Deborah Pead: PR expert weighs in on Safety Warehouse fake money backlash

Published: Dec. 6, 2020, 9:05 p.m.

No apology from The Safety Warehouse for its weekend giveaway which turned violent.
The company promised to throw $100,000 into a crowd at Auckland's Aotea Square on Saturday.
But people grew angry when some discovered vouchers were being dished out instead of cash.
The company says it stands by its marketing and what was issued at the event.
Public relations expert Deborah Pead told Mike Yardley the event was very off-brand.
"It's a safety warehouse and they sell protection gear, so they probably should have done something that was more targeted to their audience."
She says the company can still come back from the botched stunt.
"They've got great publicity for the wrong reason, but they should know apologise to their audience and make amends."
It's unclear how much real money was involved during the drop or in what denominations.
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