The Best And Worst Things To Do In A Crisis

In an article over at PR Daily, Danya Proud, Media Relations Director for McDonalds, USA shares a few helpful pointers on the best and worst things to do in a crisis. Very helpful tips when you want to ensure that your brand withstands the test (for it is always a matter of “when” you’d face a crisis, not “if”).

Never

• Never inflate the situation before you’ve figured it out, Proud says. Sending an email to your entire company when in crisis mode is unnecessary. Identify the key players and departments, and focus on communicating with them.
• Never be a slacker. Social media moves quickly. “Gone are the days that you can procrastinate about what you’re saying,” Proud says. “You have a responsibility to get back to people.” If you aren’t informed enough to address the problem at hand, a simple tweet or post letting people know you’re looking into the issue will show that you’re listening.
• Never miss an opportunity. A crisis can be an opportunity to set the record straight. “I seize every opportunity to educate,” Proud says.
• Never fail to recognize C.A.V.E. people. Some people are “trolling” the Internet looking to stir up trouble. You need to know when to respond and when to recognize a “C.A.V.E.” person—that is, a Citizen Against Virtually Everything, as McDonald’s CEO Jim Skinner calls them. “Understand and accept that you won’t get 100 percent” of people loving your brand, Proud advises.

Always

• Define the crisis. Before you go into panic mode, you need to understand what the crisis is, what it means to your company, and who needs to be involved.
• Tailor the communication. The CEO isn’t always the most relatable person. Make sure the person you choose to represent the crisis at hand resonates with the audience.
• Avoid jargon. “People forget conversational language and resort back to comfortable corporate speak,” Proud notes.
• Give them what they want. Proud knows that “it’s not about what you want to say, it’s about what your audience wants to hear.” McDonald’s embarks on listening tours and monitors social media to understand what people want from the company.
• Acknowledge that you’re not perfect. If you’ve made a mistake, own up to it. Let people know you’re listening to them.

Full article here.

How To Avoid a Social Media Disaster (via Mashable)

I was writing about my terrible ordeal with the telemarketer for the iStrategy2010 conference (on Social Media, no less) [Part 1, Part 2, Part 3] when I stumbled upon this helpful article via Mashable: How to respond when Social Media attacks your brand?. Of course, prevention is much better than cure… so here’s another helpful article via Mashable: How to avoid a social media disaster. (I really love Mashable!)

For the PR and Communications professional, the impact of a crisis has been exponentially exacerbated by the power of social media. As I’ve said before, this is due to the powerful fact that social media is essentially a network, with implicit assumptions of trust and credibility (by network members), and a built-in capacity for rapid dissemination of news.

Now, anyone and everyone can now vent their dissatisfaction about your brand and, I assure you, they will have their own like-minded audiences (friends, relatives, total strangers) who are similarly equipped and empowered. If unmanaged, you will have an echo-chamber of negativity that will get out of hand.

Even so, any practitioner will understand that one can never fully “control” what customers and audiences say about one’s brand – especially on social media platforms. Most would also agree that it’s not something you want to do, since social media is essentially a social medium – i.e. you don’t own it, the community does. It’s exactly because of this freedom to comment, to voice opinions and to generally share information that results in the kind of customers you want – those who are engaged with your brand! These customers end up being that desired loyal fan base that spreads the word about your brand to their friends and family.

Still, there are a few steps that you can take to prevent or circumvent a negative PR crisis about your brand on social media networks online. Here’s what the Mashable article recommends:

How to respond when Social Media attacks your brand? (via Mashable)

Just as I was writing about my terrible ordeal with the telemarketer for the iStrategy2010 conference (on Social Media, no less) [Part 1, Part 2, Part 3], I stumbled upon this helpful article via Mashable: How to respond when Social Media attacks your brand?

