Why wearing a poppy could have negative PR impact for you
Let me be clear we are not joining the ranks of Abercrombie & Fitch or this year’s Poppy villains Poundland in knocking the symbol of remembrance – and I am wearing one as I type, but the Poppy, lest we forget, is worn in November, whereas PR photographs should have a value beyond that.
Think how you reacted to the unseasonably early poppies that started to appear in late October? And how will you feel about those still be warning at the end of November? This is why in public relations terms you need to be wary about be photographed wearing a Poppy.
Absolutely you should be wearing one if you are photographed at an event or even the Remembrance Parades that will take place later this month – being seen without one is actually bad PR! However, if you are getting shots taken to submit with a press release, or to promote a forthcoming event or simple portraiture that could be used beyond November, then take some with and most important some without.
In simple terms imagine your release was held over and was being considered for publication later on, if you were wearing a poppy there is a good chance that a news editor would not use your story as it will look out of date - because of the poppy.
Back in the summer I spent an hour on Photoshop erasing poppies from the lapels of business folk who had been snapped back in November last year and wanted to use the same photograph again – but recognised the red tribute did not lend itself to this. They couldn’t all get together for another shot and hence Photoshop came to the rescue. Had the photographer thought of the potential for the image to be used again they might have suggested removing the Poppies momentarily.
Just today I saw a photo on Facebook of a new business venture and sure enough the Poppies are there and rightly so. However, that photograph is of such limited value beyond this current use and when businesses are watching the pennies, watching the poppies could make the difference between needing fresh photography or not.
Watch out for Christmas decorations too. These can be just as limiting if you want to use photographs taken during the season of goodwill beyond the 12th night.
Whatever the time of year, if you want help with public relations Morgan PR can help you get the maximum leverage from the PR opportunities that we guarantee are lurking within your business.