You don't have to look too far for a country's image in crisis these days - Sudan, Somalia, Zimbabwe - places you wouldn't consider for your vacation or business expansion. But
then there are the places that you might have considered up until very recently - places like China, which was the magnet for new business before news of contaminated
consumer products, faulty tires and slavery farms hit the headlines. Then there is Scotland, where terrorists attacked the airport in the height of the summer holiday season.
Because these two countries took such a radically different approach to communications in the wake of their respective crises, we decided to study them in more depth.
China
China's reputation has taken its share of hits in the media. When China was just being discovered, it was at the top of all of my friends' "must visit" lists. Most came back in
awe, saying that China was the future.
If they were right, there are a lot of product-quality problems in that future. The recent disastrous revelations, such as the fact that one in five products fails to pass
their quality standard, have seriously damaged China's reputation. A Google news search found over 5,000 stories about Chinese recalls or contamination. Increasingly, American
executives are paying unannounced visits to their Chinese manufacturing plants to check on quality and workplace safety issues. Heightened scrutiny as a result of the upcoming
Olympic Games is also revealing potential threats to sponsors at risk of having their images tarnished by association.
One reason why we doubt that the country's reputation will improve any time soon lies in how China has responded - mostly with denials, limited facts and inaction. Nothing
destroys credibility like promising to investigate a problem and then, before you have a chance to talk about the results of the investigation, the same problem crops up in other
places - which is of course, exactly what happened.
Scotland
For anyone in the travel and tourism industry, the June 30th terrorist attack at Glasgow airport at the height of the tourism season has to be one of your worst nightmares. It
was the first day of summer holidays for Scottish school children, and some 35,000 people were expected to travel through Glasgow that day. Add to that the fact that it was part
of a larger plot involving a neighboring country that has an entirely new government and spokesperson to boot. Nonetheless, the Scottish government seems to have survived just
fine. By keeping the media fully abreast of all developments, the coverage was as favorable as one could hope under the circumstances. Scottish citizens were kept informed and,
more important, tourists seemed to have sufficient confidence in Scottish security that, once the airport was reopened, things had returned to normal.
CONTACT:
Katie Paine is the CEO of KDPaine & Partners. She can be reached at [email protected].
| China | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Criteria | Grade | Comments | Advice |
| Extent of coverage | F | Coverage became more intense as the number
of recalls, bans and contaminated food findings increased. The almost daily stream of bad news ensured that everyone who read/heard/watched the news would know that China's quality standards were questionable. |
It's hard enough to keep one contamination
scandal off the front page, never mind a series of them. The story quickly became about the number of recalls, not the isolated occurrence. |
| Effectiveness of spokespeople | F | When they were quoted, which was seldom,
Chinese officials sounded like they were either in denial or reciting from a script. While they may have gotten their messages across, there was no credibility to them. |
In the current era of transparency and rapid
discovery of any inconsistency thanks to the blogosphere, just getting your messages across is not enough. You need to have the rapport and credibility with the audience to ensure that your messages are believed. |
| Communication of ?key messages | B | The statements contained all the right messages;
the problem was that the messages too frequently contradicted the facts. |
Messages are not simply words to put down
in a press release. Messages should be built on a foundation of reality and proof point to ensure that they aren't just heard, but that they are believed. |
| Management of negative messages | F | With limited material from the official
spokespeople, the media had a field day re-interpreting the messages. |
If you don't give the media the information
they need, they'll get it from another source, which may or may not be as accurate. |
| Impact on customers | F | Manufacturers are now making surprise visits
to their Chinese factories, and some companies are moving their business to Vietnam. The U.S. Government is selectively banning unsafe products from China - a manufacturer's worst nightmare. |
Ultimately, the cost of doing the right
thing is significantly less than the cost of covering up or making up for your failures. In this case, they created the ultimate nightmare for their most important clients - foreign investors. |
| Impact on employees | D | There's probably little impact on the average
Chinese worker; however, the news has been met with dismay by members of the Chinese middle class. |
It's not always the employees that see the
biggest impact. Frequently, there are other influentials that will see the bad news, and their opinion is potentially even more damaging to the organization's goals |
| Overall score | D- | As always, it is actions and timing that
combine to do the most damage, and the fact that all the product failures occurred in a compressed period of time - just before the Olympics - created a perfect storm that will take years for China to recover from. |
The best way to avoid bad news is to be
good - and to continuously look for the flaws rather than glossing them. If your goal is to attract business, then make sure the conditions exist. Then, reward people for creating the optimum conditions for product safety and quality. |
|
Scotland |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Criteria | Grade | Comments | Advice |
| Extent of coverage | D | The terrorist attack certainly made headlines
around the world, but the speed of the recovery was remarkable. After just a day's disruption, it seemed like Scottish travelers were back to normal. The continuous briefings and constant stream of updates ensured that the press always had enough to write about and always had their questions answered. |
Over-communicate. Make sure that journalists
have all the information they need, and then give them more. |
| Effectiveness of spokespeople | A | The close coordination between British and
Scottish governments, and the apparent coordination of investigative activities between the various law enforcement groups, was key to the rapid recovery. |
The more collaborative and cooperative you
are, the better your press will be. Media are always surprised and impressed when organizations actually work together. |
| Communication of ?key messages | B | There were several conflicting messages
in the early hours of the crisis due to the rapidly evolving nature of the saga. However, the speed with which officials began the arrests and had answers helped convey the message that the government was on top of things. That seemed to reassure the public. |
When a crisis is unfolding quickly, some
level of mixed messages is expected, though not necessarily accepted, by the media. They key is to correct any misstatement and clarify confusion as quickly as possible, and to act in a way that reassures the public of your credibility, commitment and compassion. |
| Management of ?negative messages | A | Other than the truly horrific facts of the
crisis, there were few negative messages about Scotland itself. In general, the message got out there early and often that the country was unified in its horror, but that its citizens would keep their collective chins up and get back to work. |
There's nothing like a unified front to
dispel negative messages. |
| Impact on customers | B | While a handful of people may have changed
their plans, the media mostly reported on those who were NOT going to change their holiday as a result of the incident. |
When there's no impact of a crisis, feel
free to say so. It makes an excellent proof point for your efforts. |
| Impact on employees | C | While airport employees must have been frightened,
it helps to have the world see one of your own as a hero. John Seaton, a Glasgow airport baggage handler, was on a cigarette break when the attack took place. Seaton was one of two individuals to tackle the terrorists and, as a result, a Web site has been created in his honor, on which people are encouraged to buy him a pint of beer. So far, more than 400,000 people have logged onto http://johnsmeaton.com/. The fact that the First Minister is also honoring airport and security employees sends a clear message of support as well. |
In any crisis, it is likely that employees
will feel the pain most immediately and directly. To remedy that, it is important to do whatever you can to celebrate the positive role employees play. |
| Overall score | B | It is still too early to tell whether tourism
will be impacted by the event, but early indications are that most travelers are carrying on with their holiday plans. Ultimately, the competency that government officials show will have the most impact on whether there are long term safety concerns about traveling to Scotland. |
Providing more information and more regular
briefings means that the media is more likely to trust the source and focus on what you want them to focus on. As a result, you can get back to normal faster and minimize the long term impact. |