Why and how to use video for public apologies

After a tepid first attempt, rock-and-roll star Josh Homme turned to video to express his regret after kicking a photographer. Here’s what PR pros can learn from his pivot to video.

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Celebrities—and their PR teams—have had lots of practice issuing apologies this year.

Many have come in written statements, and many of those have fallen flat.

Whether the apologies have come for sexual misconduct amid the rise of the #metoo movement or for general misbehavior, a good apology must convey sincerity and authenticity.

Methods for expressing contrition are changing as well, with social media becoming an important channel for apologies and public interaction with public figures accused of misdeeds. At the same time, social media channels are pushing video, which can deliver the authentic emotion that a written statement, however well penned, often lacks.

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