Category Archives: crisis communications

May 4, 2012 · 7:06 AM

Don’t Forget to Think When Crisis Strikes

Rick Amme has an excellent piece in yesterday’s Ragan.com newsletter that I recommend highly.

In “[Nine] Popular Crisis Responses that Don’t Always Work,” Amme correctly points out 1) just because you are aware of the crisis doesn’t mean the rest of the world is aware (or necessarily cares), and 2) it’s more important to think than to speak.

As Hall of Fame Coach John Wooden would say, “be quick, but don’t hurry.”

Marketers and business owners take their brand reputations very seriously. This is a good thing, but it often impairs one’s thinking when bad things happen.

As human beings, we are acutely aware of any threat to our safety and/or brand integrity, and the urge to respond quickly and forcefully to threats is embedded deeply in our DNA.

Amme urges us not to allow our flight-or-fight instincts to rule our actions.

Over the years, crisis counselors have urged clients to “tell the truth, tell it all, tell it quickly,” which often results in an overblown response that only draws more attention to the situation than it would have received otherwise.

Before you release the hounds, consider the size and scope of the problem, and respond accordingly. Amme correctly points out that doing nothing is sometimes the best course of action.

My favorite piece of advice from Amme is an area that I especially enjoy when handling a crisis (if it’s possible to “enjoy” a crisis):

“Have great talking points.” You should first develop answers to the worst-case questions people will likely ask, if time permits. Yes, talking points give important focus to comments, but your credibility rests on your ability to answer tough, legitimate questions.

He couldn’t be more right. Spokespersons are so wrapped up in what they’re going to say that they forget that there will come a time for Q&A, and it’s likely someone will throw out a question from left field.

What you say is important, but what the public (via the news media or directly through social channels) wants—and feels they have a right—to know.

Your crisis plan is important and everyone should have one, but it’s even more important to have sound thinkers working the plan when you’re in a jam.

Smart thinking beats quick action every time.

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January 30, 2012 · 10:58 AM

The Trouble With Kids Today

Does when you were born affect the way you feel about brands?

And do recent economic and demographic trends have an impact on communications crises?

I don’t know the answers to these questions, but a recent article got me to thinking about how expectations, recessions, social media and spare time can impact business today.

Rebecca Lindland has a thoughtful piece in Forbes this week about the youth of America, and how generational differences are cropping up in the form of American Idol contestants. Lindland cites research from DYG Research and IHS Consumer Markets on Gen Y (born between 1978 and 1987) and those born in 1988 and after, as two distinct groups:

“Generation Y isn’t what conventional wisdom and demographers alike first thought: it isn’t one big giant mass of 80 million kids. Instead, it is two very different, very unique cohorts—Generation Y and what I call Generation Green—both about the same size but growing up in very different environs.

Currently 24-35 years old, [Generation Y contestants] were brash and self-possessed in their youth, and American Idol provided the ultimate stage, inviting these kids to display their talent in the public eye. Social media was still relatively young, and YouTube wasn’t around yet. It appealed to the sharpest expressions of this young cohort – self-absorbed, obsessed with fun, and chock full of self-confidence (DYG). This was their own personal platform – and they could bring their equally fascinating, blindly (deafly?) supportive helicopter parents along for the ride to riches.

Generation Green, born after 1988 and currently 24 or younger, is the first generation to grow up with hybrid AND electric cars from mainstream brands (Toyota Prius, Chevy Volt, and Nissan Leaf) as part of their buying options, and they recycle religiously…Long before the Occupy movement, DYG research predicted these kids would take ‘part in a demonstration, rally or protest to promote a social or political cause’.”

Combined, the two generations comprise 80 million Americans, roughly a quarter of the population, are the biggest users of social media, and are hardest hit by the recession.

On the one hand, there are 40 million Americans who were raised in a boom economy, whose self-esteem was valued to the point of absurdity (“everybody gets a ribbon!”), who experienced impressive personal and financial success in their early 20s, and whose expectations are perhaps a bit unrealistic.

On the other, 40 million Americans who’ve seen the darker realities of our economy yet retain a Utopian vision for the world.

