2017 was an epic year for crisis managers in the public relations realm. While there are some examples of a problem being efficiently handled, there are also instances where companies have become prime examples of what not to do when crisis strikes. Some of them include;

THE UNITED AIRLINES CRISIS

United Airlines faced a huge PR crisis last year when one of its passengers was dragged down the aisle. An unequivocal apology could have stopped the crisis escalating into a full-blown PR disaster.  But, as Elton John said, sorry seems to be the hardest word.

Ultimately, the United CEO did apologize – but it was too late and too feeble.  As crisis war room veteran, Zach Grosser says, a negative narrative is one of the most influential forces in the universe. The latest United crisis about a puppy that died because it was forced into an overhead bin, only reinforces his theory. The company did manage a comeback after cutting its ties with the NRA, but there was hardly any news coverage about this.

As Zach says, the last thing that any company should do while they’re in the middle of a negative narrative is to validate everyone’s perception. Every decision that they take must consider the possible implications of such a narrative. As the puppy controversy proves, any story that’s consistent with the narrative will complicate things further.

THE HARVEY WEINSTEIN CONTROVERSY

Could the Harvey Weinstein scandal be a watershed moment for Hollywood? Could the #MeToo be the modern parallel to the suffragette movement of the late 19^th century? And most importantly, does PR have a role to play in the controversy?

Harvey isn’t the first or the only sexual predator in Hollywood, but what caused his downfall was the fallacious belief that he could buy his way to good PR.  In fact, his response to the crisis has been dubbed as one of the worst apologies ever by PR experts.  When faced with concrete evidence about your wrongdoing, the last thing that any person should do is to threaten people (especially news folks) with legal action. Power can be intoxicating – that is perhaps why people like Harvey fail to recognize shifting tides until it is too late. They often think it is possible for them to bully their way of a situation. Harvey’s conceited and condescending attitude only forced other women to come forward to share their stories of sexual abuse.

But there’s also an important lesson for the anti-sexual harassment activists. Naming and shaming sexual offenders in public; especially holding a trial via social media cannot be a permanent solution. We need much more than insincere attempts made by Hollywood actresses paying lip service to the #MeToo movement. It does little towards helping real women who’re being sexually harassed every day at work and home.

THE PEPSI CRISIS

It’s good to watch commercials that not only appeal to the emotions but compel us to think about social and environmental issues. But some companies take things a little too far. The Pepsi commercial starring Kendell Jenner was a classic example of the phrase ‘too much of anything is good for nothing.’ The ad, claimed Time, was a take on an old Coke ad that aimed to unite the world with soda. Only this time, the message was considered tasteless and was unanimously condemned.

It took a few days and a couple of thousand protests on the company’s social media pages for Pepsi to realize that their take on the Black Lives Matter protests was shallow and unacceptable. To their credit, Pepsi did pull out the ad and issue an earnest apology, but it was too late by then. Nearly 58.6% of the company’s social mentions were negative by the time Pepsi decided to pull the commercial. Tweet after tweet, including one by Martin Luther King’s daughter, made it clear that the ad was unacceptable. Companies looking to tide through a crisis should never ignore social conversations. Social media being a public platform, it is here that people air their disapproval. Responding to these problems not only helps companies manage a PR crisis but also create brand advocates.

THE EQUIFAX DATA BREACH

The Equifax crisis was about a security flaw that the company knew almost two months before hackers gained access to personal data of around 143 million customers. Some of the personal information accessed included, individual names, social security number, birth dates, addresses, and even driver’s license number.

While this is a huge data breach with immense consequences for consumers, what stands out in the entire crisis is the company’s response to the problem. It did not reveal information about the breach for several months. The official apology was half-hearted and full of jargons.  It did not clearly state how Equifax planned to remedy the problem. And most importantly, what about the people whose personal information was compromised?

The golden rule about apologies is that the longer you take to say sorry, the longer you prolong the crisis. And most important of all, do not say sorry just because you have to – an honest apology isn’t about you. It should be about the affected person.

Every crisis presents an opportunity – sometimes, we learn from our mistakes and sometimes from the mistakes of others.

The recent Cambridge Analytica and Facebook data revelations have had a significant business impact upon Facebook’s user community. As a media relations observer, it was certainly interesting watching them stick handle the crisis and read the critique while their stock price fell. As history would show, Facebook has had challenges when it comes to managing their public relations issues. The theory would suggest that PR crises have a relatively simple and straightforward playbook: accept responsibility, apologize, and take concrete action. In short – stay ahead of the story. However, from its early days when they faced the Beacon controversy to this latest data scandal, there is definitely some area in which Facebook could improve upon.

Never react publicly without a plan.

In 2006, when there were concerns about their News Feed feature, their CEO Mark Zuckerburg, was quoted as believing users were getting worked up over a feature that was clearly a work in progress. However, he later admitted he made that comment was a mistake.

Then in 2007,  Facebook was subject to a lawsuit because of its controversial Beacon feature – an update that tracked and gathered information from other websites about their members’ online spending habits. It took a $9.5 million settlement and strong protests from advocacy groups like MoveOn for Facebook to then get publicly involved, put an end to the Beacon feature, and issue a half-hearted apology that was widely criticized.

The absence of a plan was again clear when reports of a Russian influence in the 2017 Presidential election were deemed ‘crazy’ by Facebook. They later regretted and even testified before the Congress that Russia-based operatives published around 80, 000 posts to influence elections.

Apologies must be sincere and meaningful.

The Facebook machine issues apologies frequently. Every time, a controversy pops up, Mark writes a blog post saying, how he ‘has messed up this time’, or ‘he did a bad job.’ And sometimes, he explains how, ‘he has missed the mark.’ Of course, over the years, his apologies have improved – he has finally stopped telling people that they are criticizing Facebook, only because they don’t understand how Facebook works.

