Shamu Sinking
Words of the Day
“The pen is the tongue of the mind.” – Miguel de Cervantes, Spanish writer
Whale Of A PR Problem
SeaWorld continues to be bitten by a huge PR problem – in fact, a 6-ton publicity quagmire!
One of its killer whales named Tilikum pulled a trainer, 40-year-old Dawn Brancheau, from a platform at the Orlando water park on Thursday, to her death in front of a shocked SeaWorld audience. The incident – which occurred about 1 p.m. – wasn’t the first for 12,000 pound wale. In fact it was the third human death linked to the killer whale since 1991.
Despite this harrowing aquatic nightmare, the orca will continue to perform, but no one will be allowed to interact with him or any of SeaWorld’s other killer whales until an investigation is finished.
WordSmith is relieved, but not totally convinced the water park is doing everything needed to keep public opinion afloat!
It appears that SeaWorld is attempting to get out in front of this negative story with some proactive crisis communications. They halted whale shows in Orlando and at its parks in San Diego, California, and San Antonio, Texas, after the incident … but will restart them this weekend, because the Shamu shows are big business, and the orca image is a multimillion-dollar brand.
However, trainers will not be allowed in the water with the orcas at any of the parks while SeaWorld conducts an investigation into the death and reviews its rules and procedures. Well, um, duh! Whale experts from other marine mammal facilities and from the U.S. Navy will join the investigation.
Meanwhile, the corporate speak is, well, pretty dried up.
Only time will tell how much water this whale of an image will take on. Let’s hope they get to the bottom of this killer PR problem soon!
The WordSmith News Bureau is based at Deane Smith Media Innovations, a full-service PR, marketing and advertising agency. Got PR? Need marketing strategy? Ad consulting? Message Wordsmithing? Creative & online initiatives? Reach the WordSmith at wordsmith@deanesmithmedia.com