Reputation Management Archive

Brand Sleight of Hand, Brought to You by Toyota

August 26th, 2010

Another day, another Toyota recall.  In theory, any other brand that might have shouldered the weight of so much negative press would have collapsed.

When your brand faces a torrent of constant criticism like Toyota, the go-to PR tactic is to respond with positive messaging, namely in the form of ads – that’s the platform that gives you supreme control over the message and narrative.

But please – when considering such an approach, you must avoid over-the-top, absurd spin.

You may have seen Toyota’s recent commercials about how they’re spending $1 million an hour on improving their fleet’s safety.  As the New York Times points out, that adds up to nearly $9 billion a year.

Now that seems like quite a bit of loose change to spend exclusively on safety improvements, but as the Times explains, the devil’s in the video details.  The actual script of the ad says that “at Toyota, we care about your safety. That’s why we’re investing one million dollars every hour to improve our technology and your safety.”

That last sentence, if diced carefully, says that the money is being spent on technology improvement alone.  Yet during that specific narration, the words “INVESTING IN YOUR SAFETY” float on the screen (yes, the words are in all-caps in the commercial).

Nice subliminal trick Toyota, but when mainstream outlets devote their time to parsing the meaning behind your ads – and potential duplicity – all your company does is fuel the lingering mistrust on your brand’s safety record.  Not the wisest PR tactic we’ve seen.

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Posted in Brand Management, Corporate Communications, Crisis Management, Media Training, Public Relations Strategy, Reputation Management

Even BP Knows When Some News Is too Good to Be True

August 23rd, 2010

Any practitioner of crisis communications knows that some of their best work will never be seen or heard.  In the world of PR, disproportionate credit is given for the big media hit or the well-executed television appearance.  It’s harder to quantify the bad news cycle that never was or the controversy that seemingly disappeared over a few days – and often, that’s the harder media tactic to execute.

Take for instance the poster child for bad corporate and PR behavior – BP.  We’re all aware of BP’s string of PR missteps since the Gulf oil spill happened.  Yet despite these blunders, BP actually was way ahead of the curve on the latest (and unfortunate) news from the Gulf.

BP is to be credited for not exploiting what could only be described as a golden egg by the US government, when the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released a startling report that got everyone’s attention.  NOAA and EPA Administrator Carol Browner claimed that roughly 75% of the spilt oil had “disappeared.”  Browner even took to Good Morning America to crow about “Mother Nature” taking care of the oil and said it was open season for fishermen.

Imagine the heated discussions within BP crisis response headquarters.  There must have been fierce debate over how to exploit this stunning news.  An aggressive PR plan would have been to build the report into full-page ads in major US newspapers as well as the round-the-clock commercials BP is running on its response.

But that did not happen.  In fact, it looks like the sum total of BP’s hyping of that report is three Tweets on its official Twitter feed:

• NOAA Administrator states, there is no evidence of #oil on the Gulf seafloor http://ow.ly/2lHa1 11:00 PM Aug 5th via HootSuite

• 50% of oil released is completely gone from the system. -Lubchenco #oilspill August 4, 2010 1:33:26 PM EDT via web

• Vast majority of the oil has evaporated, burned, skimmed, or dispersed. -Lubchenco 2:28 PM Aug 4th via web

Why is this important?  Because the NOAA report’s findings were so dramatic that they drew immediate scrutiny.  Now, almost three weeks later, scientists not involved with the report claim the exact opposite is true – that about 75-80% of the oil still exists, much of it in massive underwater plumes.  By not exploiting NOAA’s too-good-to-be-true report and staying out of the fray, BP let the feds take the ensuing heat.

This is just one example of how BP’s crisis communications plan is becoming effective.  Evidence?  A recent AP poll showed 33% of Americans approve of BP’s handling of the cleanup (up from 15% a few weeks ago).

Sometimes the best decisions are ones that keep you out of the news cycle and above the fray.

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Posted in Corporate Communications, Crisis Clients, Crisis Management, News & Events, Public Relations Strategy, Public Relations Tips, Reputation Management

The Failed PR Strategy for Google’s Net Neutrality Plan

August 13th, 2010

If you don’t know what net neutrality is, then ask yourself, “why don’t I know about the single most important issue regarding the future of communication?”

