[Editor’s Note: With the Olympics beginning, we asked Rio native Juliana Trammel, PhD, associate professor and PRSSA-SSU co-adviser at Savannah State University, to discuss PR and communications with respect to the upcoming games.]
On August 5 Brazil is set to become the first South American country to host the Olympics. Some half million people are expected to join a city of 6 million inhabitants. While it has been well documented globally that Rio faces extreme challenges ( PRN, May 16), you’d not know it looking at the communications the Rio Olympics’ organizing committee is producing. The committee has a user-friendly, visually attractive website with stunning photos, press kits, news updates and social media links, among other PR tactics. Similar to many other sporting events, there is a festive and triumphant tone to the committee’s storytelling.
While it’s understood that PR pros are expected to stress the positive aspects of stories, this must be balanced with at least some level of transparency. The committee’s lack of honest communications about the economic, social and health challenges facing Rio could become a negative story and perhaps reflect poorly on brands taking sponsorship roles at the games. At the least, the social and economic problems represent opportunities missed for brands on the CSR front.
Examples of the committee’s good-news communications:
- While media were reporting on the precarious state of athletic housing found by the Australian delegation, the Rio 2016 website showed stunning pictures of the facilities.
- As social media was overwhelmed with locals’ disapproval of the Olympics and stories of individuals being arrested for trying to extinguish the Olympic torch, the committee’s press releases ignored these sentiments and events.
- While state workers, including teachers, police and firefighters, protested a lack of basic human needs such as adequate pay and safe working conditions, the website touted the city’s sustainability and environmental initiatives.
Selected to host the games during a time when the country’s economy was booming, Rio now is facing one of its worst economic recessions since the 1930s. While much of the world is focused on the Zika virus, that may end up being the least of Rio’s problems. While police will need to protect visitors from serious waves of violent crimes, robberies, thefts and carjacking that plague residents, the morale of these civil servants is low. In July, more than 100 officers and firefighters vented their anger over working conditions with a banner “Welcome to Hell” at Rio International Airport. This came after months without being paid. Other state services are similarly in peril. A state-run morgue stopped receiving bodies because cleaning service workers, who’d stopped being paid, walked off the job. State-run hospitals lack supplies and people are being denied care in emergency rooms.
In addition to Rio’s inconsistently paid police force, the state hasn’t been able to pay salaries of other workers. Pensions for retired workers are erratic, too. Many retired teachers, including my mother, received a check for half of May’s pension in July. Of current teachers, about 40% have been on strike for months, the largest school strike in Rio’s history.
The denial of Rio’s issues is far from a unified position of Brazilian authorities. In fact, on June 17, governor Francisco Dornelles declared Rio was in a “state of public calamity in financial administration.” This, he said, could cause total collapse in public security, health, education, transport and environmental management. Yet Mario Andrada, executive director of communication for Rio 2016, said the games would not be affected.
The Wrapping
In fact, the half a million tourists expected in Rio may never see the worst parts of Rio. Just as the committee’s communication is attempting to shield visitors from the several truths, authorities are erecting a literal shield. An article, “Rio Is Putting Makeup on for The Olympic Games,” was recently published in the Folha de São Paulo newspaper. Pictures accompanying the story show the city’s “face-lift.” This consists of thematic adhesives, large flags and colorfully painted boards placed mostly around poor residential areas and complexes. Rio’s Department of Tourism says the purpose of the “enveloping,” which cost $230 million, was not to hide poverty, but to brighten the spirits of visitors, guests and tourists.
Rio 2016 probably will be fine. The show will go on. But as PR pros, we often are confronted with the ethical dilemma of “wrapping things up” for special occasions. As we know, this wrapping may come with a high price. Engaging in two-way communication and allowing stakeholder concerns to influence an organization’s storytelling are important parts of risk communication. Rio 2016’s messages have failed on this account. The organizing committee could have done better at:
- Initiating Early Contact When Crisis Emerged: When it comes to managing bad news, the committee could have acted faster. When news broke about the Australian delegation’s issues, the committee was unavailable for comment for hours. Meanwhile Kitty Chiller, the Australian delegation head, was making statements to the media. Being proactive and contacting concerned parties early is important, particularly to establish trust.
- Identifying Local Residents as Legitimate Partners: The Olympic committee, and the host city, failed to engage locals in two-way communications. Many citizens’ concerns have been ignored or not heard. There is no formal means of dialogue. Instead there’s a top-bottom “order” approach to things. There are services and venues local residents won’t have access to during the Olympics, including 150 hospital beds reserved for visitors. Effective risk communication involves addressing issues of concern. Proactively soliciting and identifying issues to establish and foster trust and understanding is crucial. This, too, has been wanting.
- Being Honest: The truth hurts sometimes. But nothing in PR weighs more than an organization’s transparency, even when information it releases is unpleasant. The website failed to highlight or address issues that were being widely discussed on social media and news outlets, and that could impact not only the guests, but also the athletes. For example: the water quality in the Guanabara Bay, which is still overrun by sewage. Despite numerous news reports, social media outcry and warnings from local fishermen, there is little in the committee’s communication strategy besides the core message “we are ready.”
- Avoiding Top-Down: Rio could have done a better job communicating with locals, making it a conversation instead of deploying a top-down approach telling them about the areas and streets they will not be able to use or even get close to because of the Games. It’s also important to remember only the upper class can afford to attend the games. Attending to those inside the wrapping is as important as serving those outside.
- Having a Crisis Plan: Have a crisis communications plan for the “internal” constituents, even if it is an entire city: For those groups who get to see the ugly side, have a plan to minimize damage. While key messages (and efforts) have been to communicate that Rio is ready for the Games, communicating that the locals are safe and being taken care of is as important, and their wellbeing cannot be ignored.
- CSR Aspects: The city of Rio could have spearheaded a series of initiatives with direct and long-lasting impact for the people of Rio. It might not be too late for brands to make sure the party leftovers include a positive humanitarian legacy for locals.
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This content first appeared in PR News Pro, August 1, 2016. For subscription information please click here.