Don’t ever bully the messenger.

When The Guardian and The New York Times broke the news about the data leak, Facebook tried to threaten them both with litigation. Of course, they did issue an apology later and admitted that threatening to sue them was not one of their wisest moves, but it was too late by then.

Shooting the messenger is definitely not the right way to navigate a PR crisis – especially when you know that a mistake has been made. Apparently, Facebook knew about the data leak for two years before the Guardian story was published. If this wasn’t enough, there were reports that the company’s CISO Alex Stamos was set to quit because of alleged differences in opinion between himself, Zuckerburg and Sandberg. Stamos allegedly wanted Facebook to be more proactive in handling fake news. But Stamos did clarify that these reports of his resignation aren’t true.

**

Truth be told, Facebook’s recent data privacy crisis goes beyond PR mismanagement. It isn’t something that can be fixed with a simple ‘We messed up, we’ll fix it’ apology. Rectifying the problem implicates Facebook’s data mining business model, that has helped them and their shareholders earn billions of dollars.

PR crisis and communications threats such as these can seriously interrupt business and revenue, and it’s time for Facebook to call in the experts. They must make a drastic change to its ad revenue model, while at the same time heavily investing in media relations activities to rebuild trust and credibility amongst its communities. They need to be proactively managing and listening to their customers and stakeholders through all mediums and adjusting their external and internal communications based on the themes and sentiment of their audiences, measurable through a media monitoring and analysis services like Fullintel.

Failing to prepare adequately for crisis and then not having a plan to execute when they arise will invariably incur more damage to the valuable Facebook brand.

An Academy Award (or even a nomination for that matter) automatically translates into big bucks and an even bigger career for the people involved. But there’s more to the glitz, glamour and the razzmatazz of an Oscars night. For one, they present some unique lessons for PR folks around the world. Some of the key takeaways from this year’s event include:

1. ENOUGH WITH THE PREACHING

The Oscars have always had a political undertone. In fact, art in any form has always been inseparable from the society, holding a mirror up to the society and informing people about the social, cultural, and political issues of the time. The problem, however, is that Hollywood has gone a bit too far. Ordinary Americans are no longer willing to be lectured about climatic changes and homelessness from people who travel in their private jets to the many multi-million dollar homes they own all over the world. It’s hard to agree with the acid-tongued Piers Morgan, but this time, he was probably right when he asked Hollywood to bite their pontificating lip at award shows.

In contrast to last year when winner after winner engaged in Trump-bashing, this year’s Oscars was more about social issues. Thanks to initiatives like #MeToo and #TimesUp, the focus was more on issues closer to home, viz. sexual harassment, gender parity, and inclusion. Of course, Trump and his VP were made fun of, but Oscars 2018 was mostly Trump-free. The lesson for PR professionals, you ask? Speak up, but keep things light.

2. KEEP IT SHORT, SILLY

Report from Nielsen indicates that this year’s Oscars may have had its lowest viewership ever, averaging at around 26.5 million – that’s a decline of almost 20% from last year. This may not have been entirely unexpected, because award shows have witnessed a steady decline over the years. But, I’m sure nobody expected them to beat their 2008 record of 31.8 million viewers. Despite the jet-ski lure, most winning speeches averaged at around 3 minutes. The first Oscars ceremony held in 1929 lasted all but 15 minutes. In contrast, Oscars 2018 dragged for 3 hours and forty-eight minutes. The key takeaway – messages stick when they are short.

3. LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES

With the Trump administration only a month old and the President facing fierce backlash, last year’s Oscars was unsurprisingly controversial. But nobody has ever expected the envelop mix-up that took place last year. This year, the Academy has put in place several steps to prevent envelopes being mixed up. The envelopes this year were clearly marked and in a huge font. Staffs handling the task were forbidden from using social media or cellphones. In addition to these, the stage manager and the celebrity presenting the award had to confirm that they’ve been given the correct envelope. Surely, they’ve learned lessons from last year’s fiasco. PR lesson #3 do not be afraid to embrace your mistakes to create a better you.

4. TELL YOUR STORY BUT WITHOUT BORING THE AUDIENCE

As I earlier said, the Oscars this year wasn’t without its share of political messages, but this time, the Academy’s chose to tell the tale a little differently. They chose to honor people who they believed are the beacons of hope for fellow immigrants. But rather than putting up a special montage of the movies, they chose to narrate their story through Kumail Nanjiani and Lupita Nyomgo, also immigrants. This was well appreciated by the live audience as well as viewers watching them from home.  The key takeaway, it’s not just the content, but the narrative also matters.

5. SOMETIMES PEOPLE NEED A SECOND CHANCE

Imagine having your name called out for an award, only to be told seconds later there has been a goof-up. Of course, Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway cannot be blamed entirely for the envelop-fiasco, but it sure is embarrassing to make a mistake of such immense proportions before such a massive audience. Perhaps that is why the duo was called this year as well to present awards for the Best Picture. The lesson – It doesn’t hurt to give people a second chance!

The Oscars are the ultimate recognition for a group of people who thrive on applause and appreciation – it’s an acknowledgment of their toil and sweat.  But it isn’t always about winning! This is perhaps the most significant lesson that the Oscars offer. Some movies may not have won an award, but over time they have proved to be just as good, or even better! Case in point: Spielberg lost the coveted Best Director and Best Film award to Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi. But three decades later, which movie would you rate the best – E.T or the biography on the Mahatma?

These are the intuitive lessons we learned from a major event… What insights can Fullintel analysts uncover from your next big campaign?