Had a real convo with a friend who works in PR and it changed how I see brand apologies

So my friend Maggie does crisis comms for a mid-size agency in Austin. Last week we were grabbing coffee and she broke down why most brand apologies feel fake. She said the real ones spend 3 to 5 hours crafting the message and include a specific timeline for fixing the issue, like "we will update our policy by April 10." The fake ones just say sorry and move on. I never paid attention to the wording before, but now I check for a date or a plan. Has anyone else started looking for those details in apology posts?

3 comments

3 Comments

felixlee9d ago

Yeah but I think there's a difference between drafting fast and actually meaning it... Maggie's point was that the ones who take time are thinking about what they're actually gonna DO not just what they're gonna SAY. The fast drafters probably have templates saved from last time their company messed up, and that's why it all sounds the same. The specific timeline thing really stuck with me because it's something you can actually check later. If they say they'll fix it by April 10 and don't, then you know it was all talk. But if they actually do it, that's real accountability in my book.

hernandez.finley9d ago

Hang on, that 3 to 5 hour thing sounds a bit off, most good PR people draft real apologies way faster than that.

hannahk199d ago

...and honestly @hernandez.finley, I think that's kinda the problem. The ones who are good at it probably already have a boilerplate apology ready to go, so it's less about drafting and more about tweaking the details. The ones who actually spend 3 to 5 hours are probably trying to figure out how to not sound like a robot.