Last week in our public relations
writing course, we were assigned teams and simulated crisis press briefings to
implement for our classmates. One of the
teams was assigned to develop a crisis plan and execute a briefing for the Costa
Concordia crash last January. Their plan
included a comprehensive response outline, including responses for social media
and the company's website. Overall, I
was very impressed with their professionalism and key talking points for this
simulation!
"Isolated incident"
However, one suggestion for
improvement would be to avoid labeling this accident as an "isolated
incident." The faux CEOs of Costa
and Carnival both used this term occasionally in an attempt to reassure their
stakeholders that an accident of this nature would likely not repeat
itself. While I see the value of that
reassurance, I believe the wording of "isolated incident" has the
side effect of connoting minimization of the event's severity. That effect was obviously not their
intention, and the words "isolated incident" are used quite often in
crisis responses by organizations. However,
I would advise CEOs and spokespeople to avoid the use of that phrase.
I thought that the group's stress on
their cooperation with the Italian authorities lent a significant amount of
strength to their presentation. Also,
they kept a serious yet positive tone throughout the briefing, which conveyed
their wholehearted commitment to remedying the situation. For example, when the customer service
representative (played by Jen Zink) was talking about the reparations being
made to the passengers and families affected, she began by saying that
"what was lost can never truly be replaced." This validates the
emotions felt by the affected customers, showing that the company understands
and sympathizes with their plight.
Overall, the Costa/Carnival group's
press briefing was an effective communication of the company's commitment to
fixing the situation and taking responsibility for the events that
transpired. It is difficult, if not
impossible, for an organization to predict 100% of the possible crises that may
arise due to human error or technical failures.
However, if organizations respond as this group did in their simulation,
they will likely survive such a crisis.
Last
Friday, Newhouse welcomed back many distinguished alumni for "PR
Day," a day of lectures and discussions aimed at providing current
students with valuable insights into their future careers. The morning session was led by Jim Olson,
Vice President of Global Corporate Communications for Starbucks. Equipped with twenty-one years of experience
in the field since graduating in 1991, he shared his, and Starbucks', vision of
what "21st Century Leadership" means.
The
lecture began with Olson explaining the transformation of Starbucks from a
company of "commoditization" to one based on values and experience
that began in 2007, with a memorandum from Howard Schultz to the corporate
leadership. In this memo, Schultz
stressed that in order to not fail as a corporation, they must get back to
"the core" of the company: the Starbucks experience. The tumultuous period following this memo
included a sharp dive in stock prices and store closings to re-train
employees. However, as Olson put it,
"it was an investment we had to make."
"Our mission: to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time"-Starbucks' mission statement
In the
years since Starbucks' dramatic transformation, the corporate leadership,
particularly Howard Schultz (CEO), has led the company toward a unique business
strategy based on values, community and social responsibility. Rather than corporate social responsibility
(CSR) being a function only of the public relations or community relations
department, the values behind CSR drive all decision-making at the
organization. For example, in August
2011, as the United States seemed to be drowning under a weight of debt and
unemployment, Schultz saw himself in a unique position to make a change in the
communities in which Starbucks operates.
With Olson and the communications teams' help, Schultz and Starbucks
began inspiring CEOs to take a serious look at the state of federal politics
and to focus on job creation within their own organizations rather than petty
partisan arguments. Rather than being
reactive in their approach to CSR, and only implementing programs directly
linked to a tangible ROI for the company, Starbucks was proactive in
"using its scale for good" across the country.
The
idealist inside each of the many public relations students attending this
lecture was inspired by Olson's presentation.
Could this be the business of the future?! Corporations holding strong
to their mission, making business decisions based on values, not just financial value?!
If public relations as a practice goes the way that Newhouse teaches us
to practice it, I'd like to think this will be the business environment of the
future. Fundamentally, the success of
every organization is linked directly to the well-being of its
constituents. In order to be successful
in business, organizations must also be successful in people. As Olson informed
us, "a successful business all starts with culture."
