In a somewhat unexpected reaction to a sensitive subject, the coverage of Prince Philip’s death led to a record 100,000 complaints in April.
The Royal Family is never far from scandal and will always have its critics, but it seems many companies missed the mark when it came to broadcasting national mourning. Over in the television world, viewers complained about their scheduled programmes being moved.
Meanwhile, in an apparently well-intentioned website change, National Rail also came under fire. The ticketing site chose to mark the prince’s death by changing its site to a temporary greyscale design. It was soon met with criticism as browsers were quick to mention accessibility issues.
Akin to Prince Philip himself, no company is immune to making ‘gaffes’. What’s important, however, is how we handle them. In the PR world, we recommend following the four As: Admit, Apologise, Action and Amend.