It’s a great article with real case studies of how three brands were attacked via Social Media and what they did to respond. Here are my key takeaways:

1. Stop the attack before it escalates. It’s very easy to jump on to the “bashing bandwagon.” You must realise that social media is essentially a network, with implicit assumptions of trust and credibility (by network members), and a built-in capacity for rapid dissemination of news. Think of what that means when people start bashing your brand.
2. Listen to your customer. Social media is social. You’re in a dialogue/discussion now. Gone are the days of monologues or one-way conversations. These days, the customer has the tools that empower them to be heard… so start listening for real!
3. Have a plan. Crisis communications and issues management is no longer just about managing print and broadcast media. Now, anyone and everyone with Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn can spread the news. Make sure you have a plan that takes that into consideration.
4. Monitor social media. Set up some capability to monitor social media channels. You’ll want to know what’s being said about you and where so that you can respond quickly.
5. Engage! As I said, social media is social! To earn the right to be heard (and therefore respond to allegations), you must participate in the conversation!

Dilbert’s Scott Adams: How Steve Jobs Successfully Managed iPhone4′s “Antenna-gate” Controversy

I’m often amused and surprised that some of the best business insights I’ve ever come across are from cartoonists (although, maybe I shouldn’t be!). In following the iPhone4 “Antenna-gate” controversy, I came across Dilbert’s Scott Adams positing a very interesting observation on how Steve Jobs successfully managed the controversy for Apple.

Basically, he applied what Adams called the “High Ground Maneuver“.

How Not To Do Brand PR: Volvo Crashes Brand New Car In Safety Demonstration

I just read this story via Wired, “Video: Volvo accidentally smashes new car in safety demo“. It pretty much sums up the perfect PR disaster during a product launch or demonstration. Great stuff for nightmares, really… especially when Volvo’s main “brand attribute” is… wait for it… “safety”.

To add insult to injury, apart from this occurring in front of the entire media corp Volvo invited, it was all captured on video…

(And blogged about all over the interwebs)

The question for discussion is: If you were the Corporate Communications officer or PR representative for Volvo that day, what would you have done?

16 Social Media Guidelines (By Real Companies)

I came across this list via Econsultancy. It’s very helpful to observe how some companies are coming to terms with social media by trying to “manage” their messaging via social media. Of course, the idea of whether it is possible to “manage the message” via social media (or whether one should even attempt to do so!) is wholly debatable. However, I believe anyone in the area of branding, marketing or communications cannot ignore social media and how your internal audience (i.e. your staff, colleagues, etc.) are helping you spread “the brand message” whether you like it or not. Hence, some measure of policy and guidelines may actually be helpful.

What are your thoughts after reading through some of the guidelines?

• IBM
• BBC (British Broadcasting Company)
• INTEL
• KODAK (PDF-format)
• SAP
• ZAPPOS

The Dark Side of Marketing: Disney’s Baby Einstein Deception

The New York Times reports that Disney’s Baby Einstein videos have been found not to live up to its marketing claims: that Baby Einstein videos are “educational”. Disney was threatened a class-action lawsuit for unfair and deceptive practices unless they agreed to refund the full purchase price to all who bought the videos since 2004. “The Walt Disney Company’s entire Baby Einstein marketing regime is based on express and implied claims that their videos are educational and beneficial for early childhood development,” a letter from the lawyers said, calling those claims “false because research shows that television viewing is potentially harmful for very young children.”

Bausch & Lomb ReNu: Eyecare Scare

Bausch & Lomb has a problem here in Southeast Asia. Their product has been linked to cases of fungal eye infections by the Singapore Ministry of Health (MOH), which issued an advisory to users in the country to stop using Bausch & Lomb ReNu multi-purpose contact lens solutions.The story also gained traction in several media outlets (Channel News Asia, Optician Journal UK) across several countries (Brunei; China – Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai; Taiwan; Pakistan). In fact, Google News already records over 50 news items on the Bausch & Lomb scandal.

