To Sum It Up...

Blogging for the past 10 weeks has been quite an experience for me.  Until Audience Research this semester, I had little understanding of what blogging was.  I didn't know why blogs were useful or why people were so interested in them, and frankly, I didn't care.  Well now that I have my own blog, it's safe to say that my perspectives have changed.  Not only do I have a greater understanding and appreciation for the field of crisis PR, but I have also learned so much about the importance of blogging!

Twice a week for 10 weeks I have surfed the Internet, sometimes for hours, in search of a good quality article to blog about.  PRweek, Businessweek, and communications blogs were my favorite sources of blog-worthy crisis PR stories.  Through my plethora of different sources, I did find a common thread that connected each story together.  Although crises and situations differ greatly depending on the company, celebrity, politician, etc., public relations always has a role to play.  Something that I noticed through my blogging is that bad PR is similar in many cases, and effective PR is similar in many cases.  If we could take a step back and look over the mistakes too many people have made when trying to handle a crisis, perhaps we wouldn't have those problems anymore.  Likewise, if we take a step back and look over the good tactics and strategies, perhaps we could set some rules and guidelines to help fix any situation.  

So based on my posts, I have noticed a general theme and I will list them as PR DO'S and DON'TS...

DO - 

1.  Have one spokesperson to address the media and public:

- Having one central person to go to for all the information of a situation is key.  With e-mail, instant message, cell phones, and social networks, the rumor mill works faster than ever.  This is why it is so crucial to have a reliable source with direct relation to the company (celebrity, politician, etc.) relaying the accurate news.  This helps to settle any confusion and hopefully to reduce the gossip.

  

2.  Be immediate:

- Waiting a while after a crisis to see if a situation can just fix itself is simply not the way to go.  The public must be informed once the issue has come to the attention of the company.  If there is a leak and the media gets a hold of a story before official word has come out, they can (and will) spin it in whatever way makes it the most newsworthy.  This could mean even greater destruction for your business.  By waiting to speak, the public will assume that you have something to hide and cover up.  This will almost undoubtedly lead to feelings of mistrust and skepticism.  Therefore, it is best to make some sort of statement right away, even if not all the information is available to you yet.  

3.  Be honest!:

- It's the golden-rule of public relations people!  Own up!  The truth will come out sooner or later.  It is far better for your reputation to tell the truth from the beginning, rather than lie about it and have it discovered in the end.  Is it embarrassing?  Yes!  Is it a blow to your image?  Yes!  But the past has shown us that being honest to begin with is better received than lying about it and owning up later.  The public and even the media can forgive and sometimes forget as long as the information they get is accurate.  When people find out they have been lied to, they feel betrayed, foolish, and are way less likely to give you a second chance.  

DON'T - 

1.  Play down the importance of a situation:

- Any crisis, not matter how big or small, should be treated as a crisis.  Telling concerned citizens that 'it's really not a big deal', is a horrible way of handling a situation.  It's always a big deal.  If people are confused or concerned and looking to you for answers, this is the last thing they want to hear.  Instead, tell them how the situation is being resolved, what has been done, progress that has been made, etc.  Offering guidance and support is much more effective than making people feel dumb.    

2.  Refuse to answer any questions:

- Withholding information is like digging your own grave.  Again, the truth will come out and the public will find it hard to trust you once you've betrayed them.  Not informing those concerned leads to negative assumptions, negative attention, and negative rumors.  Explain what you know, because saying 'no comment' does nothing to help a situation.  This leads to skepticism and doubt amongst the people that could make or break you as a company, leader, or celebrity.  

3.  Do nothing:

- Informing the public about a situation is not as far as crisis PR train goes.  In order to actually fix a problem you can not sit back and let it play out.  You must be proactive and work to change whatever is wrong.  If people have a negative image of you and consequently spread bad word of mouth (which happens a lot), start a blog of your own and get in on the conversation.  You must make something happen because the talk doesn't stop just because you aren't a part of it.  

Through my blogging experience of crisis communications and crisis public relations, this has been the general trend of guidelines that I can offer to you.  It seems so simple to want to follow each of these rules, but in practice it is much harder.  If it was easy, every troubled business, corporation, politician, and celebrity would be smooth sailing.  And so we hope that those we turn to for PR advice are smart enough to realize and advise us what must be done and not done in order to resolve a problem.  

Hopefully this knowledge that I have gained will help me in the future.  This stuff seems like such common sense, but I am confident that reading and blogging about real life examples and consequences of choices that have been made in the past, will help me in my future career.  You don't have to be a PR professional to need this kind of knowledge.  It will help me to make smart decisions wherever I end up in life.   

This experience has also opened my eyes to the world of blogging.  I never knew how many people wrote blogs and on such a variety of topics.  There is such freedom in what you can post and it feels good to share what you know with others who have the same interest.  Blogging helps us keep up with current conversation, and even be a part of it.  In a strange way, when I got a comment from someone I blogged about, it was exciting!  I felt like I was contributing something and it felt good.  Blogs help to share passions, speak out, and even (in relation to my blog) solve a crisis.  Their uses are endless, and they are going to continue to grow and grow.  I can honestly say that I am glad we did this exercise.  I feel like I have an advantage over my peers who are unable to understand and appreciate the importance and versatility of blogging!

