IMC Hawks Blog

Category: Public Relations

  • Crisis Averted? A Quick Lesson in Crisis Communication from Toyota

    2010 has not been the best of years for Japanese automaker, Toyota. Once known for its reliability and safety, Toyota’s brand image has taken a major hit due to several recalls over the past year. At the beginning of 2010 the car manufacturer was forced to recall millions of vehicles due to a sticking accelerator pedal that led to accidents, and even deaths in severe cases. Just last week, Toyota announced another recall on over 1 million Toyota and Lexus models due to faulty brake master cylinder seals and fuel pumps. The defective seals could cause break fluid to leak onto the break pads, causing them to deteriorate and become spongy, thus making them less effective and even dangerous.

    First, their cars accelerated on their own, now their cars can’t stop? Yikes! These two major recalls don’t exactly speak to Toyota’s image of being reliable and safe. Because of this, the automaker has had to step up and do some major crisis communication. Luckily, Toyota gained some valuable experience with their first major recall, making last week’s recall seem minor in comparison.

    Unlike the first recall of the year, where Toyota supposedly knew about the flawed accelerator long before they decided to alert the public, this time the company quickly addressed the defective seals and issued a voluntary recall. In any crisis it is important for a company to make the public aware of the issue before it is leaked to the media. If this is done properly, the company can save face. If they try to hide the issue it may appear as if they do not care about the safety of consumers, which has the potential to create even bigger problems.

    The way the crisis is addressed by the company also has a major impact on how well it is received by the public. Toyota’s January recall is a prime example of what not to do when handling a crisis. Their lackluster crisis communication left a lot to be desired, but with October’s recall the company has done a much better job. Recall information is readily available on Toyota’s website, however, what is more noticeable are Toyota’s “Safety First” advertisements at the top of the recall page. Because of all of the issues plaguing the Japanese carmaker, their crisis communication team has gone in to overdrive in attempt to repair the brand’s tarnished image, hence the reason all of the Toyota commercials you see today are centered around safety and reliability.

    All in all, Toyota has done a much better job handling its second major recall of the year, but issuing two major recalls does not do wonders for the brand’s image. Thanks to some help from their crisis communication team, we have seen the company recover a little, but it is still going to feel the effects from the issues it has faced this year. We’ll have to wait and see how good their PR is in the upcoming months to see if they can regain their position as one of the top auto brands in America.

    Sarah McIntosh, Sean O’Connell, Eliza Wadson, Jocelyn Walson

  • It Takes Two to Tango

    Crisis communication is one aspect of the corporate and professional world that is regarded with hesitation and stress. Just as in everyday life, most people prefer to avoid conflict at all cost. However, when faced with conflict or crisis it is those who handle the situations in the most effective and fair manner that exemplify great corporate communication and leadership skills.

    An example of crisis and conflict in the corporate world was the tire recall and conflict between Ford Motor Company and Firestone tires. After expressing concerns that Firestone had manufactured defective tires, which had been used on Fords Explorer model vehicles, John Lampe CEO of Firestone tires caused business relationships to quickly end between the two companies. The next day Ford announced that it would have to recall over 13 million tires that had not been previously included in the 6.5 million tire recall. Discrepancies on the safety of the Explorer tires generated heated debates between Firestone and Ford. Though Firestone admitted the tires were unsafe in its first 6.5 million recalls, it denied any knowledge that the alleged 13 million defective tires Ford was recalling, were not safe. Ford’s boss, Jacques Nasser, stated “We simply do not have enough confidence in the future performance of these tires keeping our customers safe.” The companies began the blame game, accusing each other for the defective tires and as injuries and fatalities increased, the conflict and arguments intensified.

    As the conflict continued between Ford and Firestone, the incident was being called the most deadly auto crisis in America. By October 16, 2000, over 119 deaths had occurred from the defective tires. In the end, over 250 deaths were reported and attributed to this crisis and over 3,000 serious injuries. While the companies were blaming each other, their consumers were being hurt, and in this case, not figuratively but literally.

    The importance of handling crisis communication in an effective and timely manner is essential to corporate business. If the Ford/Firestone conflict had been resolved quickly, with both parties recognizing that it takes “two to tango” and that both parties were responsible for the defective tires, then they could have protected their profit losses, their own employees, reputations, and ultimately ensured the safety of their consumers and thus branding their companies as trustworthy and reliable. Instead, both parties chose to blame the other instead of focusing on a solution and the best possible resolution and thus exemplified very, very poor crisis communication skills which the consumer ultimately paid for, both out of pocket and even their lives.

    Breanna Alexander
    Lauren Dehart
    Lauren Smith
    Kelly Wiley

  • Syringe? Wooden Screw? Pepsi?

    PepsiCo has always been a leader in the beverage industry and in 1993, proved this to be true with how they handled their almost-crisis. Earl and Mary Triplett of Tacoma, Washington made the Seattle news when they reportedly found a syringe in a can of Diet Pepsi. Once news of this disturbing incident hit, reports from all over the United States poured in. Within one week, people from 23 states came forward claiming that objects such as a bullet, broken sewing needle, wooden screw and cracked vial were found in their Diet Pepsi cans.

