I just saw a news announcement that Proctor and Gamble has contributed in excess of $520,000 to the world champion US Women’s Soccer team to cover the pay equity that has been very much in the news of late. That’s outstanding on multiple levels.
First off, it’s a great report to their core audience, it’s terrific PR, and could really go a long way to goodwill for their brand. Here’s the catch that could turn into a crisis PR if they’re not careful. For P&G to make this really work, they have to ensure that their own pay for men and women for the same type of jobs is equal. If for some reason it’s not, and it’s found out later on, this thing comes crashing down on them. And it’s really a good point overall for any organization looking to do something purely for the PR benefit. If it’s not true to your brand, if it is not something that is core to your values, it could come back and bite you quick, and then it’s really hard to recover from, even in the best of crisis PR circumstances.
So when you’re putting forth an effort like that, be sure you’re doing it because it conforms with your core values and actually supports your brand. If it doesn’t, and you’re just trying to take advantage of a situation, you might get burned.
Editor’s note – apologies for the $520 million reference in the YouTube video clip. The actual figure is more than $529,000.