Although this is my last post, my presence from the blogosphere will not be gone forever.  There is no doubt that I will be back writing about bigger and better things!  Until then....thanks for reading!

WOM destroying Wal-mart

It is no secret that Wal-mart has been under scrutiny for their questionable business ethics and practices for some time now.  For as long as I can remember, there has always been something negative being said about this 'evil corporation.'  It seems clear that Wal-mart has been in a long-term crisis that continues to deteriorate their image and reputation, keeping their PR company, Edelman, busy 24/7.

We have all heard the horror stories of Wal-mart's poor treatment of employees, the cheating out of benefits, the greedy tendencies and seemingly moral-less ways.  This poses a serious problem for the multi-billion dollar corporation.  They need to turn their reputation around before everyone begins boycotting.  In my opinion, the issue is not whether the facts are legit. Are these stories even true?  This doesn't really matter.  The problem stems from the fact that people SPREAD these stories, regardless if they're true or not.  Not only do they spread them, but they spin them anyway they want based on their opinions.  This is the bad side of word of mouth marketing, and this is exactly what is destroying Wal-mart.  

Jeff Jarvis is a great example of a blogger spreading a negative image of Wal-mart to internet readers.  In his post, he relays the most recent horror story of a Walmart former employee, Debbie Shank who was hit by a truck, severely injured, won a lawsuit, and then was sued by Wal-mart who wanted a cut of her winnings.  This makes Wal-mart out to be the bad guy...but is this really the whole story?  Is Wal-mart as bad as everyone makes them out to be? 

 

My point is that it does not seem to matter.  With social networks and interactive blogs, people can say what they want and influence the opinions of others so easily.  So what does Edelman and Wal-mart do to combat this negative grape-vine effect of WOM?  Well for starters, Wal-Mart has their own blog that attempts to shine a positive light on the business.  They post consistently about what's new with the company, perks for their customers, new products coming out, what they are doing to help the community, etc.  

As I discussed in a previous post, blogs have become a great new strategy businesses have begun utilizing to combat negative WOM.  Although information coming right from the source obviously portrays a bias position, it is important that Wal-mart portray their side of the story.  If they just sit back and let the smack talk happen, I believe this company would have been in shambles a lot sooner.  What they need to do is prove people wrong and get some positive stories spread throughout the nation.  Using word of mouth marketing effectively can really increase a company's success.  So who knows what their reputation will be in 10 years, but I do think their blog is a solid step in the right direction for Wal-mart (from a PR standpoint that is...)    

The Ship Sails Smoothly

In USA Today travel news, it was brought to my attention that smoke was seen rising from the Grand Princess, apart of Princess Cruises, last night.  It is being reported today that the smoke was simply caused by engine failure.  Not a big deal, right?  Well...perhaps.  However when eye witnesses in Ocho Rios (its port of departure) assumed it to be a fire, media outlets in Jamaica went crazy.  Papers such as the Jamaica Gleaner published a story about the "fire" and how there were nearly 1,500 passangers on board in danger.  It became clear that another paper, the Jamaica Observer, does not check their sources when journalists reported that it was an oven fire that caused the smoke.  Naturally, these published assumptions create panic, concern, and more rumors, which only spells trouble for Princess Cruises.

With a solid PR move, a statement was immediately made by Princess spokeswoman, Julie Benson, in response to the false, conflicting, and confusing Jamaican news stories.  She assured people that the smoke was due to the failure of one of the ship's engines, not a fire.  She went on to calm peoples nerves by  exclaiming, "there was no fire, and the safety of the ship and our passengers was never compromised."  

Benson first explained to the public the issue, "Upon departure from Ocho Rios yesterday, one of Grand Princess' engines suddenly stopped, emitting a large amount of smoke into the engine spaces."  She then went on to calm peoples nerves by exclaiming, "there was no fire, and the safety of the ship and our passengers was never compromised."  Further more, she kept the public informed by updating at 1:45 when new information was brought to the cruise lines attention.  Benson told USA Today that the damaged engine will be out of commission for the rest of the week while it gets repaired, and that additionally, two of the other engines failed as well.  She assured voyagers however that the vessel is getting power from three of the six engines, which is enough to finish the trip with no more delays.

I think this is a great example of settling a minor crisis and not allowing the situation to get worse.  Having one spokesperson for the cruise line that everyone could turn to for accurate, up-to-date information is key.  She was not only immediate with a response for the public and to the false Jamaican reports, but she was honest and informative.  When people know what exactly is going on behind the scenes, they are able to calm down and lower frustration.  This can also create a sense of trust in the business.

In addition, I like how Benson kept the media in the loop and updated when new information was brought to her attention.  Even though the news of greater than anticipated engine damage wasn't necessarily good for the business, it was for the good the concerned public.  I believe that any issues people may have had with Princess Cruises from this incident will now be settled and even irrelevant due to the wise way it was handled.