    With such serious reports, you would think PepsiCo immediately recalled their product. However, PepsiCo didn’t believe in the reports. After all, with manufacturing facilities in many different locations the likelihood of such a crisis on a national level is slim to none. Instead of throwing in the towel and losing millions of dollars, PepsiCo decided to work with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to find the root cause of the crisis. In deciding that PepsiCo wasn’t going to recall, they knew they had to explain to the public that this decision is the right choice. How do you communicate this? By using the first ever video news release (VNR).

     In having 4 VNRs, PepsiCo was able to reach 265 million viewers. These VNRs allowed the public to hear and see the facts; that the whole scare was a cruel scam. With exclusive B-roll of Pepsi’s bottling process and surveillance camera footage from Colorado of a suspect tampering with a Pepsi can, PepsiCo was able to keep their brand name clean. At the end of all this madness, the crisis resulted in 20 arrests, each facing five years imprisonment and $250,000 in fines for their false claims.

    On June 21, “Pepsi is pleased to announce…nothing” became the headline of PepsiCo’s full page advertisement, placed in 12 national newspapers and hundreds of publications. PepsiCo had already planned on a summer promotion and by using their recent crisis; the company took advantage of their media coverage and tweaked their advertisement accordingly.

    What is most important to take away from this crisis was PepsiCo’s ability to invite the media in, letting them know the facts allowed for the truth to come forward and stifled speculation. Media can be a powerful tool, as we have seen through PepsiCo’s crisis scare.

    Meghan French and Gracie Anderson

  • Pain Relief Recall

    Last Monday, October 18, Johnson & Johnson announced their sixth recall of the year for Tylenol products.  This recall was due to a musty odor found in Tylenol 8-Hour packaging.  Historically, Tylenol has a reputation consisting of recall after recall ranging from unpleasant odors to fatal issues.  This being said, Tylenol is still a top brand and has remained at the top despite these crisis situations.

    How are they able to maintain such a successful image and business if their name is continually in the news for negative reasons?  Tylenol does a phenomenal job of informing their publics through immediate press releases and publicity about current issues as well as issuing recalls in order to protect their consumers.  For example, the company’s website quickly updated information with numbers to call to gain additional information, instructions on how to go about obtaining a refund, and specific details of the reasons for the recall and reasons for the odor.  This use of corporate communication is what solidifies their customers’ trust and loyalty.

    Although Tylenol has experienced a more than usual amount of crisis situations where they could have potentially lost customers, their quick actions through their strong corporate communication have continued to make them a stable and reliable company.

    -Haley Williams

     

  • Careers in the CC Realm

    Careers in corporate communication are not limited; there are endless opportunities for success and growth within a corporate setting. Often while looking for a job, the term “corporate” may intimidate one due to the fact that most corporate jobs equal large corporations that have maintained their reputation and entering their teams may entail a large workload. Settings of corporate communication careers vary widely; however, the worldwide web is becoming one of the main channels for corporate communication.

    A Corporate Communication Director is just one example of a career within the corporate communication realm. This position requires the understanding of the way communication is interpreted by individuals and in group settings through the study of theory and the nature of communication throughout history. While in this career, one will learn how to evaluate and do an analysis of communication, in print and orally. This career typically requires with a Bachelor’s degree in Communications Studies and can continue into the Master’s level. A person who has completed the required elements to become a Corporate Communication Director may also become a Public Relations Director, Advertising Director, Lease Negotiator, etc.

    Public relations and corporate communication tie directly into each other in the aspect that corporate communication professionals deal with external public relations for the most part. Through brand exposure, public relations increase industries’ media personnel and journalists. While dealing with the public relations aspect, relationships are formed with key personnel to maximize the quality of the exposure.

    In any career that deals with corporate communication, the person must have sound analytical skills and knowledge of the many theories of communication and be able to evaluate what is placed in front of them at any point in time.

    Kelly Wiley

  • Does the word “corporate” in a job title mislead people?

    How are careers in corporate communication defined exactly? What kind of careers are even designated to the field of corporate communication?

    Jobs and professions in today’s society are categorized much more specifically by their titles than just being a doctor, dentist, blacksmith, plumber, or teacher. For example, careers that fall under the category of corporate communication are: corporate communications director, corporate communications specialist, internal corporate communications specialist, corporate communications/public relations manager, and corporate communications coordinator. What does all this mean? From the job title alone, it is hard to know what exactly the job description is and what it will consist of.

    Careers in corporate communication can be linked to jobs in public relations, advertising, integrated marketing communication and other related fields in communication studies. If you are searching for a job in any of these fields, don’t be afraid by the word “corporate” if it is in the job title. Society has given emotion to the word, corporate. It is made out to be this tough, professional, dictating vocation where everyone walks around in blue and grey suits all day. Yes, in reality there are people that wear blue and grey suits daily, but those are popular business colors. But, in all actuality, the word corporate is defined as “belonging to a corporation or company; pertaining to a united group.” Therefore, when a company assigns a job title with the words “corporate communication” in it, they are most likely informing people that they are looking for someone who can handle the specific communication tasks between many people either within their own corporation or with outside corporations whom they do business with. These companies are looking for people who can perform the needed skills in the public relations and advertising fields for a large company, not a small, local business for instance.

    -Danielle Dorantich