There's a bit of conventional wisdom that if you want to get people's attention, use animals or children. Of course, there's a right way and a wrong way to do so. WRLH-TV, the Fox affiliate in Richmond, is doing it the wrong way and it's turning into a public-relations nightmare.
Last week the TV station contracted with a company to get rid of a colony of feral cats that have made their home on station property. On Wednesday, Richmond SPCA CEO Robin Robertson Starr sent an e-mail to everyone on her organization's mailing list saying that WRLH planned to "trap and kill" the stray cats. She included contact information for the local station, its parent company Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc., and local news media so that SPCA supporters could "express your outrage."
Starr used relatively strong language in her appeal, as you might expect from the head of an organization that has gained national attention for its no-kill policy for stray animals. The Richmond SPCA favors a "trap, neuter and return" method of managing strays.
"I immediately rushed to the location and was shocked and horrified to see the swift and total destruction of the area," Starr wrote, adding that bulldozers were plowing through the cat colony. "I cannot begin to understand what manner of corporate culture and leadership it would take to behave in this cruel way."
Starr said she repeatedly offered to help WRLH humanely deal with the feral cats, but that the station rejected her overtures.
WRLH tried to dismiss Starr's outrage, saying that the company it hired to destroy the feral cat colony would do so in a humane way. However, Starr alleged several cats were killed and the case escalated so that Henrico County police opened an investigation into the TV station's actions.
For its part, WRLH simply posted a two-sentence statement on its Web site: "A colony of feral cats is living behind WRLH. We have contacted a number of organizations to help with the humane and non-lethal removal of these animals over the next few days."
The SPCA is winning this PR cat fight. One local TV station provided a link from its website to an online petition of protest. Another featured SPCA volunteers in a special call-in segment. Businesses surrounding WRLH's studios allowed bowls of food and temporary shelters to be placed on their properties. Starr sent daily e-mails to SPCA supporters with updates. On Friday, she announced a special event near WRLH so that some of the cats could be screened for adoption and others could be neutered and returned to the feral colony.
How did the SPCA get the upper hand in this PR battle?
It communicated proactively and swiftly, getting its messages to its target audience first – even before news media.
It communicated clear and consistent messages about its position in the matter, reiterating its preference for a "trap, neuter and return" policy and educating the public about the danger of approaching feral cats.
It offered to help WRLH deal with the problem, giving the SPCA the white-hat advantage. (WRLH didn't help itself by refusing the SPCA's offer.)
It put action behind its words, attempting to stay involved in the issue's resolution and creating an event in which the public could help.
Meanwhile, WRLH posted a two-sentence vague statement on its website and seemingly adopted a strategy of hoping the whole thing would go away soon.
Public relations is about creating relationships to achieve goals and manage conflicts. That's what the Richmond SPCA has done. WRLH could take a few lessons.
Robert J. Holland owns Holland Communication Solutions LLC in Mechanicsville. He works with Fortune 500 companies and small businesses to help them develop communication programs that support business goals. He is also available to speak to business groups about workplace communication. You can reach him at robert@hollandcomm.com, at www.hollandcomm.com, or by calling (804) 368-0312.