Recipe for crisis management?

Image courtesy: SXC

Today, in our Corporate Communications class, some of my classmates presented case studies on crisis handling/ reputation management. Cases in point were: Cadbury's salmonella story, Toyota Prius, and Dasani bottled water by Coca Cola. Although we all debated the finer points of why these brands suffered the crises they did, the discussions brought to light the question of "is there a template for crisis management?" As our course leader said, and I wholeheartedly agree, if crisis management, and reputation handling was so simple, surely multinational organisations would buy a book, and we would all be condoning their follies. But as it turns out, there isn't really a recipe. There's no set method that tells you what to do exactly. Like my classmate pointed out with the Cadbury case, it was also a question of timing: summer time when chocolate sales are usually low in the UK 

Every single case study we discussed today brought up the phrase "immediate response". In my last post on crisis communication, I questioned how is an organisation to react when the people within it don't know what's going on? This time, we go beyond such an obvious question. Here's we ask: when do we sound the alarm bells,being PR professionals within an organisation? At what point, does it make sense to approach the higher-ups, and say, "Oops! We have a problem!" It also brings up the issue of cultures, as is always the case with any PR story! With Toyota, people said that part of the reason it didn't react "in time" was because of the in-house teams that were advising the company. It was only after substantial public outcry, did they hire an agency in the US. Compare that with Peugot's quiet recall  of cars made with Toyota during the same period, which although was a mere safety measure, it was a pragmatic to check nonetheless.

While all these are points that one should consider while examining any PR disaster—and there are many where a brand's existing reputation has provided that essential buffer—Toyota in particular strikes me as a reverse case. Cars have failed before. But this one came across as terrible...why? One of the reasons that struck me was, aside from the delay in response, perhaps the very values that people buy into with Toyota were shaken. Safety, trust and security...when a brand doesn't deliver on its promised values, perhaps it's a bit like shooting yourself in the foot, no? 

But as they say, we can at best learn from other people's mistakes, and hope to make even lesser ones of our own. 

The craft of crisis management

Murphy's law is a crisis's best friend. And for a PR practitioner, his/her biggest foe. Whether it's an organisation or an agency representing a client, having a crisis plan is akin to rehearsing the fire safety drill once a month. Not only does it save precious minutes in an emergency, but usually saves lives too. In the PR world, it keeps heads from rolling in the aftermath. 


In a day and age, where if you didn't like the way you were served your morning coffee, you tweet about it, and if your coffee chain is following the steps I'm going to mention, you will in all probability receive a free one—you can't afford to not be aware of your environment! Especially, if you happen to be on the side of the coffee chain, and are a PR person like me, it means "constant monitoring" for reasons we all know too well. 


Of the many crises we may have witnessed in the recent past, there are two that strike me as important lessons in crisis management. Yes, on number one position is BP. And the second is Tiger Woods. 


We all read tens of web pages dedicated to vilifying BP, and some that even came to its rescue. Their PR efforts were rubbish, and perhaps soon there might even be a book on it titled: How not to handle a crisis: Lessons from BP! Indeed, there are lots of lessons to take away.


But when information is just beginning to "spill" out (pun intended!), and a company often has little to no information, how can one "Tell it first, tell it fast, and tell it all?" In hindsight, it seems almost unbelievable that a giant like BP would let its comms fail so miserably. It did. And then for an instant, I'm driven to think about being the proverbial "bad guy". Everyone hates oil companies, and they're bound to attract flack. So the question then is, can you really save face when you know you will be pelted anyway? 


Which brings me to lesson number two. After women came falling out this closet (and thankfully not skeletons of them), Tiger Woods as a brand plummeted faster in stock value than even dead weight in the sea! But instead of placating gossip mongers, and their hunger for lurid details, he chose to remain silent. Much of what we know about Woods is part of very well-established "image". What goes on in his life isn't for public consumption, whether it's pre or post the "revelations". In the face of criticism, brands dropping his endorsement deals like hot potatoes, it takes remarkable courage to simply apologise and offer no information. Some think it was stupid to not say anything. My raison d'etre behind such a tactic would be: whom would it benefit to reveal the sleaze behind the affairs? What's the point in dissecting the details when he would anyway lose his endorsements, and further embarrass people?  


Call it legal smarts, or an ineffective PR machine, the man stayed tight-lipped. His performance has dropped, but even after Vanity Fair's article that prods people close to him, little is known from the horse's mouth. The brand has lost its sheen, and it perhaps will never be the same. But as with all of history, public memory is fleeting. More importantly, if you take responsibility, you will also be condoned. I don't know where Tiger Woods or BP stand in public eye after their epic falls, but I do know there are three key things to note. 

In a nutshell: 

• Be honest 
• Take responsibility  
• Offer information before everyone else 

But before everything else, keep your eyes and ears open! 

Image, courtesy: dreamstime.com