I'd like to think that I am a rational being, who weighs
both sides of an issue and uses critical thinking before coming to a
conclusion. In the study of ethics,
however, the idea of 'rational' thinking becomes complicated by the
co-existence of two equally 'rational' means of making a decision. Utilitarianism says that an action is ethically
good if maximizes the positive outcomes for the greatest number of people
possible. On the other hand, deontology
says we are all duty-bound, and an action is ethically good if it can be
universalized (if everyone repeated this action everywhere, would it be okay?),
if it maintains the respect and dignity of all people and if it is done with
good intentions. Both are
arguably valid ways of analyzing an ethical dilemma, but given the myriad ways
in which utilitarianism can be manipulated to serve horrible intentions, I
choose to ascribe to deontology.
What does this have
to do with public relations?
In last week's PR theory
course, we spent close to an hour debating the idea of whether or not we, as
future public relations practitioners, would work for a major tobacco company
or other unethical organizations. The
class was split; half of us believed we would do whatever work was available,
as we would separate our work from ourselves and our own morals. The other half of us believed we would not
work for such a company, with blatantly unethical practices, even if it meant
struggling more with our personal finances.
I would argue that those who would take such a job were applying a form
of utilitarianism. To them, the greatest
good would be maximized by them being employed and able to feed their families.[1] The deontologists in the group felt
duty-bound, as members of society, not to lend their skill sets to an unethical
cause. This class debate clearly showed
the need for a better instruction on ethics in public relations courses
nationwide. Whether we work for
unethical companies, or are simply faced with ethical dilemmas in the course of
our work (which is inevitable), we will need to be equipped with the
decision-making skills to choose the ethical path.
Ethics in Public
Relations ≠ Public Relations Ethics
As the
"corporate conscience" of an organization, public relations
practitioners are increasingly called upon to be the ethical voice in a time of
tumult. As such, public relations
students must be taught how to be autonomous, unbiased and ethical
decision-makers. However, the day-to-day
ethical decisions we will make are not the same as an industry-wide code of
ethics to which practitioners must adhere.
While organizations like the Public Relations Society of America do have
a code of
ethics, such codes often lack enforcement and/or a true understanding of
public relations' role as corporate conscience.
For
these reasons, I believe public relations educators must do two things. First, they
must integrate some sort of course on ethics and ethical philosophy into their
curricula. Students in public relations
must be informed of the pros and cons of applying both utilitarianism and deontology
to dilemmas with which they are faced in the real world. They must be taught to apply ethics IN public
relations. Second, public relations
educators must craft their own list, alongside industry professionals, of
public relations ethics. Without these
steps, future public relations practitioners will be ill-equipped to face the
ethical quandaries they will undoubtedly stumble into during their careers. Whether or not we would choose to work for a
tobacco company, we should at the very least be empowered with the
understanding of ethical analyses that can help us make any and all decisions
we face in the most ethical way possible.
[1]
However, they were forgetting that a greater number of people are harmed by the
manufacture and marketing of tobacco products than would be helped by their
employment there.
"You will get out of social media what you put into it."
Today in our social
media strategies & tactics class, we were given a firsthand look into how
Syracuse University manages its social media efforts from Kate
Brodock, Executive Director of Digital & Social Media for the
university. Drawing from her experience at Syracuse and elsewhere, Kate
provided us with many valuable insights into the world of social media
management. A healthy balance of content creation and curation, providing
consistent 'value' to your followers and the importance of social media in a
crisis were all stressed.
Particularly interesting
were her insights into the use of segmentation of social media. As such a
large institution (somewhere in the range of 14,000 undergraduates alone),
Syracuse University has found it necessary to segment its social media outreach.
Users who engage with social media accounts are doing so to serve their
own needs; in order to meet those needs, SU has split its main social channels
into several social channels. For example, its main Twitter account (@SyracuseU) serves almost 17,000 followers, all with a
variety of experiences, locations and desires. Some may be alumni, some
current students, some faculty and some even local community members.
Rather than 'spamming' all 17,000 followers with content and information
irrelevant to them and their connection to SU, the university has divided into
several niche accounts, including @SUCampus and @SUSqueeze. Across all of
its platforms and accounts, SU has found a way to brand itself
consistently, something many large organizations struggle to do.
"You want likes that will stay with your
brand!"
In describing the
importance not just of the number of 'likes' or followers on a brand's page,
Kate stressed that providing consistent value to your followers is key.
