When responding to a brand management issue, you already know that you must be prepared (never respond without having a plan of attack) and stay calm (the “Bieber” rule). However, now that you must do something in order to stop the bleeding, how exactly do you respond? This is where PR companies and reputation management professionals make their money. Each situation is different and must be responded to different. Although I cannot tell you the exact wording that you should put in your statement, I will give you examples of some responses to model and some that you should avoid.
One of the main things to keep in mind when formulating a response is transparency. Although people generally seem to still get a pass on their privacy, companies do not. People expect companies to be completely transparent and truthful with the public (thank you, Enron). If not, people will flee from the brand quickly. In 2010, this very thing happened to Toyota. Over a six month period, the company lost 20% of their brand value (close to $6Billion). This was directly related to recalls on numerous models of their vehicles. While the recall was not that devastating and prior recalls from other manufacturers have not been brand killers if handled properly, Toyota chose the low road. A
lthough management was aware of the problem prior to the recalls, they failed to notify anyone and instead just sat on their hands. A costly lesson that I am sure the company has learned from. The bottom line………people expect complete transparency of companies and if they find out they are lied to about one thing (a recall of a car), they will assume they are being lied to about everything.
One of the best PR responses in history was brought to us by Taco Bell. Yes, the company that uses beef that is so bad that even the English alphabet is not long enough to put a “Grade” on it (yes, I eat there regularly and enjoy it). A few years ago they were sued by someone who claimed that their meat contained less beef than the company claimed, a lawsuit that could have potentially made Taco Bell lose billions of dollars in revenues if not handled properly. Instead of coming out with an “official” statement that their meat did in fact contain the percentage of beef they claimed, they put a little spin on it. Rather than letting the national media run with the lawsuit story, Taco Bell stepped up and did it for them. They ran a “thank you for suing us” campaign. They posted banners on their website and everywhere else online and in public with a statement that they were being sued, thanked the person for suing them, and then made a statement about their beef. “Here is the truth about our seasoned beef,” was a statement that everyone read and will go down in the record books as one of the best PR responses in brand management history.
So, while there are many ways to respond to a brand management crisis, you need to remember that staying calm and only issuing a properly prepared statement is going to help you. Being transparent with the public will go further than trying to defend yourself or putting a “spin” on the issue. Also preparing for a disaster ahead of time (and yes, you will be faced with one soon thanks to social media) will give you a leg up on the competition who hopefully is not managing their brand as well as you.
Brand Management Takes On A Whole New Level (Responding Quickly – Part 1 of 3)
Brand Management Takes On A Whole New Level (Stay Calm And Have A Plan – Part 2 of 3)
