What is your opinion on spin?

What is your opinion on spin?

It gets the clothes dry

It's the name of the game for politics.
These days, it's not so much what your stated positions are, but who can tell the best lies to a gullible public.

It's just one tool in your arsenal.
I think branding is the foundation of good spin in a business context because branding can define the entire experience, you can own so much mental real-estate and mark up your product or service so much through good branding. It also informs your end goals with spin, the kind of language you want people to use, the kinds of associations and implications you want associated with your company/brand/products or services.

Spin is just a way of keeping that goodwill and retaining trust if something goes wrong - sometimes not even your own fault.

But you need to be a cold-ass mofo to apply it well. Euphemisms piss me off, and that's like a cornerstone of spin.

My god you're a cynical fuck... which means you're absolutely correct!

>My god you're a cynical fuck
Thank you?

You should take it as a compliment, yeah.

It's like what Lenin said, you look for the person who will benefit, and you'll......, you know what I mean.

How about in a crisis situation? Is it acceptable or appropriate in that case? I had always thought that in a time of crisis complete honesty and action to fix it is the best option.

Nah, I'd go the opposite direction.

Telling the lemmings what's really going on is a sure way to incite mass panic. Just bank on the fact most will pursue their own self interest, and tailor your statements to what they want to hear.

But of you are truly a good company with a competent PR department, shouldn't you have a plan of action to combat it? Though you are right, people react way more to events than words. Maybe the best way to do it is to omit some things but let them know there is a problem and you are at least working on a solution.

I'd say it depends.
If most will never figure it out, deny, deny, deny.
If eventually they will and its fixable, lie until the problem is solved, assuming that by the time the truth outs, no one will care as much/dispute your handling of a "difficult situation".
If it isn't, the lies will give cover until the situation can be resolved to your benefit, whether or not you stick around for the fallout.

I think that also depends on what/who you are. A politican will almost always get away with it, but I think if anything is uncovered as a company it will hurt it on varying levels. Some people are so brand loyal they wouldn't even care.

>Some people are so brand loyal they wouldn't even care
You're talking about politics, right?

I'm talking in any manner spin could be used, being politically and business

I should say, anything relating to public relations and publics in general

Yeah, that was a joke.
Partisanship ensures people tend to be willingly blind when it comes to politics.
Less so for corporate products, I'd say.

But why less so for products? I'm genuinely interested in what you're saying

Off the top of my head, I'd guess it's because they feel less invested in products than political candidates.
One can be changed with a visit to a store or website (and could be of miniscule financial impact), whereas the other takes years and significant cooperation to change, while retaining the possibility of of major financial impact.

I would say that was true a generation ago, but now I'm not so sure. Millenials, for example, make up most of the US, but a fraction of them vote. Meanwhile, many young people will go waste their money on whatever, regardless of what the company may do that should skew them. However, in the same way, many people will ignore the bad in politicans too.

>but a fraction of them vote
Sure, but this has always been true.
When I was younger, people would unironically say "I don't give a shit about politics", and they meant it. In fact, if you said you did, you'd be pegged as the oddball.

>regardless of what the company may do that should skew them
Like what?
If I heard that the CEO of Heinz pistol whipped one of his employees, I'm not likely to change the kind of ketchup I buy, as I can't see how this affects the quality of the product. Really, what does one have to do with the other?

I did say they would buy it regardless of what the company does. But lets say they tested it on animals and it was harmful (no idea how), it wouldn't bother most people enough to stop buying it. Also

>ketchup
>not honey mustard
Wew

Bad example after rereading, let's say they were putting a chemical under investigation for being a carcinogen, not many people would stop buying even if it was good for them to do so

>putting a chemical under investigation for being a carcinogen
That says something about laziness, all right. But it also says something about a lack of trust. For example, it wouldn't surprise me in the least to find out the "investigation" was horseshit ginned up by a competitor, with the assistance of someone corrupt in a public agency. Meanwhile, others in the know profit from their shorts or options.

>honey mustard
Gross.

You make a good point, many people may put that in mind when something happens. How would the victim company tell the public that though?

>gross

Idk why I hate ketchup as much as I do.

>How would the victim company tell the public that though?
They can't, and that's the beauty of the strategy. Any defense that sounds remotely like that reeks of tinfoil hat conspiracy. It also sounds like what anyone desperate would say, so they dig themselves an even deeper hole by doing so.

I don't buy Heinz ketchup anyway.
I just said that because it sounded good.

So what would one do? Ignore it? Strike back? Or simply say there isn't anything wrong with it

What do you buy

>So what would one do?
I really couldn't say, as I've never had to make that kind of call. Thankfully, my business doesn't really require public approval of any kind.

>What do you buy
Lol. I don't, my wife handles that shit.

What business is that? I'm a young, collegefag so I know even less

I let my gf do most of that too, except for things I only use.

I'm a trader.
Important to note, however, that I had the ability to retire before I started doing it, as opposed to the other way around. Not going to Veeky Forums claim I traded my way to riches, I just find it preferable to sitting on my ass (metaphorically).