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1. All employees involved in the social media component of the crisis communication plan must be trained to handle the technology (social media apps on smartphones, tablets, etc.) and manage messages relevant to the audience and situation.

2. Interaction between the organization and audience might be limited during a crisis because of the immediacy in posting messages, however, having an employee monitor comments posted by the public to gauge concerns is important.

3. If your business has nothing to do with the crisis at hand, be quiet. Is anyone really paying attention, anyway?

4. Consider taking a few days off from your normal editorial calendar. You want to be empathetic and stop promoting your product during a crisis.

5. Be alert and up to date on current news.

The power of Twitter was evident a year ago with many tweeting real-time, up-to-date information on the Boston Marathon Bombings and is active this week for the anniversary of the event. With the hashtag #BostonStrong which has been mentioned more than 2.3 million times since the event, the crisis has been overcome but is not forgotten.

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Twitter has proven to be a leader in real-time news generation with information being posted by professionals, organizations and individuals alike. It is important to remember that although technology has enabled us to act quickly on information sharing, we must still act with heart and compassion.

Rob Ford in all his close-up glory
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In light of Rob Ford’s recent confession to smoking crack cocaine, we decided to write about how his train-wreck of a impromptu press conference could have been diverted from disastrous to passable. After a short discussion, we realized that he made the situation much worse simply by the way he presented it (click the link to watch the press conference). We can use Ford as an example for any communications crisis/disaster by explaining different ways that it can be dealt with. Preserving at least a shred of the company’s or person’s dignity in a PR disaster such as this one is key. Even when it seems impossible to do so, such as Mayor Rob Ford’s case, there are still ways to soften the blow (or crack).

Communications crises and disasters are inevitable at some point or another. It’s knowing how to deal with them accordingly and ‘saving face’ that makes a scandal less…well…scandalous. 

Step 1: Admitting the problem - Imagine how differently Mayor Rob Ford’s press conference would have gone if he had shifted focus from his crack-smoking video to him publicly admitting that he has an alcohol problem and that he will be seeking help. Temporarily leaving his position as Mayor while he is ‘recovering’ also would have helped greatly. By simply blaming it on a ‘drunken stupor,’ he gives absolutely zero gravity to the situation. Calling your ex and yelling at them is something that happens in a drunken stupor. A mayor of a city caught smoking crack on video is a problem. You will still be held accountable, of course – there’s no way you can get around that. But at least you have admitted your problem to the public and shown them that you are human with imperfections and mistakes.

Step 2: Owning up to the problem – It seems as if the mayor spent most the press conference bashing the reporters for asking the wrong questions and claiming that he did not lie to them at any point in the past. As if he’s trying to blame the reporters for his mistake, Mayor Rob Ford is trying to shift focus from him denying allegations to the fact that the reporters were at fault by not asking the right question. He admits to making mistakes, but it becomes overshadowed by his blaming the reporters. By owning up to his problems and being completely honest with the public on a more humbling level, he could have saved some respect (not much, but some). What else can be said when you tell people “I did this, and therefore I will be held accountable for my actions,” Sure, you’ll still be viewed negatively, but you’ll be saving some face.

Step 3: Lay low - If you’ve admitted your problem and owned up to your problem, then you’ve got a good chance to recover from the publicity mess. However, we recommend you lay low for a while and let the dust (insert another crack pun) settle before coming back out into the public eye. At this point, stepping down or temporarily leaving his position is Mayor Rob Ford’s only chance to survive this scandal.

With the tag line, “No More Tears” on your products, consumers tend to foster a certain level of customer trust that your products are safe to use on the whole family.  Unfortunately for Johnson & Johnson, one of the leading family care brands in the world, this hasn’t always been the case.

