Putting the “bad news bias” to work for your organisation
Seven Word Summary: Bad news can work for your organisation.
We’ve all seen it, even if we perhaps haven’t given it too much thought.
Switch on the TV news, head online to your favourite news site or pick up a newspaper and the story is the same: bad news rules.
How can you work with bad news bias rather than fight against it and complain that no-one seems interested in your positive stories?
Whether it’s out and out tragedy, business failings, crime or political misdeeds, you’re going to come across many more negative than positive stories.
Consider it this way…
Ninety-nine people have a great experience with their telco. Not a story. One customer has an issue (perhaps they were over-billed, had technical problems or were the victim of a scam). Hold the front page.
Fifty kids go into hospital for surgery. All are returned safely to their family a day or two later without a problem. But the 51st child has complications, and the reputation of the medical staff and the institution is ripped to shreds.
You get the idea.
Issue a media release detailing something positive about your organisation, and sadly it will all too often never see the light of day.
So how can you turn this around? How can you work with this bad news bias rather than fight against it and complain that no-one seems interested in your positive stories?
And most importantly – how can you achieve this WITHOUT trashing the reputation of your organisation?
First things first. The bias is so entrenched, you can’t fight against it or complain.
Instead, you’ve got to work with it.
A couple of thoughts…
You could consider developing a survey that unveils nuggets of the bad news that the media craves.
Or you could seek to comment on supply issues in your sector that are impacting customers, but are at the same time creating demand for the goods you provide.
Look to develop stories that position you as a thought leader within your industry and that demonstrate how your organisation is positioned to solve the issues faced by the sector.
The media may not be overly interested in your good news – your new product or service.
But there are ways to use the bad news bias to your advantage, and all without risking your organisation’s brand reputation (but rather building it).
And Seven Patterns is here to help in building influential brands.
About the Author
David Ikin is a highly experienced corporate communications professional with significant experience across the mining, technology, defence and financial services sectors.
Over the course of a career spanning more than 30 years, David’s work has been split between consulting and in-house roles. His most recent project involved leading the communication function for a major technology program within one of the largest global mining companies.
David’s passion is for helping companies communicate more effectively with their stakeholders: investors, customers, employees, the media and the broader community.
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