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4 PR lessons from ‘Modern Family’

By Kate Connors. Posted: May 8, 2015

With a cast of hilarious characters and creative, comedic scenarios, it is no surprise that the television show “Modern Family” has become a favorite of many TV viewers.

Amid the laughs and Cameron’s outrageous costume changes, the characters deliver important life lessons which public relations professionals can apply to their work.

Here are a few of my favorite takeaways from the award-winning series:

1. “There are dreamers and there are realists in this world. You’d think the dreamers would find the dreamers and the realists would find the realists, but more often than not the opposite is true. You see, the dreamers need the realists to keep them from soaring too close to the sun. And the realists, well without the dreamers, they might not ever get off the ground.” – Cameron Tucker

Cameron (played by Eric Stonestreet) is the ultimate dreamer of the “Modern Family” cast, but he does have a point about the importance of balance in a relationship.

In the case of PR teams, it is extremely important to have imaginative and innovative members, but also to have people who keep the trains running and focus more on the logistics and execution of projects. Clients love to hear creative and original ideas, but they want to ensure that they are realistic and achievable. Having a communications team with both of these personality types is the best way to ensure success for your client and your firm.

2) “Okay, so after a quick scan of his Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, and Instagram, here is what I know.” – Haley Dunphy.

Although Haley (played by Sarah Hyland) was using her skills to stalk one of her father’s potential real estate clients, the lesson can be applied to organizations and their branding strategies. It is extremely important that brands, with the help of their PR teams, streamline their communications so that they are delivering the same message on all their social media platforms.

In addition to making sure your messages are identical across different social media platforms, it is equally important for PR professionals to consider how messages are interpreted by different audiences. Clorox bleach recently came under fire when a brand manager tweeted about Apple’s new ethnically diverse emojis. Clorox asked Apple via Twitter, “New emojis are alright but where’s the bleach?”

The question was asking about why bleach wasn’t included as part of the new household emojis, but some social media users took this to be a racial insult. Clorox deleted the tweet and immediately apologized via social media, but it shows how one misinterpreted question can hurt a brand. It is extremely important to consider all messaging before you push something out the door, even if it is only 140 characters.

3) “I’ve always seen life like a series of doors. Sometimes you get to choose the door you go through, and sometimes you don’t get that choice. But you still have to walk through it. So either you can go through kicking and screaming, or walk through with your head held high.” – Jay Pritchett

Jay (played by Ed O’Neill) delivers some of the best advice on the show, but his quote about the importance of being prepared for any situation life deals you could not ring truer for PR professionals. Every day, people make mistakes. The ones who soldier through them are those that have prepared for it. With your client, create an internal and external communications plan to prepare for surprises, good and bad.

In 2007, JetBlue came under scrutiny after a communication breakdown led to the cancellation of over 1,000 flights. Instead of blaming the weather or other external conditions, JetBlue’s CEO took full responsibility from the communication breakdown and apologized publicly. Since 2007, JetBlue has taken steps to ensure this type of breakdown doesn’t occur again and has continued to deliver on their promise of great customer service for the most part. Although the five-day communication breakdown was not one of JetBlue’s finer moments, it did allow the brand to come back even stronger and prepare for future surprises.

4) “All this time I’ve been trying to figure out what Cam wanted for his birthday, and he’d been telling me all along. He wanted to be 10.” – Mitchell Pritchett

As Mitchell (played by Jesse Tyler Ferguson) realized, understanding what your partner wants is the key to a successful relationship. It is equally important for brand managers to understand what consumers want. It’s the job of PR representatives for brands to identify campaign ideas that you feel will work for your client.

Over the years, some brands have severely missed the mark on understanding what their customers want. One of these brands is Colgate, a brand most Americans recognize as an oral hygiene care company. In the 1980s, Colgate decided to offer frozen kitchen entrees. As Bidness Etc author Bob Cramer recognizes, customers were not crazy about “eating food offered by the same brand whose products they normally used to clean their mouths with.” In this case, Colgate’s execs had to find a moment of clarity, much like Mitchell, and realize what their consumers were actually asking for.

In the wise words of Luke Dunphy, “Some are born into greatness; some have it hurled at their face.” In the communications field, you never know what surprise is going to be thrown at you – much like the characters on “Modern Family”. Yet, if you can establish a strong team and prepare your clients for all different types of scenarios, you can come out on top.

Kate Connors is a Senior Account Manager & Social Media Strategist at Media & Communications Strategies. She’s a huge “Modern Family” fan who aspires to one day get cast as an extra on the show.