By Makayla Muscat, AdNews:
Thinkerbell’s founder and consumer psychologist has revealed his playbook for managing PR disasters – from workplace affairs to product flops and scathing reviews.
Ferrier told a packed audience at the Women in Media national conference at ICC Sydney on Friday that self-awareness is the most important skill to develop.
“All you can bring is all you’ve got, all your experience and that’s it,” he said on Friday.
“I think any of us, all we’ve got, is knowing who we are and bringing that to the table.
“My number one advice, if you want to get good at this, is to have therapy… the more you understand yourself, the better you’ll be.”
Ferrier warned that overreacting to criticism, especially online, could lead brands into dangerous territory.
He urged leaders to empower their teams to share authentic company stories instead of succumbing to “keyboard warriors.”
“Your job as a CEO, CMO or whatever, is to arm everybody within the organisation with the tools to spread the word of the company,” he said.
“I think the worry about having the extremes and keyboard warriors is that you start to cater to them, and then you start to dumb down everything, and then you become bland.
“When you become bland, lack a clear business model and fly under the radar, you just become recessive and fade away.”
Ferrier also said brands shouldn’t fear making mistakes. In fact, messing up can actually make you more likeable, thanks to a psychological phenomenon known as the Pratfall Effect.
“Salience trumps meaning, so if you have issues that are repeated and fundamental to the reason why people engage with you you’re screwed,” he said.
“There’s something called the Pratfall Effect, so if I spilled a coffee on myself right now, you might actually see me as more competent than before. That’s because you already saw me as relatively competent and then I screwed up.
“The same thing happens with brands as well, so if they do screw up in some way and you see them as relatively good, you lean in a little more and empathise with them.
“So try to just fuck up occasionally in little ways; people will like you more.”
When asked about the recent backlash surrounding the Coldplay concert controversy, Ferrier rejected the idea that any attention is positive attention.
“I wouldn’t say all publicity is good publicity… only a goose would say that,” he said.
Still, he noted that public memory is often short-lived.
“It’s interesting how we often hear a brand name or a person’s name, and completely forget what the actual issue was,” he said.
“On a personal level it can be really liberating because people don’t give a shit.
“They’ve got their own stuff to worry about, so if you do screw up, people won’t really remember.”
However, Ferrier made a pointed observation about gender inequality in crisis fallout.
“So of those two people, Andy will go on to get a higher paying job and be absolutely fine,” he said.
“There are still power dynamics and misogyny at play, so I bet the woman – whose name I can’t remember – will have a much harder time managing her career.”
Finally, Ferrier said the RBA and other traditionally “dry” organisations could inject more creativity into their work.
“I do think what’s interesting about the industry is where creativity and PR reputation are really starting to merge,” he said.
“I think of something like the RBA, just as an example, I don’t see much creativity in that world.
“I’d love to see more creativity in this space. When it comes to crisis and corporate communications, it’s still quite dry in terms of creative solutions.”