Auto Parts Co. Uses PR to Put Brakes on Negative Messages

Moving the needle on public perception can be an especially tedious task when the cards are stacked against you threefold. But that's exactly what automotive parts company ITT Industries faced when several years ago it experienced a dip in sales for one of its key products, anti-lock brake systems (ABS). Compounding that was a flurry of negative publicity and studies questioning the safety of ABS.

Overwhelmingly, what existed in the mainstream media was a highly damaging slant - for example, the 1996 Associated Press piece headlined, "Anti-lock Brakes Increase Death Risk." The story was based on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's claims that a passenger had a 45 percent greater chance of dying in a single-vehicle crash in a car with ABS than in the same car with old-style brakes.

Although the campaign by no means is over, measurement indicates that ITT Automotive has achieved its preliminary goals. It has garnered positive press in publications such as Automotive News and the Detroit Free Press. It is also sponsoring the American Automobile Association's skid pad demonstrations in the Midwest in high schools and for defensive driving classes.

And the National Safety Council has agreed to distribute to its chapters 250,000 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration brochures reiterating the message that anti-lock brakes are safe when used correctly. Proprietary in-house market research also indicates that consumer interest has remained high (about 90 percent of car owners indicate they want their next vehicle to have anti-lock brakes). A 1996 J.D. Powers & Associates study, commissioned by ITT, provides the benchmark for those statistics.

ITT was taking a pounding and reversing it was both a communications and a bottom-line must. ITT, Auburn Hill, Mich., attributes more than $1 billion of its $5.2 billion in annual sales to anti-lock brakes. ABS is sold to car manufacturers.

Because of that, it has earmarked more than $1 million annually for an ongoing, multi-layered informational program that has included outsourced counsel from Edelman Worldwide and Richard French & Associates, Raleigh, N.C.

Before the campaign began in 1997, sales had declined, but they are gaining momentum (there is a lag time because a unit can be sold but cannot be installed in a car until later). In 1995, ITT sold 2.4 million ABS units in North America; in 1996, 2.2 million; in 1997, 2 million; and in 1998, those numbers are expected to hit 2.2 million again.

Initially, ITT hoped by tackling the information that lingered about ABS (primarily, that they contributed to fatal accidents), it could close the gap between public perception and consumers' understanding about how to use ABS properly. Negative news centered around instances of ABS being used incorrectly. Historically, drivers have been taught to pump the brakes and turn hard to the right or left to compensate for skidding, but ABS requires that drivers only brake and steer.

Results Roll In

Richard French & Associates helped imbue the messages that were needed on the regional level, where courting local and automotive press as well as seeking customer support is a delicate process in diplomacy and mentoring. That often forges the path for more legislative efforts, such as lobbying, which the company will focus on in the future.

ITT is hoping that ABS will become standard, according to Jim Gill, PR manager for ITT Automotive. PR is a way of putting a human, and more personal, face on a highly sensationalized topic.

For example, Raleigh, North Carolina-based RF&A is making inroads in the region near three of ITT's ABS plants in Morganton, Asheville and Henderson County, N.C., venues where public opinion is key.

To date, 60 million positive media impressions about the safety of ABS when used correctly have been generated, according to Jessica Blue, account supervisor with RF&A. Five staffers work on the ITT account, with two devoting between 35 and 40 hours a month each to massaging the "Stomp, Stay and Steer" message.

The Human Element

The impact of ITT's PR seems to be how deftly the company is positioning news about ABS. For example, tips about using ABS are nestled in widely distributed literature (to customers, manufacturers) that hits on a wide span of safe-driving techniques. Those include reminders to wear seat belts as well as checklists you should run through before going on a trip.

That's hardly information that's solely self-serving.

And the company collects anecdotal information about drivers' good ABS experiences, through letters to the company or messages emailed via its Web site, http://www.ittautomotive.com. That includes a story from Linda Herd, a Howell, Mich., resident, who avoided injury after a crate fell off a truck and her ABS-equipped Saturn was clipped by the crate.

Communicators know it's that kind of third-party endorsement - content that isn't spoon-fed by high-profile executives - that adds real-life impact.

Instead of simply relying on de facto spokespeople like Herd or sidling up to political bigwigs, ITT took other routes to reach its external audiences. Educational venues range from schools, where it spearheaded driver training programs, to a multi million-dollar mobile exhibit used at dealer events. There, virtual reality helps ITT tout safety messages cloaked in real-life thrills through driving simulators.

(ITT, 248/340-3895; RF&A, 919/832-6300)