Still Spilling: This might be one of the best motivators for having a crisis plan in place, regularly rehearsing said crisis plan and creating a culture where employees are encouraged to speak up about problems before they become crises: The 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico still is costing the brand. In addition to the angst of having a picture of the disaster splashed across page 1 of The Wall Street Journal, the story accompanying the picture said BP disclosed the spill recently cost it nearly $1 billion. The additional funds stem from settlements in several lawsuits, BP said. The total payout from the disaster now stands north of $56 billion, including a $20 billion package to quell state and federal claims. The total likely will rise as additional suits are settled, BP said.
An Honest Mistake? You know social media takes unkindly to brands that it perceives as opportunistic and inauthentic. More evidence: the social outcry over iconic brand Cheerios and its apparently innocent tweet in memory of iconic musician Prince. The offending tweet ( pictured) showed the words “Rest in Peace” with an individual piece of Cheerios dotting the i. While other brands incorporated products into their Prince tributes, they were judged to be authentic. For example, Chevrolet’s tweet showed an understated picture of a 1963 red Corvette, with the words “Baby, that was much too fast” and the years of Prince’s life, 1958-2016. The tweet quoted lyrics from one of Prince’s best-known songs, “Little Red Corvette.” Prince never wrote a song about breakfast cereal, so Cheerios’ tweet was deemed exploitative. Cheerios later deleted the tweet.
News Bits: PR firms generally avoid taking public stances on controversial subjects, yet Ogilvy & Mather waded into shark-infested waters, literally, releasing a PSA aimed at Hong Kongers, urging them to halt consumption of shark fin soup. Sharks face extinction and Hong Kong is one of the world’s leading consumers of shark fin soup. Set to run on YouTube and Facebook, the film “pulls no punches in demonstrating the horrific consequences of the” area’s “age-old, popular menu item,” the firm said in a statement. Aimed at younger audiences, the film shows a Hong Kong bride and groom cutting off a shark’s fin on their wedding day. The practice is linked to an ancient tradition associated with wealth and prosperity. — Gotta love it when employees take communications into their own hands. Miami Heat player Chris Bosh has been sidelined for months with “an undisclosed medical condition,” and he’s out “indefinitely,” the NBA team says. Bosh has said nothing to the media in months. Yet in early March Bosh released a statement through his personal publicist, “I remain positive that I will be able to return this season.” The team denied it. Then last week his wife, Adrienne Bosh, took to Twitter, creating a #BringBoshBack hashtag. Following that, Bosh posted a video showing him shooting baskets in an empty arena with the words, “Still got it.” Maybe, but in response the Heat said there’s no update. — Oh, video wars. At press time Bloomberg reported 10 billion videos are watched daily on Snapchat. This bests Facebook, which said in Feb it had 8+ billion daily video views ( PRN, Feb 1). — Also at our deadline embattled pharma Valeant said it filed its late annual report, squelching a default threat ( PRN, Mar 28).
Grumbling Journalists: You can quibble that the sponsor of this study, a digital communications platform, had a stake in its outcome. Yet it’s hard to dispute the takeaway for brands: Journalists think online newsrooms are lacking. In a big way. Just 6% said digital newsrooms met expectations. The biggest beefs: lack of access to useful contact information (69%) and multimedia content, such as downloadable photos (65%). Poor search tools (54%) and lack of current information (53%) were also noted. Still, they come. 95% of journalists said they visit online newsrooms at least monthly. Digital communicator Isebox sponsored the poll of 236 journalists, including PR News.
People: A veteran of communications at Lifetime and A&E, Les Eisner is leaving cable for the world of broadcast, as SVP corporate communications, Fox Broadcasting Co. Eisner began his career on the agency side at The Lippin Group. — Tyson Foods named Felicia Collins VP, corporate communications, overseeing PR, social media and internal communications. Earlier she was at Edelman in Washington, D.C. — Estée Lauder named Damon BurrellSVP, consumer engagement, and Anna Klein VP, corporate affairs. — Monica Bouldin joined R&R Partners as VP. Most recently she was EVP and GM at Hill+Knowlton Strategies. — WE named Steve Kerns GM and SVP of its San Francisco office. Kerns’s prior stops included Edelman and FleishmanHillard. — Environics Communications promoted Mimi Carter to SVP/GM of its D.C. office. Previously, she ran communications and marketing at the Corcoran Gallery of Artand Corcoran College of Art in D.C.