Popular Malaysian blogger, Jeff Ooi, chronicled the developement of this case in his blog .

What I find most damaging for Bausch & Lomb is this:

A report in Borneo Bulletin (Feb 21) quoted an eyecare outlet manager in Bandar Seri Begawan as saying products sold in Brunei mostly came from Malaysia.

However, in The Star report dated Feb 25, Bausch & Lomb South-East Asia managing director Foo Eng Chuan was quoted as saying that his company would not suspend the sales of ReNu multi-purpose solution in Malaysia. Reason: “There had been no report of corneal infection in Malaysia so far.” Quote and unquote Bausch & Lomb’s MD in The Star.

He also revealed, in The Star report, that Bausch and Lomb had voluntarily suspended sales of the product in Hong Kong and Singapore “to help the health ministries investigate the cause of the infection”.

(Source: Jeff Ooi’s Screenshots)

According to the Taipei Times, Taiwan, Bausch & Lomb will also not be withdrawing their product from the shelves.

But, isn’t that a recipe for a great Public Relations disaster?

Whenever the public’s interest and well-being is circumspect, organizations must always, always err on the side of caution. It is likely that Bausch & Lomb was holding out and “hoping for the best” pending the outcome of the investigations. Perhaps they were concerned about “not behaving guiltily,” prevailing on being “innocent until proven guilty.”

Unfortunately, the “right to remain silent” only works in law, not public relations. By delaying their responses and appearing to drag their feet, Bausch & Lomb have unwittingly communicated to their consumers that they are more concerned with themselves, than their consumers.

It’s basically Crisis Communications 101.

In a Crisis, there are two virtues: Timeliness and Transparency.

Timeliness means that time is of the essence. Any delay, or perceived delay, and the organization will be seen as being unconcerned – whether about their consumers or the situation. Worse, they could be perceived as stone-walling. Organizations need to quickly get their act in order and quickly communicate with their audiences (consumers, media, authorities, etc.). They need to assemble their Crisis Communication Plan (though this should have been done earlier) and execute it. Their designated spokespersons need to be at the forefront, continually communicated with the public. They should also quickly set up points-of-contact/information where the public can get more information or, if necessary, to make claims for their grievances.

Transparency is not easy, but it is highly appreciated by the public. In a situation like this, the public is already put on guard. Bad news is already out in the open and it is spreading quickly. The public will be very wary and highly unappreciative (to say the least!) of any spin (or perceived spin) on the matter – especially one that gravely concerns their personal health (blindness is quite a serious matter, after all). So, the organization needs to take steps to ensure that they are seen to be open and honest about the situation. They must be perceived to be acting to find a solution to the problem, not stone-walling or being in denial.

If anything, the organization and its leadership might even consider erring on the side of caution… that is to say, while not admitting fault, they are humble enough to work as though they are at fault (it’s a fine line and delicate balance, I know). So, Bausch & Lomb in Malaysia and Taiwan should voluntarily withdraw their products to facilitate investigations, instead of being forced to by the Government. Doing so may cause a momentary drop in product sales, but the public will be more reassured later when Bausch & Lomb take steps to rebuild their brand image. I believe the public will be more forgiving to Bausch & Lomb if they behave in a transparent and trustworthy manner. The public has long memories only when they get screwed.

It will be interesting to see what Bausch & Lomb Malaysia will do now, since the Government has already ordered it to immediately withdraw its ReNu product. I wish they withdrew their product earlier when they had the chance and took steps to reassure me that they were doing their best to get to the bottom of this situation. After all, being willingly apologetic is always much better than being forced to apologize.

Unfortunately, because of their feet-dragging and seeming unconcern, they have even lost me as a customer. I’ll be looking for a new contact-lens care solution next time.

By the way, Jeff Ooi, thanks for the heads-up on the issue and also for the part you played in spurring our Government to act decisively.

Resources:

• Jeff Ooi’s Screenshots on the matter
• Google News on the matter