bad pr

I’ve seen some bad PR in my life. Really bad. We’ve talked about how pathetic it is. But this? This is a new low.
So Radius had a ceiling collapse on people and security assault a guest which, you know, might warrant an actual crisis response. Instead, we got a corporate nothing-burger of a statement, so bland and soulless it probably came from a ChatGPT prompt labeled “Generic Apology.”
Then because Chicago PR can’t just be bad, it has to be comically terrible someone posted a “private” industry response in groups that basically admitted:
They don’t actually care about safety, just ticket sales. They fired a security guard not because they care, but because scapegoating is easier than fixing the problem. They’ll do the bare minimum to make the bad press go away. Their entire crisis response is about optics, not action.
And the best part? People actually think the fake, cynical, borderline villain version is real. Because it fits their branding, marketing, and customer service so well that no one even questions it.
This is why PR, marketing, branding, and risk management matter. Because when you consistently treat customers like disposable wallets, no one is surprised when your “real” apology reads like a satire of corporate greed.
Chicago crisis management is always the same: stall, deflect, scapegoat, and wait for the outrage to pass. But the world isn’t waiting anymore.
So the real question is: How long do these companies think they can keep playing this game before no one shows up? You deny and hide long enough by the time you open your eyes you’ll only be playing catch up while the real issues and world is already onto the next project or plan.