Good and Bad PR: Rahman Divorce Drama, Zomato Controversy, Jaguar's 2nd Chance?

Good PR examples have been as hard to find as the Qutub Minar in Delhi's smog. But the bad ones came in droves, like possible Maharashtra Chief Ministerial candidates.

Hashtag Celebrity Divorce

Celebrity divorces and another reason why PR and not digital agencies should not be handling online reputation management!

Whether you are a celeb or non-celeb a divorce is definitely not a reason for celebration. Which is why it's inexplicable why the Oscar winning music maestri AR Rahman chose to hashtag his divorce announcement! A week after much criticism and a legal statement denying the nasty rumours abnout the slip, the hashtag is still firmly in place. See for yourself.

Bad PR: Pay us to work says Zomato 

Zomato Pay 20 lakh (for one year) to learn alongside arguably the maverick Indian start-up CEO - the premise of Zomato's public search for the company's Chief of Staff (how White House of them). 

You won't get paid. It'll probably be a 24x7, high-pressure role. It’s unclear if food is part of the deal. For survival, boss. Deepinder and Co. have mastered the art of staying in the news - green uniforms, single-dish restaurants, driver safety and even a recent appearance on the Kapil Sharma Show (alongside the Simple Murthy’s). 

No qualifying criteria were specified, leading to more than 10k applications in 24 hours (good luck sorting through them). When the company thinks 'teaching' you to be better is more important than paying you fairly, the Chief of Staff will soon have their hands full. No wonder it was a meme fest out there.And I learn a new phrase: LinkedIn RageBait.

PS: Goyal said it was a filter and the money should not be taken as the main crieterion.

PPS: He also said paying money to get a job is'nt cool. You don't say!

Bad PR: Jaguar

Be honest. You've already liked a dozen posts on social media criticizing Jaguar's questionable attempt to transform its brand. You chuckled when Elon asked if they still make cars. You compared the new logo to the sanitary ware brand Jaquar. 

You probably guffawed at Nothing's brilliant copycat campaign called Copy Jaguar. Many have attributed this car wreck of a campaign to the company suddenly going 'woke' and alienating its core customer base. 

Guess what? 5 years of declining sales indicates that, in reality, it was the core base abandoning the brand. When the product fails to excite, the message becomes more important. 

And this was a drastic message shift from copy to art. As for us, we're pitching the tent until December 2nd for the product unveiling. Redemption can be sweet in the world of PR.

Shoeb is the chief innovation officer at Ideosphere Consulting. He loves helping brands and business leaders articulate their value better. If you want to point out examples of good and bad PR message him on LinkedIn