The Sound of (Strategic) Silence

The cross-examination of politicians on breakfast TV or BBC Radio 4's Today show was once as normal part of the pre-work morning routine as munching a bowl of cornflakes. Switch on the TV or flick the radio dial and chances are, there'd always be a flustered-looking MP deflecting away while presenters repeatedly pummelled him/her with "why can't you just answer the question!?" over-and-over like a battering-ram. 

In recent months these politicians have been conspicuous by their absence. As the Daily Mirror reported in November, Rishi Sunak has stopped his frontbenchers conducting daily interviews with the morning media, only appearing when they had something to announce. During the height of the inquiry into Conservative chairman Nadhim Zahawi's tax affairs in late-January, the Mirror also noted his MPs dodged the broadcast rounds for three consecutive days. As for the prime minister, he's been keeping such a low profile, he's acquired a new nickname by some newspapers: ‘Invisible Rishi'. 

"In an age when everybody's creating a noise, there's a profound signal in silence," says crisis PR consultant and author Mark Borkowski. "Sunak is a classic example of moving forward because of this noise, whether it's social media or the chaos this country saw with three prime ministers walking in-and-out of No 10. The signal Rishi's sending through his silence is that he's quietly getting on with his job."

Over in Washington, DC, President Joe Biden is also adopting as similarly taciturn approach, granting only seven formal sit-down interviews during 2022, a figure far fewer than his predecessors (Barack Obama gave 158 interviews in his first year in the White House).
 

QUIET STORM

Whether Sunak and Biden are swerving scrutiny or not, they're not the only ones resorting to media muteness. Borkowski notes that during the recent ‘Queuegate' furore - when This Morning hosts Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield apparently skipped the queue at the Queen's lying-in-state - their PRs kept schtum, despite negative headlines and a 78,000-strong petition calling for the presenters' sacking. 

"Everybody stayed firm… the advertisers didn't pull, there was no sacking from [ITV CEO] Carolyn McCall," says Borkowski. "As a result, the tables turned in a very short space of time: who's talking about Queuegate now?" Indeed, Schofield's comment when confronted on the subject in November, was, "You're a bit late on the story, mate."

Meanwhile, David Beckham's omertà on his controversial involvement with Qatar during the 2022 World Cup received scathing criticism for failing to acknowledge the country's treatment of migrant workers and its lack of LGBTQ+ rights. Yet, Borkowski says being this self-censorship has worked in his favour. 

"Sometimes the wisest move is to let things pass," says Borkowski. "David Beckham is a global name whose strength today comes from the Middle East and US. The perception of ‘David Beckham and Qatar' is a wholly British perspective." The ephemeral ‘today's-news-is-tomorrow's-fish-and-chip-paper' nature of British media means that we could soon be "genuflecting at the shrine of St David being one of the people" once again. 

The silent strategy of Beckham and Queuegate breaks one of the cardinal rules of crisis comms. When a crisis erupts, being tight-lipped or issuing a string of "no comments" allows others - think media commentators, the angry public, misinformation-peddling blogs and social media trolls - to fill the void. Speaking out - as quickly as possible - is a way to control the narrative. 

"If you're silent during a crisis, social media and journalists will try to work out what has happened: you'll be constantly fighting against misinformation," says Mike Evans, co-founder of strategic communications consultancy and reputation management consultancy, Herdwick Communications. "If you don't respond, it's a response in itself."

Indeed, Downing Street's 201-day boycott of ITV's Good Morning Britain during the height of the pandemic in 2020 saw scathing criticism from GMB hosts and the public alike. The Boris Johnson administration had history here: the government blacklisted Radio 4's Today during the 2019 general election, around the same time the then-PM was found "hiding" in a fridge, apparently to avoid Piers Morgan's questioning. 
 

