How to Choose Your Brand’s Spokesperson

Having a spokesperson to represent your company or organization is vital for your public relations and marketing. This is true regardless of your industry or the size of your company.

In essence the spokesperson you choose is the face of your organization, the person the media talks with, and whom the public sees and hears.

Why Have a Spokesperson?

There are many reasons why your company or organization should have a spokesperson. Perhaps the biggest reason is to have a go-to person to interact with the media. When you have any newsworthy issue the media can call or appear on your doorsteps. Directing the media to your spokesperson can help you keep your message consistent. Spokespersons have the training to know what and how to talk with the media so you can maintain quality control.

Select a Spokesperson with Authority

The media prefers to talk with senior executives and those in some level of authority. So it’s important that you select a spokesperson that has authority in his or her position. They need to dispense information to the public. They may need to answer tough questions about pending decisions. So the higher level of authority they have, the better able they are to provide the right information to the public, especially information involving big decisions.

So Who Should You Choose as Your Spokesperson?

Most often larger companies hire public relations firms to serve as liaisons between the public and the organization. Smaller companies usually choose an employee – either a principal executive or manager. Who you choose is up to you. Just make sure he or she can speak on behalf of your company and organization and compel the audience to move in your favor.

Develop a policy that requires all press releases, media inquiries and interviews go through your spokesperson and no one else. This way your message will stay consistent.

Charismatic Communicator

The best spokespersons have magnetic personalities. They have charisma that connects with the audience. They can get the audience to like them and see things their way. Charismatic personalities can get the audience to support a product or cause, even when people at first had reservations or disparaging beliefs. A charismatic spokesperson also can get the media to be more interested in your company and write more about you. So you get more publicity.

Crisis Spokesperson(s)

The time when many companies realize they need a spokesperson the most are during and after a crisis. That’s because the media tends to publicize and replay these types of stories. According to the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), the person who you select as your spokesperson for a crisis tells the public how your company is handling things.

The PRSA says that if you select someone too high up in your company hierarchy, then the public will perceive that the crisis is bigger than what the spokesperson says. On the other hand, if you select someone too low in hierarchy then the public can perceive your company may not be taking the crisis serious enough. Nonetheless it is usually best to go with someone higher up than lower down, especially when the crisis is big.

Perhaps the most important characteristic for a spokesperson during a crisis is to select someone who can communicate empathy. Communicating empathy shows people you care and can make them support you, even if they don’t like what your company did to cause the crisis.

Your spokesperson’s personality can sway the public more than any strategy you develop.

Non-Profit Spokespersons

A strong public relations campaign is essential to promote your nonprofit organization. Having a good spokesperson to tout your cause can help to bring in more donations. According to Mickie Kennedy, founder of eReleases, there are certain characteristics to look for when selecting your spokesperson. These characteristics include a:

• High-ranking individual with authority in your organization
• Passionate spokesperson who knows your key messages and is believable
• Presenter who commands respect
• Communicator who answers questions with simple and easy to understand responses
• Individual who can react under pressure and stand their ground
• Spokesperson who can be available at a moment’s notice to take advantage of any publicity opportunity that can occur

Case Studies

Seeing how other companies responded to certain situations can make you appreciate having the right spokesperson on your team.

Johnson & Johnson - Tylenol
In the fall of 1982, Johnson & Johnson – the maker of Tylenol – became victim to a terrorist plot. Tylenol was the most successful over-the-counter product in the U.S. and contributed to nearly one in every five dollars of revenue for the publicly traded Fortune 100 Company.

Yet a malevolent person or persons, presumably unknown, had replaced Tylenol Extra-Strength capsules with cyanide-laced capsules, resealed the packages, and deposited them on the shelves at six or more pharmacies and food stores in the Chicago area killing seven individuals.

Robert Andrews, assistant director for public relations at Johnson & Johnson located in New Jersey says,

"We got a call from a Chicago news reporter. He told us that the medical examiner there had just given a press conference-people were dying from poisoned Tylenol. He wanted our comment. As it was the first knowledge we had here in this department, we told him we knew nothing about it. In that first call we learned more from the reporter than he did from us."

Upon hearing about that phone call, James Burke, chairman of Johnson & Johnson, immediately formed a seven-member strategy team. They had two goals – to protect the public and to save the product.

They responded to the crisis by contacting the media and announcing that consumers should stop taking Tylenol until they found out the source and extent of the product tampering. They also removed product inventories from store shelves nationwide. By doing this they made the public believe Johnson & Johnson was victim of a malicious crime.

Yet Johnson & Johnson did NOT have a proactive public affairs program before the crisis. The only relationship they had with the media was in advertising. And they did not have a company spokesperson or someone experienced in managing a PR crisis. The CEO became their spokesperson. And he went on 60 Minutes and the Donahue show to convey his message to the public.

Luckily the reporter from Chicago who made that first call was not more aggressive in light of the fact Johnson & Johnson did not have a spokesperson. Otherwise the crisis could have altered the public perception of Johnson & Johnson. Fortunately the CEO’s personal messages with the media enabled Johnson & Johnson to get the media and public on its side.

The result was that Johnson & Johnson was able to restore confidence of the public after it distributed Tylenol in a much safer tamper-proof packaging. In fact it became one of the most trusted over-the-counter consumer products.

The way Johnson & Johnson handled the Tylenol crisis serves as a clear example of how other companies should act if they are on the brink of losing everything. But the story also emphasizes the importance of having a spokesperson before any crisis occurs, something Johnson & Johnson has in place today.

BP and the Oil Spill
BP did not have a PR strategy or a spokesperson selected prior to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, according to a report in Advertising Age in May 2010. This revelation was shocking considering BP is one of the world's largest publicly traded oil and gas companies and it had a long time advertising campaign that promoted itself as a “green” company.

After the crisis occurred, BP appeared unprepared to deal with the media, the public and the government. Harlan Loeb, director of crisis and issues management at Edelman PR, said in an interview with Advertising Age,

"This kind of event should clearly have been contemplated in their crisis simulations... BP is an enormous actor in offshore drilling and exploration and the fact that this kind of event took place, while tragic and horrible, should not leave BP looking totally unprepared."

BP also failed to have a consistent presence in the massive media coverage of the story. And as the story got bigger, how BP handled the crisis seemed to spin out of control. One of the first things BP said to the public was a plea to residents in the states affected to promise not to sue in exchange for money. Plus BP asked the government for help, implying that they could not solve the problem on its own. Loeb suggests that BP first message to the public should not have focused on protecting its legal losses and instead to say it was working closely with the government to resolve the crisis.

By selecting a spokesperson prior to the crisis and to have a contingency plan in place, BP may have been able to communicate the right message to the public. Plus they may have been able to preserve the brand value while getting the media to support rather than attack them.

Be Prepared

A spokesperson gives your company or organization a human face and voice. A spokesperson also is the one individual who can connect with your audience quickly to get them to support your brand. He or she builds trust and credibility for your company.

Don’t wait for a crisis to occur to select a spokesperson. Make selecting a spokesperson your priority today so you are prepared for tomorrow.