Why Time Warner Got it Right

You could argue the recent PR stunt for Turner Broadcasting's Cartoon Network program Aqua Teen Hunger Force was a huge failure. CN hired a hip and cool guerilla marketing group in New York to get some buzz for the late night cartoon featuring a meatblob, a bag of fries and a shake. The plan was to inconspicuously plant battery-powered light boards around 11 U.S. cities. For some reason, Boston was the only place where the lite-brite type boards were mistaken for bombs.

The stunt shut the city down and got the goat of Mayor Tom Menino, who blamed the whole episode on "corporate greed". The news was a breaking story on all the cable channels and caused a scramble in newsrooms across Boston. From a marketing perspective the early results point to a flop. According to Neilsen Media Research, the audience of 18-24 y-o's tuned to Aqua Teen Hunger Force was virtually the same the week after the stunt as it was the week before. But we're not here to look at why this hip and cool brand of marketing didn't drive viewers. Instead, we want to look at how Turner handled the whole thing because it really is a textbook example of good crisis management.

In a world where things come in threes, let's lexamine the three steps Turner's parent company, Time Warner, took to quell the uproar over a stunt-gone-too-far.

First: The Apology. It didn't take long for Turner to issue an apology to the citizens of Boston and their lovable Mayor. Turner made the calls to the right people, spoke personally to the City's leaders and then paid for a full-page ad in the Boston Globe to express its remorse. Check one. The company does a mea culpa.

Second: The Payoff. In the world of network advertising two million bucks doesn't go that far. But, a cool two mill was more than enough to quiet the crowd of Boston's unhappy municipal and public safety officials who were demanding Turner do the right thing. The company not only did the right thing by making the payoff available immediately so as to shorten the news cycle, it also made sure the offering would be enough to cover the actual and emotional costs incurred by the City. As importantly, it released Turner from any criminal or civil cases and made it look like a good corporate citizen.

Check two: The company protects its image.

Third: The Sacrifice. Every one needs someone to blame. In this case it's Cartoon Network General Manager Jim Samples. He became the fall guy for Time Warner by offering his resignation and releasing an apologetic statement in which he said he "deeply regret[s] the negative publicity and expense caused to our company as a result of this campaign." And, the timing here couldn't have been better. Not only did the news break late on a Friday, prime-time for flying under the radar, it also came when the death of Anna Nicole Smith was driving cable news. On Saturday morning, when the fewest newspapers are read, the Boston Globe ran the story as the lead item on page one but the New York Times didn't; they ran it on A-11, too far in for most people to even notice.

Check three: The company has a scapegoat and the story cycle is over!

Few television executives had the knack for marketing and branding that Ted Turner had when he created the Turner Network. Old Ted's out of the picture now but you have to imagine even he was impressed at how the guys who run his former company handled this thing. Textbook crisis management, if only the stunt which led to all this had actually worked, then it would have really been something.

Using Anniversaries

A recent edition of the Improper Bostonian magazine featured a cover showing 49 previous covers designed to celebrate the mag’s 15^th anniversary. Inside there were quotes, pictures and features designed to remind readers of all the fabulous things the Improper has published since 1991. It even compared how many Dunkin’ Donuts stores there were 15 years ago compared to now.

Anniversaries are among the best ways to generate publicity. They offer a chance to be the story; to self congratulate and self promote. You don’t have to be a household name to seize these opportunities.

Any business or non-profit organization can take advantage of an anniversary to remind the media that they exist and highlight their accomplishments. From a reporter’s perspective, the anniversary is a natural hook into a story. It’s a reason to interview the CEO or Director, profile an interesting employee or examine the industry you’re in.

If you’re going to try and pitch your anniversary to the press for a feature story don’t expect the event will be enough to get the reporters calling you. Like all story pitches you’ve got to identify what it is about you that will be of interest to a mass audience. Does the anniversary coincide with your best revenue year to date? Does it show your staying power in a chaotic industry? Is it an opportunity to connect with an emerging trend or pop-culture phenomenon?