Insights for Leaders Navigating
Visibility, Credibility, and Growth.
From media strategy to reputation management, we explore the trends shaping public perception and share the approaches that drive measurable results for growing brands.
Companies looking to leverage the power of Facebook to attract the masses may want to take a lesson from Coca-Cola fans Dusty Sorg and Michael Jedrzejewski. With a fan base of 3.3 million users, Sorg and Jedrzejewski’s Coca-Cola Facebook fan page is one of the most popular pages on Facebook – second to Barack Obama (see Facebook page statistics).
Creating the page was not planned. Sorg and Jedrzejewski simply could not find a Facebook fan page focused on Coca-Cola that appeared legitimate. Deciding to take matters into their own hands, they created a new fan page and posted a high-resolution digital image of a Coke can. It was not long before the page attracted Coca-Cola fans and eventually captured the attention of Coca-Cola executives who wanted to know more about Sorg and Jedrzejewski’s approach. What about their page made it so attractive for fans?
Coca-Cola was also interested in speaking with Sorg and Jedrzejewski about the future of the page and how the company could assist in page operations to comply with Facebook’s recent policy updates.
The company took an engaging approach, inviting Sorg and Jedrzejewski to visit the Coca-Cola headquarters in Atlanta. While there, the two toured the World of Coke museum and had the opportunity to meet with executives to discuss the popularity of the Facebook page.
While Coca-Cola is still not sure why Sorg and Jedrzejewski’s page is so successful, they suspect it had to do with the high-resolution Coke can picture included on the page and the influential friends of Sorg and Jedrzejewski (although they could not confirm this).
From a PR perspective, Sorg and Jedrzejewski’s Facebook page teaches companies that happy customers can be your biggest advocate in social mediums such as Facebook.
Several of Communiqué PR’s clients have also engaged in social mediums as a way to gain advocates. Big Canvas, a creative developer of social media applications and creativity tools for the iPhone and iPod Touch, actively posts application reviews posted on the iTunes App Store to the company’s blog. Posting customer reviews in a company blog can help demonstrate the benefits of your organization’s product or service to new visitors to your site. Another example is Big Fish Games, the world’s leading online destination for games and interactive entertainment. The company actively maintains a Facebook page for fans, highlighting new games for users to enjoy and download.
Most recently, Communiqué created a new Facebook page for Strategic Public Relations: 10 Principles to Harness the Power of PR, a new book co-authored by Communiqué’s own Jennifer Gehrt and Colleen Moffitt. The page provides fans with information about upcoming events related to the book and links back to Communiqué PR’s blog. In addition, fans of the book have the opportunity to post reviews and comments – creating an open forum to discuss topics outlined in the book.
These are just a few ways organizations can become more involved with social mediums to gain advocates. Perhaps Reporter Nicholas Carlson said it best in his article in the Silicon Valley Insider, stating, “The takeaway for us is that Coke got somewhere by realizing it couldn’t control its brand. The customers own the brand, not the brand-makers.”
The news that insurance giant AIG will pay $165 million in bonuses to employees has not been warmly received. At a time when millions have lost their jobs and the recession worsens, the nation is outraged that taxpayer money is being spent on multi-million dollar bonuses for the very people who some believe largely contributed the recession.
While there is no shortage of articles weighing in on the news with opinions as to whether the executives should be paid, one aspect of the story that has received considerably less ink is that of PR.
President Obama’s public condemnation of AIG’s actions certainly tops the list of the worst possible PR scenarios for a public company like AIG (although Obama’s condemnation was a smart PR move for his administration). But has the company done a good job responding to the backlash?
At the very least, AIG should be commended for being upfront and transparent about the situation. The company has not tried to hide the fact that it is paying bonuses and has issued public statements. But we believe AIG has made a grave mistake in being too defensive and not proactively acknowledging the concerns of the public.
