It's nice to know that even after the Millennium, Sept. 11, the midterm elections, and all the other changes we as a society have seen in the last few years, some things really
don't change. Like the basic rules of crisis communications. If you are true to your beliefs and do what you say you are going to do, you can survive any crisis. If you don't,
you're toast.
Take the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Stonyfield Farms yogurt as two good examples.
Massachusetts (which calls itself a commonwealth, not a state) recently ran a contest to select a new slogan as part of an ongoing effort to boost tourism and other industries
and, in the long-term, tackle its financial woes. Ignoring the dubious relationship between tag line and tax base, with great fanfare and enthusiasm the commonwealth announced
that citizens would have an opportunity to win a getaway weekend if their slogan was selected. Thousands of slogans, some awful and some brilliant, were sent in via email. When it
was all over, state tourism officials chose.... are you ready..... hold your breath...Massachusetts, Make it Yours, the slogan that its $300,000-a-year ad agency produced!
The media, needless to say, had a field day. If you run a contest, people expect someone to win, and when you throw out citizens' entries in favor of some overpaid advertising
consultants', especially in a state like Massachusetts, frankly, what do you expect? Worse still, the slogan fell flat with the state's political and tourism industry leaders who
will have to use it. In the end the commonwealth was left with a sizeable bill, a number of disgruntled taxpayers and not much to show for it.
In contrast, a recent crisis involving NPR's "Car Talk" and Stonyfield Farms Yogurt is a classic example of how a crisis should be handled.
Tom and Ray Magliozzi, the brothers who host "Car Talk," have long been down on SUVs, charging that they are gas guzzlers and contribute to pollution. Since part of
Stonyfield's "yogurt on a mission" message is its commitment to environmental issues, it made perfect sense for the company to work a deal with the "Car Talk" hosts to put their
message, "Live large, drive small," on Stonyfield's packaging. The problem was that they added three little letters to the message - NPR. NPR went ballistic, citing potential
threats to its journalistic impartiality. The problem was that there were now 3.1 million yogurt lids out there threatening the organization's integrity.
Rather than just chalking up the cost of the lids as a major oops, or just letting the issue die, Stonyfield and the Magliozzi brothers embraced the crisis for everything it
was worth. For weeks, 3.7 million "Car Talk" listeners were urged to submit ideas about what to do with the tractor trailer load of lids. Suggestions ranged from creating shields
for a new TV game show called "Gladiator Gerbils," to grinding them up as artificial snow, to donating them to Martha Stewart as a craft project. The winner suggested sending them
to AOL headquarters to "See how they feel about receiving a million unwanted disks." The winner was given the option of receiving the 3 million lids so they could actually
implement their idea, or receiving a gift certificate for "Car Junk" from Car Talk. The winner declined to accept the lids, and they were in fact recycled. Everyone did exactly
as they said they would. And, as MasterCard, would say:
Cost to produce 3 million lids : $50,000
Cost of winner's "junk" from "Car Talk": $25
Hours of airtime on "Car Talk" and the endorsement from the Car Guys: Priceless
Katie Paine, president of KDPaine & Partners can be reached at [email protected] or http://www.themeasurementstandard.com.
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Massachussetts
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Criteria
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Grade
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Comments
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Advice
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| Extent of coverage | C | The only good news in this whole debacle is that most of the coverage was confined to Massachusetts and the target audience was outside the state. While the entire episode was vilified in all the local press, there was limited visibility of the issue outside the state. |
If you can keep a crisis away from your target audience, you've dodged the proverbial bullet. And, while Massachusetts tourism officials seem to have managed to avoid the national spotlight, remember that columnists and journalists talk amongst themselves. The story could yet wind up in a year-end bloopers column. |
| Effectiveness of spokespeople | F | The head of the tourism office was on vacation when the story broke so of course he "couldn't be reached for comment." The governor dodged the question by deferring to the tourism board, while saying that no slogan would be approved without her say and probably the approval of the incoming governor elect. There was no official comment and lots of room for "fill-in-the-blanks" journalism. |
Never, ever, ever let journalists dictate the tone and direction of a story. This is what happens if you have no one in charge who cares to go on the record. At best (as was the case with Massachusetts) everyone simply appeared wishy washy. At worst, they are playing fast and loose with taxpayers' money. |
| Communication of key messages | F | No positive messages were communicated during this episode. In fact, most media reports covered the fact that Massachusetts' economy was hurting and that officials somehow assumed a new slogan would reverse the slump. Leadership looked foolish both for choosing a lame slogan and for thinking a slogan would help to begin with. |