NEVER COMPLAIN, NEVER EXPLAIN

There are times, however, when maintaining a dignified silence speaks volumes. The late Queen Elizabeth II famously adhered to the motto "never complain, never explain"; a tried-and-tested PR strategy the royal family recently upheld following the bombshell allegations in Prince Harry's memoir Spare. The wall of silence has given the Royals the upper hand, says Borkowski. 

"If the royal family were to corroborate or even comment or defend themselves against Harry's accusations, they would be extending the story," he says. "Instead of getting into a verbal fistfight, they'll be using next year's coronation to draw the world's focus onto what they're good at… [Strategic silence] isn't a new phenomenon; it's an elegant response that has the power to fizzle out toxic rumours and false truths… But you need a strong team and a rigidity and/or authenticity at the heart of your brand."

This is certainly true for an elite band of unassailable celebrities who can sidestep the promo treadmill when releasing a new album or movie. Beyoncé's acclaimed Renaissance was teased a month before its release last summer when the star removed her profile picture from her social media platforms. Having ‘surprise-released' her previous three albums (also a habit for Taylor Swift and Frank Ocean), Renaissance wasn't accompanied by a tour, expensive music videos or chats on Graham Norton's sofa. There was a lavish British Vogue cover, true, but no juicy interview: editor Edward Enninful wrote a first-hand account of working with the star instead.

Creating mystique by freezing the press has been a celebrity PR motif ever since Greta Garbo uttered she wanted to be alone in the 1930s. In the mid-noughties, David Bowie embarked on a decade-long recording hiatus and everybody thought he'd retired for good until he suddenly dropped The Next Day in 2013; during the interim his legend only increased. Likewise giving few interviews has only created an enigmatic halo around many musicians (Prince, The Weekend, Kraftwerk). Meanwhile, actor Bill Murray has reportedly never hired a publicist, instead giving an 1-800 number to those who request an interview; something that does his maverick mythos no harm at all. It can be effective PR, because as Borkowski says, "It gives what every celebrity wants when they reach A-list status: privacy."

The fashion world has regularly remained icily silent to create a patina of coolness around its brands and models. Until she gave an interview to Desert Island Discs last year, few people knew that Kate Moss was able to speak, despite the supermodel being one of the famous people in the UK for the last 30 years (the publicity-shy star also used "never complain, never explain" as her mantra, on the advice of ex-boyfriend Johnny Depp). 

There are other instances when strategic silence might work for PR, such as not responding to bizarre claims from social media trolls or wacky stories (David Cameron took four years to respond to allegations he had inserted a "private part of his anatomy" into a pig's mouth at university). Meanwhile, strategic silence can be harnessed for SEO purposes: it might not be sensible for a new client with no press exposure to comment on a controversial topic (pig harassment, say), as the brand's name may always be linked with that subject whenever a journalist Googles its name. 

But even when brands are ostensibly ‘quiet', there's always some PR going on behind-the-scenes: creative ways to market a publicity-shy musician or putting out stories to extinguish social media tittle-tattle. Even the royals' "never complain, never explain" ethos may be more calculated than it seems; Prince Harry recently alluded that Buckingham Palace regularly "spoon-feeds" information to journalists.

Indeed, PRs should always maintain relationships with the media - even when adopting a silent approach for clients - as an investment, says Evans. "[Adopting a silent strategy] is a two-way street… It might be good for those with infinite success. But times may change and the organisation will need support from the media. If you haven't nurtured those relationships, then you'll be starting from scratch all over again…"

It syncs with the PR theory of ‘environmental scanning' - gathering info from various stakeholders to gauge how a client or story might resonate with the public - says Elizabeth Maclean, co-founder, Herdwick Communications. 

"It's important to understand the companies we represent, the needs of journalists writing the stories and the media landscape," she says. "I've never advocated clients being ‘silent' as a strategy. When we advise clients about speaking or not speaking to media, it comes down to working out what you want to say, being clear about positioning statements, plus doing your homework and media training… There's always been a huge benefit in saying ‘yes' or ‘no' to an answer."