To spin or not to spin?
Tuesday, 02 Dec, 2009
0
Comment by Jeremy Skidmore
Butlins managing director Richard Bates has plenty to be cheerful about after reporting a healthy increase in revenue and a slight increase in bookings this year (see separate story).
OK, we may not all be ditching the foreign holiday in favour of a stay at one of their holiday parks, but it’s a performance that a lot of companies can only wish for in the current climate.
But, by his own admission, he gets a little bit peeved at other companies that he claims receive a lot of publicity by banding about unsubstantiated claims of growth and fantastic plans for investment.
Bates used a media dinner to poke some fun at journalists by producing some artists’ impressions of a new water park at Bognor Regis, which he claimed they weren’t going to build.
All very confusing and good fun, and I think he was making the point that they do have expansion plans but will keep them under wraps until they have something concrete to say.
It sparked a lively conversation about whether it was a good strategy to blatantly lie to journalists, or at least over-hype your plans, to get a cheap headline.
After all, the argument went, lots of companies talk a load of rubbish, get some great coverage and then rarely receive their come-uppance when the plans come to nothing.
Undoubtedly that sometimes happens and the point was well made, but I don’t buy it.
Anyone who has lived in the UK for the past decade knows how far spin can get you. But it’s a very dangerous game and there’s a line that you shouldn’t cross.
Some short term lies about growth and performance can buy quick headlines but can store up long term problems for a company. You always need to focus on positive messages, but they should be based on truth, particularly in the current climate.
Forget journalists (who, despite what we think are not actually the most important people in the world), if you lie about what you’re doing you’ll soon find that no-one believes you. And, like the boy who cried wolf, when you have got something important to say, they won’t be listening.
So Richard, stick to tried and tested methods of PR, enjoy a Christmas drink after a successful 2009 and let other companies worry about themselves.
Jeremy Skidmore
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