“Spykes” stirs things up

I’m beginning to wonder what the burnout rate is for PR professionals who work for alcohol and tobacco corporations. I’m betting it is pretty high. I read an article in USA Today about Anheuser Busch’s new product, Spykes. The Anheuser Busch site describes Spykes as:  
” a malt-based beverage with caffeine, ginseng and guarana. Spykes mixes well with beer to add alcohol, caffeine and unique flavor and can also be chilled and consumed as a shooter”

Now certain groups are in an uproar about the drink, claiming it is being marketed to teens. The drink is in bright colored, smaller bottles, it’s extremely sweet, it can be mixed with beer or other drinks, it’s cheap, etc. etc. There are so many reasons consumer groups are bashing Spykes, I can’t even list them all here. Consumer groups are calling for a total recall of the product and an investigation.

When is it a PR professional’s job to step in here? Anheuser Busch claims it is marketing to the 21-27 year age bracket. Which is completely understandable. I’m a member of this demographic and I know the majority of my friends would buy Spykes because it’s fun-looking and cheap. What is seperating me from teens (besides a horizontal driver’s license)? Is it really Anheuser Busch’s responsibility to stop teen drinking? I don’t believe Spykes is being marketed to teens but if I was the PR prof. in charge, what would I do? I’d keep promoting the product. Young adults are a big audience for Anheuser Busch. They need to be reached somehow.

The consumers groups are causing quite a stir and Anheuser Busch isn’t pulling the product. I think this is a strong stand from the PR and marketing department. Sometimes, market distinctions will blur. What college students like is going to be what high school students like. That will not change. As far as my viewpoint as a PR student: if you didn’t do something wrong, don’t apologize. And Anheuser Busch isn’t.

Crisis communications and politics

Politics and crisis communications go hand in hand. Think back to the Bill Clinton scandal, the Dick Cheney shooting, the Nixon mess and most recently, the Edwards cancer announcement.

I watched the interview between Katie Couric and presidential candidate John Edwards and wife, Elizabeth, on CBS News. While Katie tried her hardest to prove she was a “real” journalist with harsh questions and even harsher comments regarding the situation, I was thinking about crisis communication in politics and what the public has a right to know.

I’m not sure what I would do if I were Edward’s PR consultant. I don’t really feel the public had a right to know about Elizabeth’s terminal cancer but if the information was not released, Edwards would look deceitful. As public figures, politicians have an obligation to disclose information to the audience.

Political crises are different than corporate because there are no traditional stockholders. A politician’s stakeholders are the die-hard supporters, staff members and family members. They have a public and vested interest in a politician’s well-being and should be informed of any crisis.

I think the best advice for ethical crisis communications is to be up-front and honest with the information you can release. It took courage for Elizabeth and John Edwards to come forward with thier news and in the long run, may increase his following. I think he did a good job handling the interview by sticking to key messages. They are coming off as a united force and appear strong and confident in thier decision to release the news.