The largest names in telecommunications are proposing to choose which companies can decide how fast (or slow) to transmit content.  Chief among them are Google and Verizon – called out specifically by the New York Times on August 4 for holding secret talks for 10 months to overturn net neutrality.

There are strong arguments for and against net neutrality.  And, because the issue generates such passion, advocates of any position must explain their views clearly – especially if they are mega-corporate interests whose roles can be perceived negatively.

In this sense, Google has a lot to answer for.  Since the first three words of its corporate code of conduct actually read, “Don’t be evil,” the stealth talks on this vital issue have acute irony.  The code of conduct goes on to read:

… the recognition that everything we do in connection with our work at Google will be, and should be, measured against the highest possible standards of ethical business conduct.

Google did not comment for the original Times story.  But the next day, both Google and Verizon declared the Times story wrong (Google decided to tweet its denial).  After five full days of silence on its company blog (and a firestorm of debate online), Google/Verizon released a “Joint Policy Proposal for an Open Internet,” which makes it clear the Times story was completely accurate.  The blog post itself admits Verizon and Google were meeting for “nearly a year”!  Even worse, the proposal is an artfully worded plan, effectively, to defeat net neutrality – something for which Google had previously professed strong support.  So widely panned was its proposal, Google was compelled to dispel “myths” in a follow up blog post.

Just so you remember what is at stake, consider this line from the proposed legislative framework for Congress:

“Regulatory Authority: The FCC would have exclusive authority to oversee broadband Internet access service, but would not have any authority over Internet software applications, content or services.  Regulatory authorities would not be permitted to regulate broadband Internet access service.”

So, just to be clear: Google was not meeting with Verizon for a year (even though it was), and believes that the government has no regulatory authority over broadband service – despite heading to Capitol Hill four years ago to ask the federal government to favor net neutrality (something it now wants to kill).

For a titan like Google to have such a ham-fisted PR strategy in the wake of being implicated in these activities is shocking.  Google PR Strategy = grade F.

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Posted in Corporate Communications, Issues & Advocacy, Media Aesthetic, Public Relations Strategy, Reputation Management, Thought Leadership

Hey JetBlue, What’s the ETA on Smart Social Media Strategy?

August 10th, 2010

Ah, JetBlue… Love your TVs and blue chips, but your social media strategy needs a serious overhaul.

As the new meme-to-be, the entire Steven Slater ordeal has had many twists and turns in its initial 24 hours, with only more anticipated to come.  So let’s examine the basics of the media narrative, as it currently stands: verbally abusive JetBlue passenger, disgruntled employee, terrible economy, people stickin’ it to the man, beer, jumping out of planes, and jail.

JetBlue, this is quite a news mess on your hands.  So… why is your social media strategy on the skids?  It’s quite telling that this is the most recent post on the JetBlue Facebook page:

Screen shot 2010 08 10 at 6.28.08 PM Hey JetBlue, What’s the ETA on Smart Social Media Strategy?

Here’s a better social media strategy (one that some firms would gladly charge you tens of thousands of dollars for): ditch the typical lame Facebook content, and use social media to control the media narrative.

People are speaking about your company, so instead of talking about hot dogs in Chicago, address the Steven Slater issue head on and make it positive.  How about asking your 300,000+ FB fans what are their tips for unwinding and reducing stress during the hectic travel season?  Pick one tip to showcase each week, and award that person with a free round trip ticket.  Everyone loves contests!  Plus this re-engages the online community and helps it grow like never before.

The social media lesson here: The best PR agencies are vigilant – they always look for opportunities to grow and expand your brand, even when everyone thinks it’s a disaster.

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Posted in Brand Management, Corporate Communications, Crisis Clients, Crisis Management, News & Events, Public Relations Strategy, Public Relations Tips, Reputation Management

UAE Blackberry Ban Will Hurt Its Business and Travel PR and Promotional Efforts

August 1st, 2010

(Disclaimer: Praecere principals have represented The Executive Office of Dubai in prior positions.)

The media universe is abuzz today with the UAE’s intention to block BlackBerry digital communications in October.  The emirates’ telecommunications authority says that BlackBerry has the potential to allow “users to act without any legal accountability, causing judicial, social and national security concerns” — though the “legal accountability” standard is likely to be UAE’s insistence on allowing government surveillance of all communications.

