Public Relations ( Public Relations) refers to the enterprises, institutions, organizations in order to achieve their own goals, and so that their audience groups can generate trust and recognition of their own, to take a series of communication activities and strategic management to maintain their own image, shaping the brand image of the behavior. However, in practice, some companies handle PR events in an inappropriate way, even increasing the risk of worsening the crisis. Here are a few textbook disaster-level PR cases.
1. United Airlines Drag-and-Drop Incident
On April 10, 2017, a drag-and-drop incident occurred on United Airlines in Chicago. The incident took place on United Airlines Flight 3411 when a doctor was asked to disembark from a flight, but he reluctantly left while security personnel roughly dragged him out of the cabin, and the video immediately sparked widespread attention and condemnation. United Airlines handled the incident in a threatening and forceful manner and did not apologize in a timely manner, sparking discussions and protests on social media. Events unfolded quickly, and the incident ultimately led to a significant drop in United Airlines' market capitalization, with the company's stock price falling more than five percentage points at one point.
2. Volkswagen Emissionsgate
In 2015, Volkswagen became a worldwide figurehead for cheating emissions tests. Volkswagen installed software to deceive the EPA and European regulators in emissions tests, causing some diesel cars to emit less exhaust gas than they actually did. The leak caused billions of dollars in damages and, more importantly, damaged the company's reputation. Volkswagen's CEO Herbert Diess resigned and the company's top management changed hands, and the incident is still widely regarded as one of the representative cases of PR crisis.
3. Service quality issues of Comcast in the United States
In 2014, Comcast in the United States (Comcast) was accused of misconduct in subscriber service, such as ridiculing customers on the phone, prolonged and cumbersome voice menus, and failure to resolve problems. After these complaints were filed, Comcast did not take timely action to improve the quality of service, but instead used "strong-arm tactics" to deal with the complaints, further worsening the image. Subsequently, the company was repeatedly recognized as one of the worst companies in terms of business service, and its market share and image were severely damaged.
4. PepsiCo advertisement in the US
In 2017, PepsiCo used footage of Kendall Jenner confronting peaceful protesters in an advertisement and portrayed her as a "mediator" in an attempt to communicate "unity and reconciliation". This attempt to convey "unity and reconciliation" has led to widespread criticism and condemnation. Many believe that the advertisement attempted to use social hotspots to make up and downplay the reality, making Pepsi notorious among the public.
In summary, several of the above cases are due to the deteriorating crisis caused by improper handling of corporate PR. For enterprises, quick response to the situation, positive image management and sincere apology are the key factors to solve the crisis. The following lessons can be learned from these cases:
1. Apologize in a timely manner
When a PR crisis occurs, companies should take timely measures to apologize to the audience through social media or press conferences, etc., and express their willingness to take responsibility and improve the problem. Prolonged silence or shirking responsibility can add to the corporate image and further worsen the crisis.
2. Careful selection of topics
Enterprises should pay particular attention to the selection of topics when planning their advertisements. Certain sensitive topics may trigger the public's sensitivity and ultimately lead to PR risks. Therefore, companies need to carefully select appropriate advertising topics through market research and observing social media reactions.
3. Importance of social media
In a PR event, social media becomes one of the platforms to disseminate information and trigger public opinion. Therefore, companies need to pay close attention to the dynamics of social media and respond positively to the reactions of netizens. Timely statements, in line with the trend of the times, are especially important in the Internet era.
4. Take service quality seriously
Especially for companies in the service industry, the attitude towards customers and service quality are crucial. In the event of inappropriate behavior, companies should take immediate action and resolve the problem. Excessive shirking of responsibility or ignoring customer complaints will lead to negative consequences such as loss of customer loyalty, damage to image and loss of market share.
Overall, PR crisis management is very important and necessary for enterprises. Enterprises need to establish a rigorous crisis management system, improve response speed and accuracy, strengthen social media monitoring and adopt a reasonable crisis PR strategy for the actual situation, and ultimately protect the brand reputation and image of the enterprise.