McDonald’s 'Getting in Touch' with Charles Ramsey, Stoked with the Publicity High
"I heard screaming. I'm eating my Mc Donald's. I come outside, and I see this girl going nuts, trying to get out of her house" - Charles Ramsey, hailed hero for saving the three women of the Cleveland kidnapping, said in an interview. He even mentioned the McDonald's meal he was eating.
The statement was apparently was too much for the Mc Donald's PR team to resist, wrote David Lazarus in his article in La Times. He felt that McDonald's hinted an ulterior motive when it announced through its twitter account that it will be reaching out to Charles Ramsey who was now famous globally for rescuing, Gina De Jesus, Amanda Berry and Michelle Knight from their ten years of captivity.
Lazarus was doubtful at the very instant he read the company's tweet saying: "We salute the courage of Ohio kidnap victims and respect their privacy. Way to go Charles Ramsey - we'll be in touch."
After the said tweet, the company tried to track Charles Ramsey through the franchise store where he could possibly buy his meal.
Danya Proud, spokeswoman for McDonald's explained that the move was particularly done for the company to personally reach out to Charles Ramsey after their twitter accounts were bombarded by tweets by other followers that Mc Donald's should reward Charles Ramsey for his heroic act.
"The company wanted to show its respect for the sensitivity of the situation by speaking with Ramsey directly, rather than communicating through the media. This is a very tragic situation and we can't lose sight of that" Proud said. To which Lazarus attacked in his article writing that, indeed, it is a tragic situation and it is a shameless move on Mc Donald's part to grab a piece of the publicity surrounding this incredible and heartbreaking story. Mc Donalds, played no role in the rescue..."
McDonald's reaction towards Charles Ramsey was seen as freeloading to the popularity that Charles had been getting at present, while aside from the passing references to Mc Donalds meal that he was eating during the interview and the 911 call, the company had no personal involvement to the act of rescuing that Charles did. Hence, Mc Donalds has, in no way, a right to associate itself with the heroic did.
Lazarus wrote that, Maybe it (McDonald's) just wants to give him more food. If so, there's a correct way to do this: discreetly.
Bloomberg Businessweek on the other hand asked the opinion of a specialist in crisis communications at the Boston firm Solomon McCown, Ashley McCown. She was asked to dissect the Mc Donald's tweet in order to see if indeed, McDonald's is guilty of riding in the popularity of Charles Ramsey.
Ashley McCown explains that people should not be "fooled by the hurried, haphazard grammar. A lot of time and thought went into those 140 characters. This is because handling unexpected good press requires the same deft touch as handling bad press. Both can easily be bungled with hamfisted intentions."
She expounds, "There is no playbook. In crisis communications, there are standard rules of being forthright and doing things in real time. But with this, there is really a delicate balance, and it could be a mistake to do too much, too quickly."
Ashley McCown's statement appears to be advising McDonald's on what to do in situation like this: "Time and distance is important. There is an arc to a story like this - the story should be about the women right now, so it would be smart to let the story happen this week. If they want to do something from a PR standpoint, they need to wait and see if there is a meaningful way to participate. The last thing you want is an organization seeking PR for the PR Buzz and appearing self-promotional."