So, How Do You Define the Elon Musk & Sink "News Story?"

Edward M. Bury, APR

Oct 30

One may wonder if Mr. Musk is preparing for a career in the home building or plumbing industry.

By Edward M. Bury, APR, MA (aka The PRDude)

By now you've seen or perhaps heard about the action by the world's richest man to carry in a porcelain object found in many homes and structures around the world as a way of "defining" his acquisition of one of the world's most well-known and valuable social media platforms.

Yes, I'm referring to the news October 26 with an image showing Elon Musk, dressed in a black t-shirt and grinning somewhat pervasively, entering the San Francisco headquarters offices of Twitter, his arms wrapped around a white bathroom sink.

Questions? Yes, I have questions on why Mr. Musk employed the sink as a prop, unless of course, he planned to install it in the Twitter offices in the South of Market district; but first a perspective on the times we live in today.

The world -- and what's been customary in business, culture and general behavior -- continues to change, and at a much more rapid pace. From a broad perspective, change can be beneficial for society, laying the foundation for improvement and efficiency, sharing of new ideas and discoveries.

Now back to the focus of this post. I trust in years past significant corporate acquisition proceedings were consummated by guys in well-tailored dark suits and held in spectacular office conference rooms, followed by a fabulous dinner with steaks and martinis. The soaring growth and value of technology companies, mostly led by guys sporting hoodies and jeans, is eroding some time-honored business practices.

For Mr. Musk to forge ahead with a novel decision to wrap both arms around a sink while entering the Twitter offices is an example of how we've changed. For better or worse? That's not my immediate concern.

But, looking at this scenario from the perspective of a public relations guy, I'd say the "Musk Sink Incident" is nothing more than a publicity stunt. Yes, one of the best-known and storied communications tactics designed to generate exposure and commentary was behind a tactic involving one of the most talked about men on the planet. The Twitter sale would had generated exposure if Mr. Musk entered the building with just a smile and left the sink in the shipping container.

As for my questions:

Was the decision to carry a sink part of a strategic communications or corporate strategy?
Were Mr. Musk's communications team members on board with the tactic?
Didn't the exposure brought on by the purchase of Twitter generate enough exposure for Mr. Musk and his brand?
Will Mr. Musk leverage the exposure brought on by the incident to build awareness for future business activities?
Will other firms resort to having the top executive carry a sink -- or perhaps a stove or microwave oven -- during a major corporate event?
Will a sink replace the little blue bird as the new Twitter logo?

Okay, just kidding on the last two questions. But, I find it disconcerting that a icons of business, sports, political and entertainment often resort to clearly somewhat childish initiatives to increase their presence in the world today. Are their egos really that inflated?

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