Sleepy Hollow Public Relations Disaster

I am a fan of the hit show on Fox, “Sleepy Hollow,” which is loosely based on the Washington Irving’s 1820 short story, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and features a headless horseman. Recently the television show has been in the news because of a public relations crisis they are facing.

The first season of Sleepy Hollow is due to come out on DVD on September 16, 2014. Think Jam is the marketing and public relations firm for Sleepy Hollow and decided to create a public relations campaign of  “National Beheading Day” declared on September 2, 2014 to promote the release of the show.

The creators of the campaign released the statement, “heads will roll as sleepyheads celebrate Headless Day today, September 2.” Fans were encouraged to celebrate “Headless Day” by sharing on social media the release date of season one to DVD. Fans were also encouraged to use the hashtag “#Headless Day” with anything they posted on social media.

Unfortunately, Think Jam did not pay attention to the breaking news and released this campaign shortly after news had broke of the beheading of journalist Steven Sotloff.

As expected, the campaign did not go over well and no one shared or celebrated “Headless Day” on social media. Many people were outraged and disgusted that Sleepy Hallow would release such a campaign. Think Jam needed to take control of the crisis situation.

Think Jam released the following statement on September 2,

“We apologize for the unfortunate timing of our ‘Sleepy Hollow’ Headless Day announcement. The tragic news of Steven Sotloff’s death hit the web as the email was being sent. Our deepest sympathies are with him and his family, and we don’t take the news lightly. Had we known this information prior, we would have never released the alert and realize it’s in poor taste” (MTV news).

Even though Think Jam released a statement, many people still have feelings of distaste for them and the show. Some critics are saying this may deter people from buying the DVD or watching season two of Sleepy Hollow.

From this crisis, it can be learned that news spreads instantaneously on social media. All companies and public relations firms must be aware of everything happening at all times to avoid horrible situations such as this one.