As a general rule, the best course of action during a crisis such as this is to:
Organize a crisis communication team
Be as transparent as possible
Acknowledge the situation and learn from mistakes
AIG already appears to have organized a communication team, but the defensive messaging they chose has proven to be ineffective and does not reinforce their commitment to solving the problem. By taking a defensive position from the get-go, AIG has branded itself as morally reprehensible in the eyes of many Americans, an identity that could take years to shake.
Edward M. Liddy, AIG’s chief executive officer, recently said the bonuses are necessary to attract and retain the best talent. And in a separate statement, AIG spokesperson Mark Harr said that, “We understand the Attorney General’s concerns.” While both of these statements may be true, they do not thoroughly address the concerns of the American taxpayers.
Most importantly, AIG should learn from their mistake by developing a plan to respond to crises and avoid escalation like this. Now that 80 percent of the company is owned by the government, it has a responsibility to both its employees and the American taxpayers that pay its salaries. For the sake of its business, we believe now is the time for AIG to acknowledge and respond to the concerns of American people.
So while the company can take steps to remedy the situation now by apologizing and increasing transparency, it must come to terms with the fact that in the context of rising unemployment and a global recession, the negative press will probably continue for months to come.
For more information about how to plan for and handle a PR crisis, see our blog here.
Even though we have known for weeks that the Seattle Post-Intelligencer was likely to cease its print edition, it is still a shock to see the last print issue of the 146-year old newspaper, and know that 160 people will lose their jobs.
I always enjoyed both the Seattle Times and the P.I. and found it interesting to see how competing journalists covered the same story. As a PR professional, I would read each article and consider the slant each reporter took, where the article was placed on the page, and who was quoted. Now, of course, I won’t have the pleasure of having two disparate and unique perspectives.
Stacia Kirby, president of Kirby Communications, Inc., wrote me to share her viewpoint, “As someone who grew up in Seattle I am very sad about the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and find it disconcerting to see the demise of the newspaper business. As a former broadcast journalist I can attest to the importance that journalists bring to their community. There is a gaping hole that is growing. People just don’t understand where the news comes from – it is not from blogs.”
Stacia raises a good point. As an active blogger, I know the bulk of what I do is comment, analyze and share my unique perspective on news or trends. Certainly, I solicit and include other opinions in many of my blog posts, but I am not focused on uncovering the next big story. I am not a whistle-blower or watch dog, and I don’t adhere to the same guidelines and standards that our daily newspapers follow. And at Communiqué PR there is no editorial board governing the tone or direction of our coverage, or taking a collective approach on critical issues.
Perhaps, we don’t need two daily newspapers in Seattle, but we certainly need to be informed and have independent news sources. I also think it is important that we have people who consider biases and verify sources of information.
Author Bryan Heathman agrees “The journalism industry is important to our world, state and local government and our nation.” Nonetheless Heathman points out that the role of journalism in society is not necessarily tied to a paper delivery mechanism.
Clearly the daily newspapers have got to identify a business model which allows them to succeed. “Until they do this, they will remain at risk of becoming obsolete,” says Paul Nyhan, former Seattle P-I reporter. “I really think this is just the beginning and we’re going to see the pace of change accelerate.”
Sprint Nextel has announced that it will no longer feature its CEO Dan Hesse in its television advertisements. You may remember the black and white ads featuring Hesse promoting the wireless revolution. For example, in one ad Hesse is shown working on a laptop in the back seat of a New York City cab to promote the network’s robust coverage.
Why did the company initially elect to include Hesse in its ads? According to an article published on March 12 by Amol Sharma of the Wall Street Journal, “the company’s decision was a bold move at a time when public trust in corporate chiefs is at a low point. Mr. Hesse says the ads that feature him have been effective, especially in terms of brand recall.” By featuring Hesse, Sprint hoped to “humanize” its brand, especially after it was tarnished by its rocky merger with Nextel.
In our experience, a charismatic, articulate spokesperson can be extremely effective in representing their company and building its brand. But these individuals must carefully guard their reputations. For example, we all remember the PR nightmare that ensued when the CEOs of Detroit’s auto makers took private jets to Washington to ask for federal bailout money.
