on second thought…
Last week we laughed at a particularly ridiculous bit of PR, one not surprisingly attached to the Sunderland disaster. Looks like somebody finally woke up and realized what insanity he was about to get involved with. High marks for some nice back tracking!
I am no longer representing Abby Sunderland or the Sunderland family as manager, publicist or agent. Furthermore it should be noted that neither Abby nor her family have ever been clients of Mercer PR in an official sense. They were simply a family I reached out to help because they were in the very difficult situation of attempting to deal with extremely negative, intense media exposure at a time they simply should have been celebrating the saved life of a young girl plucked from the Indian Ocean.
As a PR professional experienced in crisis management, I offered to help and was subsequently requested by the Sunderland family to represent Abby after she was located by rescuers. I implemented a professional and effective communications and media approach to protect their dignity and help them focus on looking after their daughter. I am proud of the results I was able to achieve for them. During this time I discussed the ongoing management of Abby and came to a verbal agreement to represent her in the future. I mentioned this as a minor part of a subsequent press release regarding a possible Australian trip.
However this was premature and I have since – following discussion and agreement with the family – decided to decline further representation of Abby or any other member of the Sunderland family. Abby has been through a difficult time and has handled herself with poise and maturity. I wish her all the best for the future.
Lyall Mercer