Add to this mix a boatload of social media savvy and the popularly held belief that their plight is due to the greed and misbehavior of the fortunate few, and you have a recipe for trouble.

Last week’s #McFail may be an example. For those who missed it, as part of its strategy to promote relationships with family farmers and other “good guy” suppliers, McDonald’s launched a Twitter campaign using the hashtag #McDStories. Perhaps predictably, the hashtag elicited all manner of deliciously evil anecdotes, and the Golden Arches quickly killed the campaign.

Domino’s Pizza employees posting YouTube videos of themselves doing yucky things with people’s food could be another. (The two employees charged with crimes were aged 31 and 32, respectively, making them members of Gen Y.)

One could even make a case for the Occupy movement (although these groups count members from all walks of life and age groups) being a natural consequence of these forces. (One could make the same case for the Tea Party movement by viewing the opposite side of this same coin.)

Even if your company’s social justice policies are otherwise beyond reproach, if your corporate commissary dispenses coffee that was picked by child laborers and sold at below-fair-market prices, be prepared to hear about it. The first attack will come via social media, then the MSM, and then social media again as the “news” gets picked up and amplified.

For the record, I’m a member of Generation X, the group that brought you manky flannel, grunge music and Monica Lewinsky…so my peers and I are not without blame. And who knows what we would have done during the 1990-93 recession had we had access to social media.

Crises come from all angles, are perpetrated by all manner of people and recent events could simply be a reflection of the times.

Or, this could be the new normal.

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December 5, 2011 · 9:40 AM

Brownback Wrestles With Pig; Facts Don’t Keep Him From Getting Muddy

George Bernard Shaw once said, “Never wrestle with a pig. You get all muddy and the pig enjoys it.” (I’m paraphrasing.)

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback would have been well-served to follow such advice, and as Christopher Budd points out, his office did an excellent job of making a minor blip into a major media circus. To make matters worse, much of what appeared in the original news story never actually happened.

Long story short: Emma Sullivan, an 18-year-old high school student, in Topeka for a Youth in Government session with the Governor, posts the following off-color Tweet:

The Governor’s office sends a nasty-gram to Youth in Government, (rightly, in my opinion), expressing displeasure at the student’s lack of respect for the Office. Her school principal calls her on the carpet and demands she write a letter of apology. The story lands on the front page of the Kansas City Star, becomes a free speech issue, and the Governor ends up apologizing to the student.

And the student’s roster of Twitter followers grew from 65 to 15,851 and counting.

Is this a great country or what?

Unfortunately, the meeting in the principal’s office, which became the eye of the media storm, didn’t happen the way it was reported.

The Star’s Nov. 23 story stated that Sullivan’s principal was, “forcing her to write an apology to the governor’s office, with the principal even giving her talking points to hit. [Shawnee Mission] East principal Karl R. Krawitz declined to comment on the matter Wednesday, calling it a disciplinary action: ‘It is a school issue, a private issue, not a public matter’.”

Turns out, Krawitz’s reluctance to initially discuss the matter became a “Three’s Company” moment. Only there’s no Regal Beagle in Kansas.

According to a blog post by Star columnist Yael Abouhalkah:

“It turns out one of teen tweeter Emma Sullivan’s original claims—that her principal was forcing her to apologize for an offensive tweet last month about Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback—wasn’t true.

Shawnee Mission East Principal Karl Krawitz says in a blunt email to Brownback’s staff that ‘The governor should know we did not force any letter of apology.’ (The email is in a report by NBC Action News.)

And Sullivan belatedly this week acknowledged the same thing: No apology was ordered.”

Turns out the story was fed to the media by Sullivan’s older sister, a poli sci major at Wichita State, and many facts of the case were lost in translation.

But why should the facts ever stand in the way of a good story?

Personally, I agree with with the Governor’s communications director, Sherriene Jones-Sontag (as quoted by the Star):

“[The tweet] wasn’t respectful…In order to really have a constructive dialogue, there has to be mutual respect…It was important for [Youth in Government] to be aware of the comments their students were making…It’s also important for students to recognize the power of social media, how lasting it is. It is on the Internet.”

