FUMBLE: ALBERTA IS THE PICTURE OF … ENGLAND?!

Veritas Team Huddle Compiled By Beverley Hammond

The Province of Alberta recently launched a $25 million re-brand and promotional campaign featuring the image of children frolicking on the beach accompanied by the tag line “Alberta: Freedom to Create. Spirit to Achieve." The image appears in print advertisements and in a YouTube video. The only problem is that the photo was taken near the English village of Bamburgh in Northumberland and not in Alberta at all. Dumb? Yes. But alas everyone makes mistakes. It is in how you manage those mistakes that your communications savvy is determined. It’s called “issue management” in our world, and this case study was far from textbook. When word of the photo’s origin first leaked, the Premier’s office defended the image suggesting, “there's no attempt to mislead here. The picture used just fit the mood and tone of what we were trying to do." The response from Alberta NDP Leader Brian Mason reflects the general consensus to that response when he called it "the most lame spin ever”. Beyond that, the use of the loaded and negative word “mislead” is also a Fumble. Presumably, in selecting that language, the spokesperson was repeating the language used in the journalist’s question, and in so doing fell into that trap that loyal TD&F readers know to be “parroting the negative”. This situation was only exacerbated when Olga Guthrie, head of the government agency overseeing the campaign, suggested “[the campaign] represents Albertans' concern for the future of the world. There's no attempt to make people think that the place pictured is Alberta." That is just false and offensive. Lying is an obvious fumble and never recommended. Later, the Premier’s office apologized for the “error,” but by then the damage had been done and all credibility lost. In government or the private sector, when an issue arises it is important to select one spokesperson, take responsibility for your mistakes and give honest and believable responses. All of these points were missed. As one of my Veritas colleagues suggested, this one was simply “fumble-icious”.