By Craig Regan
As odd as it might be to devote double-page spreads in daily newspapers to a changing of the guard in The Wiggles, it’s still the silly season in Australia. The Wiggles are the country’s highest-earning entertainers and stories like these do sell papers.
There are some great take-outs for guardians of brand reputation. Cutting through the PR-speak, they are:
Never do a media interview inadequately prepared.
There’s a link to the Today Show interview with three of The Wiggles here. They also did Sunrise.
Not to have an answer when asked how a freshly-unemployed Sam Moran felt when your media release stressed he was fine was a stumble that sent the wrong message.
So was Blue Wiggle Anthony Field saying he and Sam hadn’t spoken. It was at odds with the public position that this was an amicable departure.
Anthony agreed with an on-air statement that Sam had been a hired hand. It might have been factual but it looked insensitive and if well prepared he could have easily sidestepped it.
You can’t take it back.
If you make a mistake, fix it as soon as possible.
The Wiggles’ Facebook page has 86,000 people liking it. The announcement about Sam’s departure attracted 6000 comments in two days - many of them furious.
Anthony made an apologetic and measured clarification of the ”hired hand” issue. It has so far attracted 1800+ comments and the tone seems much more positive.
Correctly responding to social media is a judgement game. Respond too late or at all, sometimes, and you can keep an issue alive. In this instance it was the right step.
Build the story, own the narrative.
The Wiggles have great access to media. They need not to have been on the back foot.
It would have been far better to have selectively released the news that Sam Moran was leaving to pursue other opportunities and create some positive PR about the hunt to find someone to replace him.
Manage the story. Run an online campaign and then drop the bombshell that Greg was back. He could have wished Sam well and set the agenda on the group’s future.
There needed to be some distance put between Sam’s departure and Greg’s return. A joint media conference with all five Wiggles would have been a good look.
The turn of events that occurred led some to compare the situation to the coup that installed Julia Gillard for Kevin Rudd. Ouch!
While on the Wiggles, can you identify the member of the Lighthouse
Communications team who appears in this clip?
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