Lapse and Lunacy

Unlike what most believe, Rick Perry's 'brain freeze' moment doesn't have to numb his campiagn. Latest reports seem to suggest the Perry camp's getting its response to gaffe right. They have decided to 'embrace' the memory lapse moment and have dispatched an email to their supporters stating, "Write us to let us know what federal agency you would most like to forget. "Is it the EPA and its job-killing zealots? The NLRB and its czar-like dictates? The edu-crats at the Department of Education who aim to control your local curriculum?"

Plus they've encouraged supporters to add a $5 as donation with every suggestion!

I say, cheeky, and brilliant!

Gaffes are good if they can elicit empathy. Who amongst us hasn't had a memory lapse moment? In fact tell you what, at times my mind blanks up mid sentence while in a class! So I quite understand what happened to Rick. My guess is, so can you. Its up to the Perry camp to play this story right, and up to Perry to not do this often.

Its a thin line between lapse and lunacy.

Recovering from a lapse can be easy if you manage its aftermath well. Ditto when it comes to lapses whilst crafting value propositions for consumers. Breakdowns are to be expected. What's important is how the marketer salvages post lapse. Negative publicity, can for example be capitalised on if the brand spins and humanises the reported lapse, and then corrects it quickly.

The Perry campaign is far from dead. It can still bounce back with vigor. But it'll take more than just spin. Its time Perry delivers on substance.

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