In 2009, the coalition group, Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, conducted a study on a wide array of personal care products and the results were quite shocking; a number of Johnson & Johnson products contained now identified carcinogens such as formaldehyde and 1,4 dioxane. The ‘trick’ of sorts is that these (and other) harmful chemicals weren’t listed on the ingredient labels! Why? Because ‘technically’ they weren’t ingredients, just by-products of the preservatives breaking down as the products aged.

After the discovery, the real work and PR balancing act began for Johnson & Johnson as they strived to reformulate their products while assuring their millions of users that while they’re doing this, their current products are still safe. Susan Nettesheim, VP of product stewardship & toxicology for Johnson & Johonson commented on the situation by saying, “Even though as a scientist I will sit here and tell you these things are perfectly safe,” consumers are worried about reports that call these conclusions into question, “I understand that and we can’t ignore that.”

So the company set to work reformulating their beloved products, some of which have been on the market for 50 years. The first wave of reformulation included all of their baby products and was promised for completion in 2013. The company delivered on their promise and earlier this month were presented with a collection of 30,000 names from consumers giving thanks to the corporation for their efforts in product safety. Johnson & Johnson also launched a new website outlining their commitment to safety.

The next step for Johnson & Johnson is their adult personal care brands including Neutrogena, Aveeno and Clean & Clear. They are striving to remove all triclosan and phthalates from these products by 2015 but will continue using 3 parabens and in exceptional cases, Formaldehyde where there is no other preservative option. From now on though the company has agreed to complete transparency when it comes to product ingredients. Company spokesperson Samantha Lucas stated, “We’re committed to absolute transparency about what’s in the product, and what’s on the label. We’re very involved in the complete supply chain, including holding our suppliers and our raw materials providers to our high standards.”

The efforts of Johnson & Johnson aren’t passing unnoticed by environmental/consumer groups either, Kenneth A. Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group praises the company, “We’ve never really seen a major personal care product company take the kind of move that they’re taking with this… Not really even anything in the ballpark.”

What do you think? Is this a PR win for Johnson & Johnson, or is it too little too late?

Sources:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/16/business/johnson-johnson-to-remove-formaldehyde-from-products.html?_r=3&smid=tw-nytimeshealth&seid=auto&

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=johnson-and-johnson-removes-some-chemicals-from-baby-shampoo-other-products

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=johnson-and-johnson-removes-some-chemicals-from-baby-shampoo-other-products

This is the lettuce you eat at Burger King.

The above image and caption were posted on 4Chan website on July 16th, 2012. According to Yahoo’s Shine blog: it was a mere 15 minutes for the online hacking group, “Anonymous” to track down the alleged culprits and reveal them to the world.

Turns out, the origin of the photo is a Burger King employee from one of the Northwest Ohio locations.

Burger King Corp. said it was “taking the issue very seriously” and won’t tolerate employees violating the chain’s strict procedures for handling food.

“The franchise has taken swift action to investigate this matter and has terminated the three employees involved in the incident,” the company said in a statement to the Daily News

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/3-burger-king-employees-fired-viral-photo-worker-standing-lettuce-bins-article-1.1117625#ixzz216DEie7G

The interesting thing about this story is that more and more of these incidences are rearing their heads in the age of social media. PR daily had an interesting comparison on the subject:

Perhaps this incident reminds you of the social media firestorm that hit Domino’s Pizza after two employees posted a video to YouTube showing them defiling food.

The video went viral and the pizza chain experienced a swift PR backlash, partly because it waited days to respond. Ultimately, Domino’s launched a Twitter account to answer questions about the incident, posted a notice on its website, and filmed a YouTube video of its CEO responding to the crisis. The multi-pronged effort helped stem the tide of negative attention, but its effects linger online. Google “Domino’s Pizza” and on the first page of results is a news story on the matter.

Read more

It’s becoming increasingly important these days that companies issue more than just a “statement” to the press. Consumers are looking to be addressed directly, and accountability is a key factor in alleviating these types of situations. There’s no word on Burger King’s next move – but it’s in their best interest to start talking to their consumers!

What do you think Burger King should do?