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After the tragedy of Flight 214 at San Francisco airport, I thought Asiana handled things pretty well. They were responsive and dignified. They apologized and vowed full cooperation with investigative authorities. They did not panic, they did not point fingers.
The misstep they did make was PR.
Soon after the accident, with speculation rising that pilot error caused the crash, Asiana called a press conference to talk up the brave role their flight attendants had played.
Unfortunately, this took place amid an official crash investigation. Moreover, even though the crash took place in the US, and although the flight attendants spoke English, the briefing, in Los Angeles, took place only in Korean.
The U.S. National Transportation and Safety Board reportedly demanded a full, translated transcript and warned Asiana to refrain from further media plays. Separately, I suspect that US reporters covering the incident were irked that Asiana ― supposedly an international airline ― held the event exclusively in Korean.
But I was not surprised. As a foreign reporter covering Korea for the last decade, I have seen and experienced my share of PR fiascos. In fact, within a week of the above incident, I personally encountered what I consider to be two significant PR missteps.
The first occurred when a PR staffer from the Blue House requested a meeting with Seoul-based foreign correspondents. I duly turned up, to be told that, in fact, the staffer had no messages or briefing to deliver, it would be just a "meet and greet." This struck me as a waste of my time. Moreover, the meeting would be held only in Korean. I left.
Even so, I give the Blue House some credit: At least they were reaching out. The same cannot be said of the corporate sector, whose international PR is frequently woeful.
Why? Presumably because the political sector, with all its faults, is democratic, and so accountable to the public. By contrast, Korean shareholder democracy is notoriously weak and business leaders are accountable to nobody.
The second misstep was ― well, before I continue, let us define PR.
Public relations is, alongside advertising, the key discipline via which a company or organization communicates to its public(s). PR encompasses such things as creating websites and brochures, speaking on behalf of the company/organization as spokespersons or via SNS, etc. But its core function remains media relations.
The media is where the public sources much of its information and so is critical for companies, for it provides a filter of credibility. For example, while thinking persons may not place much faith in a company's ad or brochure, they may well trust a report about the company in a newspaper.
Why? Because a newspaper is (supposedly, at least) an independent organ staffed by reporters and editors trained to compress information into factual, objective, insightful and important stories.
Granted, journalism and PR can be confrontational, but ideally, the two professions are mutually complimentary. Yet as a foreign journalist in Korea, I get little sense of this.
Let me return to the second misstep. As a freelance reporter, I write for the world's leading business magazine. This magazine wanted a story on a Korean entertainment firm: let us call it "Company A." This is a medium-sized firm, not a chaebol ― which are notoriously non-transparent ― so I hoped to land an interview with its founder. Moreover, the magazine is bullish on Company A: it would be a positive story.
Two sources close to the company suggested I contact its international business team. I did so. The team knew the magazine and seemed keen to get their boss in, because although Company A is widely known around Asia, this story would boost its brand visibility across the Anglosphere.
After three weeks of emailing and phoning back and forth, the team told me that a chairman interview was impossible.
With my deadline approaching, I asked who I could speak to instead. A director? No? How about the head of U.S. operations? No? OK, the head of PR? No, unfortunately that person speaks no English. No problem, I'll bring an interpreter! Er no, the time to prepare the interview is too short. But we have five working days! No, it's not possible, Etc, etc.
Finally, my editor told me to write the story anyway, using third parties as information sources. This I did, and it is a (largely) positive article. However, Company A lost a major opportunity to tell their story in their words, in a major global magazine read by international investors; a magazine that many companies around the world would love to be featured in.
Why are Korean companies so media shy? That is something I will offer some opinions on in my next column.
Andrew Salmon is a Seoul-based reporter and author. Reach him at andrewcsalmon@yahoo.co.uk.
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