I See What You Did There: Bundling Bad News
A media relations timing tactic through an unfolding drama in the House of Windsor:
Big news out of Buckingham Palace this week with not one, but two medical alerts: Kate is in the hospital and off duty through Easter and Charles will have surgery this week.
Of interest to this newsletter is the strategy by the Royal Communications Office to bundle the two “bad news” updates, a tactic where an organization or individual releases several pieces of negative information simultaneously. This approach is based on the idea that it's better to disclose all bad news at once rather than spread it out over time. The rationale behind this strategy includes:
Minimizing prolonged negative attention: By releasing all the bad news at once, the organization aims to limit the period during which it is in the negative spotlight. This is based on the hope that stakeholders and the public will process all the negative information in a single phase, rather than repeatedly focusing on the organization each time new bad news is released.
Creating a clean slate: focus on recovery and positive developments without the risk of additional bad news surfacing and derailing efforts.
Psychological impact on media and audience: There is a psychological rationale known as the "peak-end rule," where people judge an experience largely based on how they felt at its peak and at its end, rather than the total sum or average of every moment of the experience. Bundling bad news is one way to create a single negative peak, rather than multiple negative moments.
However, there are risks to this approach to consider:
Overwhelming Stakeholders: Releasing too much bad news at once can overwhelm stakeholders, leading to stronger negative reactions.
Credibility and Trust Issues: If stakeholders feel that the organization withheld information to bundle it, this can lead to trust issues.
Context and Nuance Loss: In the flood of negative information, important details or nuances may be lost, leading to misinterpretation or generalization of the issues.
This strategy, where both the King and Princess Kate simultaneously shared their news, proved more effective than sequential announcements. It not only consolidated media coverage but also ensured ongoing updates are efficiently combined in merged stories, avoiding repetitive frontpage cycles.
KEY CLARITY POINT: When you have bad news occur in your work world, that will most likely be public facing, ask the question, “Is there any more bad news coming?” If yes, get your arms around all of it and analyze if the bundling approach makes sense.
For fans of the TV show West Wing, we saw something similar with bundling news in the “Take out the Trash Day” episode explained to us by Chief of Staff Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) and his assistant Donna Moss (Janel Moloney). (Come back West Wing show, we need you now more than ever!)
