Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were cautioned they need to centre their attention on promoting “fresh content” for their latest initiative, the Parents’ Network, instead of “revisiting past controversies” in order to boost the public’s perception and spark interest in it.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced their new project during an interview with CBS.
The Parents’ Network, created in partnership with the couple’s charity, the Archewell Foundation, aims to tackle child safety online and connect families who have lost their children to suicide due to a lack of safeguarding online.
During Harry and Meghan’s latest interview on CBS’s Sunday Morning show, segments of their highly controversial Oprah Winfrey interview from 2021 were shown before Meghan spoke about her own struggles with mental health.
Meghan stressed that by sharing her own experience, she hopes that it might “save someone or encourage someone in their life to really, genuinely check in on them and not assume that the appearance is good.”
But a PR expert said that bringing up past controversies to promote their new project could drive attention away from the main initiative and spark backlash, thus, having a negative impact on their advocacy work.
Renae Smith, founder and director of The Atticism, told Express.co.uk a more effective strategy for the Sussexes would have been if they centred the conversation “squarely on The Parents’ Network and its goal” and handed out a four-step plan for the couple going forward.
Ms Smith said that Harry and Meghan should aim for:
“Focus on New Content: Introduce new stories and testimonials related to the project to highlight its relevance and importance, rather than relying on past interviews.
“Collaborate with Experts: Feature mental health and child safety experts to lend credibility and support to the initiative, ensuring the focus remains on the cause.
“Engage with Stakeholders: Showcase partnerships and endorsements from reputable organisations involved in child safety and mental health to build a robust narrative around the project.
“Personal Narratives with Context: If Meghan’s personal story is shared, it should be done generally, and clearly linked to the motivation behind the project, emphasising how her experiences have shaped her advocacy work.
The PR specialist claimed that by adopting these approaches, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex could “better control the narrative” and “build the reputation of their initiative”.
She concluded that this would ensure that “the public’s attention is directed towards the positive impact of their work rather than revisiting past controversies”.
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