This move stands to be a public relations disaster for the UAE, particularly in light of the emirates’ continued push to be a business-friendly oasis in an otherwise politically and economically volatile region.  The ban will also create negative perceptions for travelers and tourists, which Dubai has worked very hard to attract over the years.  Indeed, how can travel and tourism writers even produce content for their stories if their phones are blacklisted?

Should the ban take place as scheduled, the UAE is in a very weak position to promote itself as a growing hub of transparency and capital markets in the Middle East, something that part of the world desperately needs.

At the same time, BlackBerry has been handed a golden-PR opportunity to develop a thought leadership campaign on privacy and global regulatory issues, one where other technology companies have repeatedly failed to take the lead.  With its market share dwindling, BlackBerry can’t afford to pass on openings like this to press its brand as the gold standard in free communication.

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Posted in Brand Management, Corporate Communications, Issues & Advocacy, Media Aesthetic, News & Events, Public Relations Strategy, Reputation Management, Thought Leadership

From the UN to Junior League: Good Membership Communications Are Vital

July 26th, 2010

Few things cause more damage to a carefully built brand than a disgruntled employee with an axe to grind.  A stream of allegations emanating from an insider – true or not – will be given credence because they come from close to the source.  This is the case whether the insider leaves on their own will, or is unfairly pushed out after being deceived with false promises as to the organization’s intentions.

This phenomenon was on full display last week when Inga-Britt Ahlenius, a retiring United Nations undersecretary, decided to inflict as much pain as possible on her boss, Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.  Even worse for the UN, Ahlenius was in charge of combating corruption at the UN.  So it was catastrophic when she wrote the following in a 50-page memo to Moon, leaked to the international media:

“Your actions are not only deplorable but seriously reprehensible …. Rather than supporting the internal oversight, which is the sign of strong leadership and good governance, you have strived to control it, which is to undermine its position.”

Ahlenius goes on to accuse Ban of setting up sham investigations instead of seeking serious findings.  She sums up the entire UN under Ban’s leadership as “in the process of decay and … drifting into irrelevance.”

“Irrelevant” is the worst thing you can be considered as a professional association or membership organization, and that includes the UN.  An institution that depends on membership to survive must make communicating to its members the top priority.  Strategic communications can help associations and groups demonstrate their value to members – even if those members are nations.  A public relations agency can help messages reach your internal audiences and members to reinforce your worth as an institution.  So even if you have a UN-style incident, the goodwill and support you have cultivated in your members will overcome it.  Of course, you will also need a crisis communications/management plan to mitigate the damage and chart the way forward.

In addition, basic internal communication and management dictates you set up a grievance mechanism for employees, one that respects their concerns.  Even anonymous whistleblower functions allow employees to feel they have somewhere to go (Note: The UN has a confidential hotline but, at the undersecretary level, Ahlenius likely felt it beneath her).

Now of course, at 72 years old, the UN was likely Ahlenius’s last career stop – emboldening her to “tell all” since she isn’t worried about another job.  The UN spends a tremendous amount on communications and marketing worldwide, only to have it all drowned out by one employee.  The UN could react smartly and name a well-respected person to fill Ahlenius’s position and blunt the basis of her accusations.  Instead, it appears the UN has settled on an “as-yet unnamed Canadian woman” for the role.

The lesson here is that smart membership communications are vital, if only to avert your need for crisis management in the long run.

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Posted in Brand Management, Crisis Management, Media Aesthetic, News & Events, Public Relations Strategy, Reputation Management

An Open Letter to Diaspora, the Potential Facebook Killer

July 21st, 2010

Dear Diaspora,

Congratulations on your nascent social network’s progress so far!  Building a new media brand is extremely difficult, but with a catchy name, clean aesthetic, and riding the privacy bandwagon, you’re off to a good start.

Disclaimer: At the Blog Aesthetic, we are agnostic with regard to the marketplace.  In other words, we simply call out good PR strategy when we see it.  Nothing wrong with being (legally) ruthless in your business approach, and that includes your public relations.

With that said, here are PR considerations of value:

• Know your competition.  The big ones are still Facebook and MySpace, but apparently size doesn’t correlate to smart PR.  For some reason MySpace doesn’t believe in leveraging golden PR opportunities when they present themselves.  That’s a shame, particularly given the news that Facebook’s customer satisfaction index score puts it in the bottom 5% of private sector companies.  Then again, MySpace’s reluctance to engage in counter-Facebook PR probably explains why MySpace performed worse than Facebook in the same customer satisfaction survey!  Diaspora, the chance to get a huge jump start over the competition rarely appears, so start planning your PR steps now.

