled "digressions". Just a week earlier we had declared our admiration for the man, announcing to the Twitter world that he could do no wrong.

But how wrong could we have been? The man is human after all. His polished and manufactured image has come crashing down and only time will tell how much damage his brand has sustained.

PR analyst Gerry McCusker's made a very valid point: "the cleaner you purport or seem to be, the heavier the fall you take when the stuff hits the fan." (http://prdisasters.com/)

Which brings us to Kyle Sandilands. Actually, we have nothing to say. Nothing left to give on this one except there is nothing entertaining about a distressed fourteen year old rape victim on radio and there is nothing funny about the Holocaust. Not. One. Thing. You couldn't have paid us enough to work on this guy's strategic or his crisis management.

We here at gtmedia are media advisers, strategists and communication specialists. Our crisis communication motto is: Sure, trust in God, but lock your car!

These public gaffes serve as an important reminder that reactive PR can only get you so far. Take note Chris Brown (if you haven't seen his interview in Larry King, check it out...) Whatever you think of that interview, at least he gave it.

And for a smooth segue to the end, Chris Brown is where we'll leave it, with a toast. Well sort of. Not Chris Brown but his music, which formed the backing track to a couple's wedding day. Jill and Kevin, who became a YouTube sensation simply by doing something different on their wedding day.

Not a strategy and not a crisis management plan but you know what? It made us smile.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEiN0

From all of us, to all of you - have a safe Christmas and we'll see you at the Speakeasy in 2010.