The Adidas bosses who appeared on Close Up last night could do with a round of media training as they made a number of mistakes.
Because they took so long to react to the criticism around the price of the All Blacks jersey, they were on the back foot from the start.
Mistake One
The first mistake they made with the interview was fronting up with two spokespeople. This made it difficult for those watching at home to identify with their message because it kept changing when the speaker changed.
Mistake Two
The message itself was the next mistake. Any media training course will demonstrate how spokespeople have to get straight to the point in media interviews and use the most basic language. The Adidas bosses were too complex.
Mistake Three
The message itself was also unclear. They never seemed to focus in on their message. I think their main message was something like "We put millions into New Zealand rugby, and this is only possible because of the commercial decisions like this that we have to make."
They were never that clear. They seemed to be beating around the bush, rather than getting to the point. If that was their message, and they kept repeating it in different ways, they may have repaired some of the damage caused.
But unfortunately, their inability to create and repeat a media message that Joe Average at home could understand may have done them more harm than good.
This example highlights the importance of media training and the need for business people and other leaders to be media ready.