PR Watch, First Quarter 1999, Volume 6, No. 1

Download PR Watch, First Quarter 1999, Volume 6, No. 1

Flack Attack

There is something very seductive about the idea of "win-win" solutions, as Peter Sandman well knows.

Advice on Making Nice: Peter Sandman Plots to Make You a Winner

by Bob Burton


Peter Sandman, an affable "risk communication"
consultant from Massachusetts, is evangelical about his medicine for unpopular
companies and industries--deal directly with your harshest critics, make
concessions, and maybe even let them "win."


align="BOTTOM">This may seem like unusual advice, but some
of the largest companies in the world view Sandman as a crisis management
expert and pay big bucks--between $650 and $1,200 per hour--for his analysis.


align="BOTTOM">Sandman has been called in to rescue battered
corporate reputations in cases ranging from Shell's bloody debacle in
Nigeria to the dumping of the Brent Spar oil platform in Europe.

Some Clients of Peter Sandman

Peter Sandman declined to provide a complete client list, but some of his past and present clients include:

  • In the US: ARCO, Chemical Manufacturers Association, Ciba Geigy, Dow Chemical, Du Pont, Exxon, Intel, Union Carbide, the U.S. Department of Energy (on the Nevada nuclear waste dump), and the U.S. Environment Protection Agency (on radon testing in houses and home testing for lead).
  • Global: Shell International.
  • Australia: Western Mining Corporation, Rio Tinto, Placer Pacific, BHP Petroleum, Pasminco, North Ltd, CSR, Energy Resources of Australia, Minerals Council of Australia, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization.
  • NGO'S: Environmental Defense Fund.

Chilling and Gassing with the Environmental Defense Fund

by Bob Burton

Fred Krupp, executive director of the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), has maintained a relationship with Peter Sandman since his days as a student at the University of Michigan, where Sandman used to teach. With a budget of $27 million and 170 staff people, EDF is one of the "big ten" environmental organizations in the United States, and in the forefront of promoting big-business policies.

Community Advisory Panels: Corporate Cat Herding

by Bob Burton


Following the disaster at Union Carbide's Bhopal
plant in India, the credibility of the chemical industry in the US was
in tatters. Peter Sandman suggested to Ben Woodhouse, then Vice President
and Director of Global Issues for Dow Chemical, that the industry needed
to create mechanisms to rebuild trust.


align="BOTTOM">In Canada the chemical industry had developed
a Responsible Care code in 1985. The CEOs of Dow Chemical and Union Carbide

Mad as Hell? This Program May Have Your Number

by Bob Burton


align="BOTTOM">Is ToxicSludgeCo trying to build in your neighborhood?
Are you and your neighbors swarming like angry bees to attack and drive
away the intruder? If so, you may be have become a blip on someone's "Outrage"
meter.


align="BOTTOM">"Outrage" is a software package based
on Peter Sandman's risk communications theories. As the name suggests,
it is designed to assist companies in "predicting and managing"
the anger of "stakeholders" affected by corporate actions.


align="BOTTOM">Like many PR consultants, Sandman says he is
working to make corporations more open and accountable.

Packaging the Beast: A Public Relations Lesson in Type Casting

by Bob Burton


align="BOTTOM">"You are widely seen as being a bad actor.
. . . How do you move from being a bad actor to being seen as a good actor,
as a good guy?" Peter Sandman asked rhetorically, pacing as he addressed
the 400-strong audience of PR and mine managers from Australia, the Philippines,
South Africa, Papua New Guinea and the U.S.


align="BOTTOM">It is a question that the Australian mining
industry has been asking itself, with increasing desperation.