• You’re gonna get attacked.  The screenshots of Diaspora’s user interface look a lot like Facebook profile pages.  Some will give your site the benefit of the doubt and wait until its official launch before passing judgment.  Others won’t.  We anticipate Facebook won’t pull any punches and will blast your site for stealing their idea(s).  The irony of such charges, of course, is that the new Facebook tell-all film “The Social Network” portrays the origins of Facebook as rooted in theft.  Still, it’s worth preparing for crisis management on this, data leaks, critical reception, and anything and everything else that can — and will — go wrong when you launch.

• Thought leadership for the social masses.  Privacy, privacy, privacy.  Facebook can never seem to get it right and strike the right balance for its users.  This dilemma offers Diaspora both a chance to distinguish its product from Facebook, and also to spearhead thought leadership on social network privacy issues.  If you guys can get this one right at the start, then you’re guaranteed to get a chunk of the half a billion Facebook users out there.

After Diaspora launches, we’ll revisit this blog post and see if our ideas and recommendations held true.  We love competition!

Best,

Praecere

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Posted in Brand Management, Corporate Communications, Crisis Management, Media Aesthetic, News & Events, Public Relations Strategy, Public Relations Tips, Reputation Management, Thought Leadership

If the iPhone 4 Drops a Call in the Forest, Will Anyone Notice?

July 12th, 2010

In the wake of Consumer Report’s recommendation to not buy the iPhone 4, Apple is in a rare predicament – backed into a corner by a trusted product-review entity.  Instead of repeated cycles of fawning tech-relevant press, Apple has played defense to the massive chorus of complaints about the iPhone 4’s antenna woes.

Who knows what miracle Apple will attempt to pull when it releases the much-anticipated iPhone 4 software update.  No doubt Apple’s stakeholders desperately want the update to fix the reception problem – or, at a minimum, stems the tidal wave of bad PR.

With the strongest rumors yet of the iPhone leaving its GSM cage, other wireless providers are understandably loathe to disturb the beast, given that they may have the chance to carry Apple’s products in the future.

That being said… to Apple’s hardware competitors, we’re wondering – where the hell are you?

Why aren’t Motorola, Google, and RIM, which all manufacture alternative smartphones, running 24/7 PR and media operations to reinforce the bad reaction to the iPhone 4’s (current) fatal flaw?  Can you imagine the viral buzz that would generate from an aggressive campaign with a smart and witty ad at its core, one that pokes fun at the iPhone 4’s problematic reception?  Maybe a twist on the “I’m a Mac” ads, where the iPhone 4 keeps dropping calls while the rival Droid/Nexus One/Blackberry works just fine?

Simply put, a reliable tech behemoth like Apple is rarely going to have a product fail on this scale.  When it does, the competition must jump fast and go for the kill.  And, that’s effectively what a PR strategy is all about.

If you think that doesn’t matter, consider the recent obituary of the Microsoft Kin.  Had Apple stumbled closer to the death knell of the Kin, who knows what, ahem, reception that phone would be getting now?

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Posted in Brand Management, Corporate Communications, Public Relations Strategy, Reputation Management

Dan Gilbert Steals the Show from LeBron “The Decision” James — Lessons in a $100 Million PR Disaster

July 9th, 2010

The Blog Aesthetic won’t comment on the surreal, bizarre, hype-induced PR spectacle that generated from LeBron “The Decision” James, er, decision to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers pro basketball franchise to join the rival Miami Heat.  To sum up, LeBron James, the best player in the NBA today, took advantage of his free agency status to switch teams.  In turn, several franchises fell over each other to leverage their home towns to woo James (and other stars), often rather pathetically but nevertheless in the spirit of full-bore business competition.

James’s decision to announce his decision on his own puff-piece TV special titled “The Decision” was derided as classless, arrogant, and self-serving to the core.  And when you’ve made $90 million even before scoring your first pro points, avarice gets thrown in the mix. With an economy still in the tank and staggering job losses nationally, greed is an impossible image to reconcile with the cry for fairness and sportsmanship.

That being said, the public relations perspective is to consider the impact on all stakeholders.  Surely that includes rightly disappointed Cleveland fans, even if they did show their anger in appalling ways.

