Balloon Boy PR

2009-10-23T15:41:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles, updated 11-13-09; 11:05PST
by Dave Monroe

Los Angeles, 11-13-09 11:05PST
With the parents pleading guilty today in Fort Collins, CO the Balloon Boy saga seems to be drawing to a close. All that's left now is doing the time. That and repairing the damage to the Heene family. Some of the comments I've read in various media outlets come down pretty hard on the parents, the father especially, for not making a formal apology to the American people. Then there's that issue of the taxpayer expense in responding to the "emergency." Possibly after undergoing a sort of rehab the parents need to appear on a TV show where a live audience would be able to vent their anger at them. It feels like we need to see them apologize and squirm a little before we begin to forgive them.

Those of us that work in PR seem to have been victimized as well. As if all PR is "bad PR." Good PR is invisible PR and it's mostly what we do. What the Heenes did is not what we do, although it had the trappings of a legitimate media event-- whatever that is in this day and age. PR has always been a national obsession in our culture. It's something we've always done rather well, thanks to our chutzpah and the great freedoms we allow the promoter. We may not have invented Capitalism, but we turned it into an assembly line, so to speak, and PR is a valuable component to the marketing of just about everything.

Los Angeles, 10-26-09 13:20PDT
The breaking news story of a young boy aloft in a balloon and in great danger captivated the nation for a while last week. As if following a drumbeat, the event went from "Disaster in the Making" to "Hoax" to "Saga." We were brought back down to earth by it's final morphing from media event to Family Tragedy. Criminal acts involving government agencies, manipulation of the media, possible physical and psychological abuse or, at the least, parental exploitation of minors are the final impressions the general public will take away from this multi-layered story.

Some of us working in Communications watched with fascination as this hypnotic media event imploded, providing one plot twist after another: the b-roll showing a seemingly staged "accidental" liftoff of a craft that appeared unable to hold the weight of a child, the call to the FAA instead of 911, the meteorologist who wasn't really a meteorologist, the family's upcoming appearance on a reality show and evidence on the Internet about the Heene's previous self-promotion endeavors, some of them involving their children in situations with questionable morals and safety conditions. And then there was the kid spilling the beans, literally and figuratively, on live national television.

The Balloon Boy story has already worked it's way into pop culture in many forms I'm In a Box , Balloon Boy gets his own iphone app not as a dramatic and touching human interest story, but as another media hoax perpetrated by a crass fame-seeker, executed at the expense of his young children.

It's been interesting to watch the general public's response to this media event turned Publicity Stunt. The Internet and reality television have engendered a more sophisticated viewing audience and Social Media has done a good job of teaching us how to market ourselves better. We're all learning the advantages of good public relations on a personal level, and in our culture PR has always been a national obsession.

The general audience is learning how to read between the lines, how to spot a story that's not genuine. And we're all doing our part to help: if we're out there in the ethernet sharing our lives with the world, we are publishing our history, we are becoming easier to read, less guarded, more transparent in everything we do. Take some liberties here, cheat a little there, and then something happens that attracts an investigation into who you are and, surprise: there's a trove of your dubious past for all to see.

Whenever a staged event by a rank amateur runs aground it reflects negatively on the professionals who make their living in Public Relations. Fortunately, we have working in our favor that marvelous human trait-- an insatiable appetite for stories about others just like us in remarkable situations.

Los Angeles, 10-16-09 09:20PDT

One of my favorite pet peeves about Electronic Publicity is that we get so carried away with our well-chosen words when the right image or footage can do the job (quite nicely, thank you). Hence the runaway success of (cost-effective) virals, etc. in social media.

Story: Boy, oh, boy. Where to begin with this "balloon chase" story offered up to us at the end of the week? It makes that Dow 10,000 story feel like a yawn. Since this thrilling media event had a soft landing we can all have a little fun with it, but there are some timely lessons to be learned here. Beware of the modern, reborn Joan Q. Public. She's web-savvy and can spot a fake faster than Antiques Roadshow.

I started with the best intention of laying down some pithy analysis on this one with regard to, oh, say, the growing transparency of marketing and PR pursuits in the use of electronic media, the ethics of responsible parenting... But why bother? Just look at the wealth of wisdom already flowing from that wellspring we call the web. So, here you have Blog Light with assorted video. The evidence has been digitized for your rapid digestion.

Communications: Content vs. Quantity

Balloon Boy PR