Thursday, November 20, 2008
PR Black Eye
Here is a black eye for the CEOs of the Big Three auto companies. The irony is that a corporate jet is the best transportation tool for them because their time is valuable. But, the public doesn't see it that way. They want the CEOs to stand in long lines along with everyone else and get packed into commercial airliners.
It is not upsetting to know that they flew to Washington in private aircraft. They were probably working the way there and back. And, they got to DC in a decent amount of time and returned as quickly. When a company is in peril, one doesn't want the leader lost in an airport because the commercial airliner is late again.
However, the image of privilege is associated with corporate jets, and people can't shake the idea that anyone who uses them is different from the rest of us. Sometimes that is true, but just as often, it isn't. I can think of a manufacturer with plants scattered in small communities throughout the US. The manufacturer uses corporate jets because it can't get to its plants otherwise. The jet is filled with middle managers as often as company executives. To outsiders, the jet smacks of excess. To the manufacturer, it saves tens of thousands of hours of managerial time per year.
It is unlikely, however, that a PR campaign for a corporate jet would work.
It is not upsetting to know that they flew to Washington in private aircraft. They were probably working the way there and back. And, they got to DC in a decent amount of time and returned as quickly. When a company is in peril, one doesn't want the leader lost in an airport because the commercial airliner is late again.
However, the image of privilege is associated with corporate jets, and people can't shake the idea that anyone who uses them is different from the rest of us. Sometimes that is true, but just as often, it isn't. I can think of a manufacturer with plants scattered in small communities throughout the US. The manufacturer uses corporate jets because it can't get to its plants otherwise. The jet is filled with middle managers as often as company executives. To outsiders, the jet smacks of excess. To the manufacturer, it saves tens of thousands of hours of managerial time per year.
It is unlikely, however, that a PR campaign for a corporate jet would work.
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