It was my father who taught me the tricks on a negative PR campaign.
My first use of them was with my local bank many years ago. They started charging fees to their direct deposit customers—which really ticked me off....
I personally sent a snail-mail letter to each member of the Board of Directors, and sent a copy of that letter to each bank executive.
I then contacted the local lefty rag with a copy of my letter and asked them to investigate the bank.
They wrote a scathing article blasting the bank—and within two weeks of the article being published the bank caved on the fees.
This stuff works!
My sister and BIL, when they were a young family and broke, bought a car from a sandlot.
It was a complete lemon.
Being a used car lot, they wouldn't do anything about it.
I was a kid, but I remember my BIL standing in front of the business with a big sign that basically said they were selling junk cars.
He got it resolved.
About twice a year when the kids were in school, there would be a situation that needed corrected. A few well placed calls to board members, local business or community leaders usually solved the problem within the hour. Only once did I lose the immediate problem but won out in the long run.