Don't think that just because something is "marketing" or "PR" or "advertising," it doesn't carry just as much weight with the media as an upcoming appropriations bill. If it's humorous, or sexy, or titillating, the media will run with it. |
| Management of negative messages | F | Instead of communicating positive messages for the state, this entire flap served to emphasize the poor economy and need for tourism. If they'd saved the $300,000 and gone with one of the initial suggestions none of this would have been an issue. Instead, every media outlet in the state has been talking about the poor economy and spendthrift methods of the current administration. |
Never underestimate the messages communicated by a simple action. If the media can position you negatively it probably will, so don't give them the opportunity. |
| Impact on voters | D | It's possible that some voters may think a knockoff of an old slogan is worth $300,000, but chances aren't good. My guess is that it's a good thing the current governor wasn't running for reelection, or this would have been an even bigger black eye. |
When you are defining key influencers and target audiences, remember the law of unintended consequences. A simple decision could have ramifications far beyond what you expect. When in doubt, test the message. |
| Impact on tourism | B | This is the only area where the Commonwealth probably dodged a bullet. Since most of the target audience doesn't read The Boston Herald or any other local papers, with a bit of luck, the target publics may be oblivious to the whole issue. |
To minimize damage in a crisis, keep the exposure to your target audiences to a minimum. That may mean biting the bullet in the beginning and getting it over with fast, or it may mean coming clean to local press in hopes that the national press doesn't see it as a big deal. |
| Impact on participants | F | There is nothing worse than being asked for your opinion and then being ignored, which is essentially what Massachusetts did. Chances are the people who submitted ideas will never trust anything the state says again. |
Contests and sweepstakes frequently have lives of their own. Never underestimate, especially in the Internet age, the ability of your customers to talk to each other, not just you and your competitors. |
| Overall score | D- | You might think a slogan is a trivial issue, but when the media think it's a big deal, it is a big deal. | There are three simple rules for avoiding a crisis: Do what you say you're going to do. Don't tell the world until after you've already done it. Stick around to take the heat. Massachusetts followed none of them. |
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Stoneyfield
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Criteria
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Grade
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Comments
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Advice
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| Extent of coverage | C | The problem is that this was a crisis handled so well, that it received relatively little publicity outside of "Car Talk" and the local press There just wasn't enough bad stuff to investigate. Oh dear. |
When you do things right, sometimes your only reward is that everything goes away before it comes to the public's eye. |
| Effectiveness of spokespeople | A | Stonyfield couldn't ask for better spokespeople than the Magliozzi brothers ... they were credible, thorough, and articulate in continuing to express concern for environmental issues, and support for Stonyfield. |
What made the crisis so interesting was the lack of blame-game tactics. Everyone took responsibility for actions, and then made the proverbial lemonade. |
| Communication of key messages | A | Since recycling is a major part of Stonyfield's message, and since the entire issue was all about recycling, the message was consistently and continuously reinforced. And since it was done with a large amount of humor, it was passed on by word of mouth, and probably had some lasting impact. |
If you are running a contest or considering sponsorship, make sure that the overall message of the event is closely in line with your messages. |
| Containment of negative messages | A | There wasn't a negative message communicated. NPR made its stand on journalistic integrity and could hardly be chastised for that. "Car Talk" guys got a major boost for their message about SUVs, and Stonyfield got its recycling message across loud and clear. |
When everyone comes clean and embraces the crisis for what it is, journalists don't feel that you're hiding anything and are much less likely to communicate negative messages. |
| Impact on customers | A | I'm not sure how many "Car Talk" listeners are yogurt eaters, but I'd be willing to bet that if they are, they're more likely to choose Stonyfield in the future. You can't have three weeks of positive mentions on the air and not have some impact. |
Repetition is key to getting customers to change their mind or their behavior, and it works both ways. If the media harps on your crisis week after week, chances are more of your customers will remember it. |
| Impact on employees | B | The Cone Roper studies have shown that employees are more loyal when they know their company is committed to social causes that they can believe in. The fact that Stonyfield is associated with recycling is nothing new. The fact that they're associated with a cool program like "Car Talk" that appeals to such a broad listener base is icing on the cake. |
Employees love to be associated with cool companies and companies on a mission, because in so doing you engage their hearts and minds, not just the brawn you need to make product. |
| Overall | A | Stonyfield and "Car Talk" turned a tractor trailer load of problems into a boat load of good will. | Don't run from every crisis or mistake. Sometimes there's an advantage to admitting one is wrong. |