Since taking over as CEO of the wireless carrier, Hesse has been very involved in efforts to shape perceptions of Sprint. In addition to advertisements, he has been a strong advocate for public relations and even commented on the new book written by Communiqué PR co-founders Jennifer Gehrt and Colleen Moffitt, saying “Strategic Public Relations” is full of practical counsel on how to leverage the power of PR to help companies achieve their most important business objectives.”
The ads featuring Hesse have certainly gotten people talking. And if there’s any truth to the popular adage “any publicity is good publicity,” then perhaps Sprint made the right move, especially (to quote Hesse) “in terms of brand recall.”
We would love to hear your thoughts. If you missed the ad, click here and let us know what you think.
After my experience trying Starbucks VIA, I was curious to see what other people think about the company’s instant coffee so I did an informal e-mail poll. I posted a query on Peter Shankman’s HARO to see what other consumers think of the new brew.
We have successfully used this tactic before to secure customer testimonials and expert opinions on behalf of our clients. Although this is just one method, we have found this can be an efficient and easy way to connect with consumers and experts.
Customer testimonials and expert opinion can add significant color to any announcement, podcast, blog post, etc. For instance, take a look at what some of the folks told me about VIA:
- “I tried Starbucks VIA because they kept giving me free samples. I’ve had instant coffee before and hated it; it seemed a lot like drinking from a mud puddle. After trying instant coffee once, I swore off it. However, with VIA I was pleasantly surprised. The coffee is good and although I still prefer to go to Starbucks for a brew, I do drink VIA in a pinch. The Italian Roast has a nice strong flavor similar to the Americano I like to drink. Columbia is smoother. You will get a little sediment in the bottom of the cup but that is about the only giveaway that it’s instant coffee.” – Paula Krapf, Author Marketing Experts, LLC
- “I have had VIA several times and while I am not a connoisseur of coffee, I do have a latte or Americano almost every day and I do like VIA. It is much better than any other of the “traditional” instant coffees and comparable to Starbuck’s brewed coffee – just far more convenient. I took a pack with me skiing last weekend, grabbed a cup of hot water during a short break and mixed in the pack of VIA. It is MUCH better than the institutional, brewed coffee at the lodge.” – Dan Evans Jr., The Dan Evans Group
- “I tried it, and liked it. I have a couple of 12-packs and have used it every day for the last week. I have several excellent coffee choices within a three block radius, but the weather’s been awful and this is a snap. No clean up. So far have stayed with Italian Roast. Previously I would gag at the thought of instant coffee. Another unexpected perk about VIA is that it actually smells good. The aroma fills the whole kitchen. Nice.” -Andra Medea
The one person who did not like VIA wrote me to say he thought VIA tasted like every other instant coffee and he doesn’t see the point.
As you consider your next corporate announcement, we hope you’ll consider infusing it with third-party perspective. With outlets such as Facebook, Twitter and HARO becoming more and more popular, there are a number of affordable, efficient ways to reach out to your target audience and garner their feedback.
One of the very first things I do every morning is check Facebook, Twitter, read the news and drink coffee. It is a relatively peaceful morning ritual – except when my beloved dog Scout wants to play.
The other morning while checking Twitter, I noticed that the word “Starbucks” was trending on the site. I was immediately intrigued. I wondered what Starbucks had done to create such a buzz, and what I could learn from the coffee retailer.
I quickly checked out some of the tweets and discovered the company was offering free samples of its new instant brew called VIA. I immediately signed up and this week I received two complimentary packets of Italian Roast and Columbia coffee. I just had my first cup and thought it was pretty good. I also really like the packaging.
But I am more impressed with how Starbucks is leveraging Twitter to reach consumers and drive perceptions of their company. This is a good example of how companies can effectively engage with key audiences. Starbucks offered something of value to folks in an unobtrusive manner, then sat back to watch the buzz build on Twitter. By leveraging the social network, they almost instantly created a vocal group of evangelists for their product.
For more information on how other companies are using Twitter, check out Forbes‘ article on the topic.