Last week we wrote about brands deftly defending themselves when put in uncomfortable (usually political) situations. This week we have an example of a brand putting itself in a potentially uncomfortable position — but being prepared for it. We speak, of course, of the Great IHOP Name-Change Publicity Stunt.
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Sanofi got some positive ink last week for its cheeky reply to Roseanne Barr after the comedian contended that taking one of its drugs may have caused her to blurt a racist statement. That reminded us that the past couple years have seen several examples of companies similarly defending their consumer brands with quick retorts on social media.
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Insurance giant Prudential caused a flap in Singapore last week with a major customer-service blunder. The company’s reaction was swift enough that it should be able to contain the damage — though some customers fumed.
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The tools in the crisis communications kit are many: crisis plan, standby statement, aspirin. Another gadget that a crisis may or may not require is a call center. The crisis communications team must decide whether the woes that have befallen the organization require allowing customers, investors, or employees and their families to call in for information (and, perhaps, fear tempering).
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It was revealed last week that AT&T and Novartis had separately hired Michael Cohen, one of Donald Trump’s lawyers, to advise them early on in the new administration on how to work with it. The payments were embarrassing — though not necessarily illegal — and the two companies were forced to respond publicly and to employees. The situation was bad enough that two executives lost their jobs.
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Carnival Cruise Line experienced a crisis last week that was not serious, yet managed to draw comparisons to the Titanic. The company steered clear of overreacting and, in doing so, kept a minor mishap from mutating into a major misadventure. Carnival handled it all very well.
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