But within the city is another key stakeholder – the Cavaliers franchise, and namely the team owner, Dan Gilbert.  If you’re on the line for hundred million dollar decisions that make/break city economies and reputations, how should you react when you don’t get your way?

Gilbert apparently thinks that being negative, cruel, and petulant – truly living up to the name “Cavalier” – is the best way to go.  And that is how a PR disaster is born.

Gilbert should have used his position to express strong disappointment with the decision, but also to take the high road and wish James well.  By throwing other similar themes into a statement, he would have validated the stern disapproval that many sports commentators gave James for his decision.  Such a message would have been capped very nicely with a call to the city and the team to look forward, play hard, and know that no single person is bigger than any sports franchise.  That is what a “team” is about, right?

Instead, Gilbert issued a harsh and incendiary open-letter to Cleveland, where he called James “cowardly …. shameful …. disloyal …. heartless …. callous” and explained how “bad karma” will follow him to Miami.  Beyond acting like an immature baby over the episode, Gilbert gets himself into a total contradiction – in blasting James with short-sighted taunts, Gilbert says that James “sends the exact opposite lesson of what we would want our children to learn.”

With this ill-advised rant, Gilbert has managed the impossible – shifting the media narrative away from James and instead to a tone-deaf wealthy team owner who cries foul when people don’t do his every bidding.

Gilbert can start getting on the right PR track by (1) issuing an apology for his remarks, and (2) focusing on the positive, not the negative.  Until he take those basic two steps, his team remains indefinitely cursed.

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Posted in Brand Management, Corporate Communications, Crisis Management, Media Aesthetic, News & Events, Public Relations Strategy, Reputation Management

Forget iPhone 4 Antenna Problems — Apple Needs Better Message on Conflict Minerals

July 2nd, 2010

Apple laid down the gauntlet to the PC in its infamous 1984 commercial announcing its new Macintosh.  Thirty years later, Apple now dominates Microsoft as world’s most valuable technology company.  Apple’s almost religious adherence to branding has paid tremendous dividends (with that customer loyalty helping CEO Steve Jobs and his company slide past PR scandal after scandal).

As part of its hip, edgy brand, Jobs has taken to answering customers’ questions over rapid-fire email.  It’s seen as yet another way that Jobs outclasses the erratic Steve Ballmer of Microsoft – whose spastic on-stage appearances are far more interesting than whatever Microsoft product he’s peddling at the time.

Recently, Jobs responded to a question about “conflict minerals” and whether Apple responsibly sources the minerals in its products.  For companies not paying attention, conflict minerals are the next blood diamonds.  There is an international movement afoot, led by activist groups in the UK and US, that is going to name and shame companies sourcing minerals primarily from the Democratic Republic of Congo – home to the world’s bloodiest ongoing conflict since World War II.  A special report by a UN group of investigators took the extraordinary step of outing several US tech companies with links to the DRC.  And even New York Times influential columnist Nicholas Kristof has moved on from Darfur to make conflict minerals and the DRC his new cause.

Perhaps Jobs is unaware of this movement, as the answer he gave a customer on this issue is not going to cut it:

“We require all of our suppliers to certify in writing that they use conflict few materials.  But honestly there is no way for them to be sure.  Until someone invents a way to chemically trace minerals from the source mine, it’s a very difficult problem.”

In Jobs’ defense, he’s technically correct.  There is no international certification for the sourcing of conflict minerals such as the Kimberly Process for blood diamonds.  However, there are groups that can help Apple and other companies clean up their supply chain and practice proper CSR.  Perhaps more importantly, Jobs could at least act like he cared more about the issue beyond calling it “difficult.”  And then there is the strange use of the word “few” rather than “free.” Conflict-few may be a concept Jobs is pioneering but the global pressure campaign will not be centered on achieving “conflict-few” minerals – it will call for an outright ban on minerals from DRC and start linking specific companies to the ongoing bloodshed.

With his inadequate response to a very serious question, Jobs stumbled into a major international issue and Apple is now square in the sights of activist groups.  As with any major global crisis, smart messaging on conflict minerals requires a concerted, ethical, and engaging PR effort to explain a company’s positions.  Quick emails won’t suffice.

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Posted in Brand Management, Corporate Communications, Crisis Management, Issues & Advocacy, Media Aesthetic, News & Events, Reputation Management, Thought Leadership

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