Mind blowing...

First a quick welcome to the new PRiDA students for this year...welcome to the module and this blog, I hope it proves interesting, useful and inspiring.

And we hit the ground running with an excellent example of crisis management and 'activism' from this week's news. Asda and Tesco have both issued apologies and withdrawn similar 'Mental Patient' and 'Psycho Ward' Halloween costumes after a furore about the portrayal of people with mental health issues.

Failing to consider each and every aspect of their value chain in the context of modern (and much more open) attitudes to mental health, both supermarkets missed the PR timebomb that was ticking in their aisles.

While both supermarkets were quick to respond with abject apologies and sizeable donations to the mental health charity, Mind, this was an exercise in damage limitation as the 'unacceptable error' was broadcast on TV news, radio news, newspapers and, of course, the internet. A better PR approach would have been to spot the issue before the products even got to the shelves, emphasising how PR should be embedded at every level of an organisation.

Meanwhile Mind have made the most of the supermarkets' blunder: with credible, qualified speakers on news broadcasts across the UK, great quotes in news articles, and the support of well-known public figures affected by mental health issues themselves. Stan Collymore, Alistair Campbell and others tweeted and issued statements - and every communication serves to reduce the stigma of mental health a step further.

Even better, ordinary people who are affected by mental health issues took to twitter and published photos of them looking, well, ordinary, with hashtag 'my #mentalhealth outfit for the day'. 

Effectively 'newsjacking' Asda and Tesco's mistake, Mind have snowballed national outcry at such insensitivity to mental heath to promote their agenda and raise awareness of the continuing stigma and misperceptions of mental health. For little or no cost, the charity has 'earned' millions of pounds worth of column inches and the airwaves, and a significant chunk of the twittersphere, to help achieve their overall aim of destigmatising mental health. And that, my friends, is the beauty of PR.

Tip of the fatberg

This is the 'fatberg': a 15 tonne mass of fat, sewage, wet wipes and toilet paper that threatened to back up toilets, spill into streets and release the stench of raw sewage into the streets of London during the hottest August in 9 years. The story could have been framed as one of inadequate sewage systems, lack of upkeep, and stinky summer disaster, yet Thames Water turned this potential crisis into a summer sewage opportunity.

Instead of waiting for the press to report how they were struggling to deal with the fatberg, Thames Water turned the fat tide and proactively reported on how their employees were working around the clock, in horrific conditions, to blast the berg away. They named the key sewage workers who worked all hours to remove the blockage, giving a human face to this disgusting story. And, coming as it did in the 'silly season' of August when there is little 'real' news, they took the opportunity to highlight the issue of the indisposable waste that people thoughtlessly flush away, and so use the horrific footage and pictures to try and discourage people from doing the same in future. Great example of turning a crisis into an opportunity.

Findus find themselves in the 1980s

Findus seems to be a brand stuck in a time warp - their products, their packaging and their crisis management strategies seem to have changed little since the 1980s.

Great article on The Drum about how media have moved on while Findus' methods of dealing with crisis have not. Where once a brand could weather the storm and wait for the waves of negative publicity to die away, now social media fuel ever enlarging ripples of rumour, rage and recriminations.

Here is Findus' response:

"We understand this is a very sensitive subject for consumers and we would like to reassure you we have reacted immediately. We do not believe this to be a food safety issue. We are confident that we have fully resolved this supply chain issue.”

Findus were aware of the issue in their supply chain for days before it became a crisis for them in the media (python crisis), while Tesco had much less time to react (cobra crisis) yet Tesco responded rapidly and proactively.  Findus almost blame consumers for being 'sensitive' by implying that they do not share the concerns, and fail to state what they are DOING about the issue. Contrast this with Tesco's apology, published in national newspapers at great expense. Note their acceptance of responsibility - while still fairly implicating the supply chain - and their explicit promise of action. Note how they invite two-way dialogue in person, in store. Tesco went on to set up a Facebook page and continue to create dialogue. This is crisis management in the modern age.

Boeing and B2B - trust, risk and reputation

The charred remains of a Dreamliner lithium ion battery

As the new Dreamliner aeroplane is grounded around the world, Boeing face the task of rebuilding the brand's reputation amongst airlines and passengers, assuring both that the Dreamliner (Boeing 787) is a safe and viable alternative to well established Airbus A350.

After problems with burnt out lithium batteries during routine flights, airlines around the world began to ground their Dreamliner fleets, until the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration took the decision to ground ALL Dreamliners around the globe. The Dreamliner is the world's most fuel efficient airliner - a mid-size aeroplane carrying 210-290 passengers and designed to compete with Airbus A350.

Boeing convinced 57 B2B customers that they could trust the brand to deliver a safe and efficient flying experience that kept passengers, regulators and the their accounts departments happy. However that trust is on the line as airlines replace burnt out batteries, face public scrutiny and lose sections of their fleet for perhaps weeks - with ongoing scepticism of the plane by future passengers who may fear flying in them. A great example to support the B2B lecture on this module - and to watch for how Boeing handle this crisis. Would you risk millions on a Dreamliner? What do Boeing need to do claw back the trust these batteries have burnt out?

Toyota Product recall

Have Toyota learned a lesson after their disastrous handling of the product recalls due to faulty accelerators and brakes last year? As they now recall 1.7 million cars with potentially faulty fuel systems, commentators argue that this risk is tiny, but that Toyota have learned that complete transparency is the only way forward in this internet age.