It’s been a dozen years since the London Olympics, but PR practitioners with clients sponsoring the Paris games will face many of the same problems that their brethren in 2012 had to handle.
They should by now have a rapid reply program in place to answer some of the most likely questions that reporters will ask:
- How does a sponsor feel about the IOC permitting Russian and Belarus athletes to compete?
- What should the IOC do if Arab and Muslim athletes refuse to compete against those from Israel, as they have in the past.
- What should the IOC do if athletes make anti-Israeli comments?
- What should the IOC do if political comments are made by athletes from the medal stand?
The reason I believe that the above questions are the ones most likely to be asked is based on the happenings 12 years ago during the London Olympics:
- Prior to the beginning of the games, the BBC Olympic website, which featured profiles of Olympic countries, listed East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine and listed no capital for Israel—the only country with no capital listed. The site was amended only after complaints from the public and the Israeli government.
- NPR, long accused of having a pro-Arab, anti-Israel news slant, did about 20 minutes on the Olympics without once mentioning the controversy about the IOC’s refusal to commemorate the slaughter of Israeli athletes during the Munich 1976 games.
- The judo team from Lebanon in 2012 demanded that a partition be erected so that they don’t have to see Israeli athletes training and the Olympic powers caved in.
- Also, Iran said it will not allow its athletes to compete against Israelis.
PR agencies have had many months to prepare their Olympic clients on how best to answer those and other controversial questions that they might be asked
Parroting IOC responses to controversial happenings should be avoided because it will result in negative coverage.
In addition to political questions, PR people should have prepared their Olympics clients for non-political questions that might be asked:
- In the 2012 London Olympics, longtime Olympic sponsor McDonald’s was criticized for its eating healthy Olympic promotion and the story was covered by major media.
- The London Assembly, the government watchdog group, called for a sports sponsorship ban on fast-food and soft-drink companies.
- Also receiving negative coverage during these games were shoddy Olympic clothing offered to the public.
It’s impossible to prepare client spokespersons with answers for all controversies that might occur
However, it’s easy for a savvy PR practitioner, especially those who were “hard news” journalists or have had previous Olympic experience, to know the topics that will most interest reporters and query clients about.
At the top of the list are anti-Israeli actions by Olympians opposed to the Jewish state, followed by questions about allowing athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete and terrorism. That’s why all agency Olympic teams should include one person who is politically savvy, keeps up with the news and can quickly draft statements for clients.
Elton John and Tim Rice wrote a song for Disney’s 1994 animated feature film The Lion King. It is titled “Be Prepared.” We’ll soon see how prepared brand spokespersons are when asked to comment on controversial happenings during the Olympics.