Listen up, corporate big-wigs, government leaders and persons in power: YOU ARE NOT GOING TO WIN AGAINST THE LITTLE GUY IN THE COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION. Not ever.

But feel free to pig-wrestle. Just do so at your own risk. And think twice before going after someone smaller than yourself.

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November 11, 2011 · 9:12 AM

Pa. Gov. Tom Corbett Takes Charge of Penn State Mess

There is really nothing happy in Happy Valley these days.

Children have been brutalized. The truth has been concealed. Administrators have perjured themselves. And for the first time since 1965, someone other than Joe Paterno will be head coach of the Penn State football team. (Recommended reading: Jason Gay’s column from yesterday’s Wall Street Journal.)

My colleagues have spilled barrels of ink on this subject, tagged #hownottomanageacrisis, but yesterday evening, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett demonstrated how to calm a stormy sea when chaos strikes.

Speaking to a group of reporters in State College, Gov. Corbett showed excellent command of the issues and returned the focus to the safety and well-being of children, a point that’s been lost in the aftermath of JoPa’s firing and ensuing student riots on the Penn State campus.

You can read excerpts from the Governor’s news conference by CLICKING HERE.

Just what the coach and administrators knew about the behavior of former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, who has been charged with 21 felony accounts of sexually abusing eight boys, is unclear. What is clear, however, is that no one connected with the program ever brought allegations of wrongdoing to the police.

Corbett, who served as Pennsylvania Attorney General and worked on the Sandusky case prior to becoming governor, made a point not to comment on the specifics of the case, deferring to current Pa. AG Linda Kelly, whose office is now handling the matter. He didn’t speculate. He didn’t offer his opinions on matters beyond the facts of the case.

He spoke directly to Penn State students, supporting their right to assemble and express their opinions, and admonishing them to represent their school in the best possible light. Expect television ratings for Saturdays Nebraska-Penn State football game to smash projections.

When asked if Pennsylvania taxpayers should be concerned about child safety when so much state money was going to Penn State, Corbett was at his best, stating that child safety should be the primary concern of ALL educators, from grammar school up.

“Parents across the state want to know that their students are safe. And I think it’s incumbent upon all colleges, universities, high schools and middle schools, grade schools, to keep the children safe.”

There will be more pain in the future as victims of Sandusky’s crimes come forward and the details of the case emerge. During a difficult time, the Governor took charge and let the world know that the Keystone State is doing everything possible to bring justice and healing.

Nice job, Gov’nor.

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June 20, 2011 · 12:57 PM

@FrankEliason’s Four Tips on Using Twitter for #CustomerService

Thanks to PR Daily publisher Mark Ragan for posting his conversation with former @ComcastCares social media guru, Frank Eliason, who’s now a senior vice president with Citi, on how to use Twitter for customer service.

If you’ve got five minutes to spare, check out the video HERE.

Eliason, whose efforts helped reverse negative public perceptions of the cable giant, offers four tips for companies considering Twitter (and other social media) when responding to customer complaints:

  1. Be a person. Eliason suggests using your own name and Twitter handle when responding to a complaint, rather than having a response coming from @BigConglomerateX. “Hello, my name is Frank, and I work for Comcast, what seems to be the problem?” establishes a person-to-person connection that can help speed resolution of the problem.
  2. Invite empathy. Think about the situation from your customer’s perspective. How would you want to be treated? It’s important to acknowledge the problem and it’s okay to say, “I’m sorry.”
  3. Speed matters. Respond in a matter of minutes, if you can. You can be more deliberate with other forms of social media, such as blogs, but Twitter is instant.
  4. Establish trust within your organization. Many corporate communicators worry about how to apply traditional approval processes to Twitter and other social media. Eliason urges teams to meet with senior management and legal to explain the how and why of social media, and then develop simple rules to enable team members to respond quickly and without exposing the company to additional risk.

Great way to start the week. Best of luck in your new job, Frank. And thank you for the wisdom.

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