Brand Management Takes On a Whole New Level (Stay Calm and Have a Plan – Part 2 of 3)
Staying calm is the first thing any business must do when they find out that their brand is in danger. Panicking will make things worse. Although I promised I would never mention his name in public (just not a big fan of the “teeny bopper” movement), Justin Bieber taught us one of the most important lessons in brand management. Although I am sure that his PR team was behind it, everything worked out to his advantage.
A few years ago, Mr. Bieber was accused of fathering the child of one of his fans. It was international news (not national, but international) and everyone wanted to know the story. Bieber responded to the situation very calmly. Although the media was on him like sperm on an egg (yes, my weird attempt at humor), he made only short, simple statements about the situation, which ultimately led to the issue disappearing from the media. In addition to responding promptly, his media statements were basically that he was not the father of the child, knew that his fame would lead to something like this, and that he was not going to let someone tarnish his reputation with such an accusation. Of course, this type of tactic only works if you are telling the truth. His professional response made the issue disappear quicker than your memory of my sperm joke.
The importance of brand management
Speaking of Mr. Bieber’s PR team, many companies have brand management teams. These are paid staff in their marketing departments who monitor social media activity on the company, recommend marketing plans to help protect the brand, and also collaborate whenever there is a brand issue that needs immediate attention (and ALL brand issues need immediate attention). For companies such as Domino's, affording to pay a team of professionals is easy. For smaller businesses, there are still ways to have your “team” without having to pay full-time wages.
For management teams that will not cost you a fortune, one suggestion is to put a select few of your employees on standby. These are the brightest of your employees who know about your company but are also familiar with social media. In the event that there is damage control needed, they can revert to the “team” as opposed to their normal duties and collaborate with management to come up with the best plan. They can be paid overtime if it is outside of work hours so the cost to you will be minimal as opposed to having a full-time team. The employees will also enjoy being part of a special team.
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Hiring an outside team
If you do not want to leave it in the hands of your employees (as with Domino's it could be your employees who bring damage to your brand), consider hiring an outside PR firm. Most firms work on a retainer for brand management and will respond quickly to assist you in the event your brand is in danger. The cost is obviously more than using your employees, but it is worth every cent. When looking for a PR firm, make sure that they are familiar with brand management and reputation management. Get examples of their work and also see who their clients are.
A good way to help yourself prepare is simply to ask yourself how you would respond to the Domino's situation. Then look at all of the other brand management disasters over the years such as Blackberry failing to respond at all to a daylong blackout and Toyota’s massive car recalls. While you may not be a mobile provider or car company, you can adapt these instances to your business and then come up with a plan on how you would react to the situation. Doing this on a regular basis will help you stay sharp on plans that have worked and plans that have been disasters.
