This week's PR Roundup explores Big Dad Energy, another example of how not to communicate layoffs and dealing with investors in panic mode.
Big Dad Energy Takes Over
What happened: Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris announced her running mate this week, and social media could not have been a happier place. The unveiling of current Minnesota governor-now democratic vice presidential candidate, Tim Walz, unleashed an amusing trend that Twitter hasn’t seen the likes of since at least 2016.
Walz, a former teacher turned politician, is known for being down-to-Earth, yet outspoken, and openly shares his daily adventures of being a midwestern dad on digital platforms. This encouraged creative users to push the term and hashtag, Big Dad Energy, which flooded timelines with creative, witty tributes to the newest member of the Harris team.
Tim Walz will run alongside you, holding the back of your bike steady till you can pedal on your own. #BigDadEnergy
— Gennefer Gross (@Gennefer) August 6, 2024
Post by @brentjowersView on Threads
Tim Walz wonders if you're going to get something out of the fridge or stand there all day and air condition the whole house? And while you're standing there, why not grab us a couple of chocolate milks and we can go sit on the porch and chat? #BigDadEnergy
— Jennifer Mercieca (@jenmercieca) August 1, 2024
Communication takeaways: Part of the PR game is knowing when something is trending and why, and if it is a good opportunity to join the party.
Dayna Prepis, Associate Vice President, Marketing, at UpSpring, says brands should evaluate whether a connection is authentic before engaging in a larger social trend.
"Consumers are smart and know a "gimmick" when they see one,” Prepis says. “[A brand’s] internal communications team will have to decide if it wants to be in conversations related to politics, but the virality of it can outweigh the political in terms of traffic and brand awareness.”
Prepis says the “Big Dad Energy” trend is a great example of how some brands could make a meaningful connection.
“The idea takes us back to brands that are reliable, practical and relevant, because they never let us down,” she says. “In a world of uncertainty, they make sure we are taken care of. Subaru, AAA, REI, and L.L. Bean are “Big Dad Energy” brands. They show up for consumers consistently and authentically. They come to our practices, scrape the ice off of our windshields, and make sure we have renter’s insurance."
Axios Called Out for Layoffs Language
What happened: Another week, another unfortunate round of media layoffs. This time Axios announced a 10% reduction in staff (about 50 people), to adapt to “changes in the media business,” as an internal memo said.
The internal memo, penned by co-founder and Chief Executive, Jim VandeHei, used Axios’s known format, titled “Smart Brevity.” Needless to say, not only those being laid off, but the public who saw the leaked memo, were not amused.
There's just something so unsettling that they used the Axios "smart brevity" bulletpoint format to fire their staffers.
WHY IT MATTERS: You will no longer have a job. https://t.co/oVWTUhUFVE
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) August 6, 2024
1 big thing: Axios laid me off.
— Selene San Felice (@SeleneSanFelice) August 6, 2024
Communication takeaways: While it may seem like common sense on how to talk to people in sensitive situations, there is a whole sector of the PR world that studies and enacts best practices for internal communications in situations like these. Words matter. Particularly in a situation where it affects people’s livelihoods.
Emily Miller, Director of Employee Experience Practice at Lippe Taylor, says employees are the most valuable stakeholders to a company, and they should be treated with respect and dignity.
“One word that comes to mind in this situation is “impersonal,” and that’s a problem when speaking to employees about something so important and sensitive,” Miller says. “While it’s important to explain the situation to all employees, doing so requires accountability and empathy.”
She also says that even while many organizations now host remote workers, delivering news one-on-one or directly is still important.
“When a company needs to go through layoffs like this, communicating with affected individuals one-on-one is the bare minimum—which this CEO deemed “infeasible,”” she says. “It’s team/departmental meetings or a leader-hosted meeting, for example—it is not a poorly executed “article style” memo for all employees that results in more questions than answers.”
Dealing With Financial Panic
What happened: The week certainly started on a shaky note for the economy, with sharp drops in the stock market. The GOP even took the opportunity to call it the KamalaCrash. Everyone thought this might be the big signal of a financial slump, officially ushering in a recession.
However, the markets chugged along with gains and losses, like the Little Engine that Could, and seemed to end the week in a better place, avoiding economists’ fears. According to MarketWatch, the markets are back on the up-and-up. Thursday ended with the S&P 500’s biggest percentage gain since 2022, and the Dow Jones had its best day in three weeks.
These times of market instability can cause panic for many savers and investors. So financial institutions, brokerage firms and really any company with a public offering need to maintain a close line of communication with customers and stakeholders to assuage any fears, explain scenarios and guide them in the right direction.
Communication takeaways: Consistent communication during downturns can go a long way to continue to instill trust in an organization or brand.
Richard Dukas, Chairman and CEO of Dukas Linden Public Relations (DLPR), says if wealth and asset managers aren’t proactively communicating with their clients, it leaves a void and clients can start to question how confident their managers are about their strategies. However, he notes, it’s important to not overreact.
“Those managers who have reminded their clients to stick to a long-term plan based on their goals don't necessarily need to over-communicate,” he says. “With that in mind, given the markets' drop, geo-political events and volatility and unease surrounding U.S. elections, managers would be well-served to develop and implement proactive comms plans for the weeks and months ahead.”
Dukas provided a five-point plan for how firms should work with their agents to establish a communications process for clients during times of extreme volatility, where consistency and a quick response is important.
- Identify the key decision makers required to align on in the response
- Create a review and approval process
- Draft general standby statements that can be adapted accordingly
- Create a plan to disseminate the responses internally so that everyone is on the same page on how to speak to the issue(s)
- Strategize and decide how the response will be shared with key external audiences and who is responsible.
Nicole Schuman is Managing Editor at PRNEWS.