Value can be "warm fuzzies," meaning some kind of visual or
other content that tugs at a user's heartstrings. For Syracuse, these
warm fuzzies could come in the form of their "Throwback Thursday"
photos of SU many decades ago, which engage alumni in a meaningful, even
emotional way. Value can also be humor, however. Perhaps your
organization's users simply want to "crack up" every day, she said,
"and if you keep them laughing, you can keep them coming back."
Whatever the type of value your users seek, be sure to provide it
consistently in order to increase user engagement with your brand or
organization.
"When a crisis
hits, it will hit the social media platforms first, and it will hit us in
incredibly high volume!"
As the social media
director for a major university, Kate has been exposed to several recent crises
at SU, including theBernie Fine scandalthat rocked campus last spring. While
these experiences were by no means an easy job for those running the SU social
channels, Kate and her team were able to learn quite a bit about social media's
role in a crisis during those times. Her instructions for crisis response
are:
1) When hearing
rumblings of a crisis, stop & listen. Gather as much information as
you can.
2) Acknowledge emotions.
People are feeling a certain way, and those emotions are valid.
3) Respond with 1st party content (from your
organization) when ready.
Lastly, Kate stressed
the importance of coordination and collaboration during a crisis.
"Cross-department coordination can make or break a crisis," she
said. If social media managers are not allowed a seat at the crisis
management and preparedness table, they will be incapable of effectively
communicating with an organization's publics during a tumultuous time.
Many thanks to Kate Brodock for sharing these insights (and many more below in my Storify) with our class!
"Social media tools
are not free, unless you consider your time valueless!"
Last Friday, students and faculty at Syracuse University
were made aware that in 2014, at the end of her contract, Nancy Cantor will end her reign as Chancellor of the university.
The university community seems to be split on their reactions to this
announcement. After months of criticism
by free-speech advocates (including
this article by The Daily Orange in April 2012), who see her management and
communications style as detrimental to the University, many cheered this news. However, many others in the university see
this departure as tragically ending what will have been ten years of increased
diversity, community outreach and engaged learning.
In terms of the public relations impact of her
departure, I see a long road ahead in effectively maintaining relationships
with the university's stakeholders. The
difficulty lies in Chancellor Cantor's "Scholarship In Action"
programs; these new initiatives of engaged learning have created a multitude of
new stakeholders who are now strongly tied to the university. Prior to Chancellor Cantor's reign, these individuals
or groups may not even have existed as stakeholders. For example, the Imagining America
program at Syracuse did not move to campus until 2007. Today, there are eleven graduate students
whose studies are paid for in part by this program, in addition to three
full-time employees running the program and student work studies managing the
office. All of these individuals now
have stake in not just the university, but in Chancellor Cantor's initiatives
and her leadership. This may seem like a
small group, but there are countless groups like this across the university,
and all will want a voice during this time of transition.
I will
let the hallways and classrooms of Syracuse work out whether Cantor's departure
is for the best or the worse, but regardless, from a public relations
perspective, the university is in quite a pickle. Due to the growing criticism of Cantor's
work, should the university start from scratch, and leave behind many of her
initiatives? Or, due to the influx of stakeholders who now have brand-new or
stronger ties to the university, should it continue Cantor's initiatives in the
interest of maintaining good relations? Either
way, the university will need to proceed with transparency (some would argue a
new concept for Cantor's Syracuse...), two-way dialogue and respect for all
stakeholders involved. If public
relations is not at the table during the important decision-making processes of
this transition, it is unlikely the university will come out of this time
unscathed.
On
Monday, October 8th, His Holiness the Dalai Lama (yes- THAT Dalai Lama) graced
the Syracuse campus with his presence.
77 years young, he surprised the crowd with his sassy comments and
contagious laughter that rang through Goldstein Auditorium and the Carrier Dome
during his lectures. One of the most
interesting questions put to discussion was about social media's role in
spreading peace and changing the global consciousness. NBC's
Ann Curry, the moderator of the panel, acknowledged the power of social
media in revolutions like the Arab Spring, but also asked whether the
opportunity to care about the world can be dulled by social media.
While
the 77-year-old holy man was (expectedly) not able to give tremendous insight
into this question, Roxana
Saberi (wrongfully-imprisoned journalist) sparked a great dialogue on the
issue that continued in classrooms and coffee shops across campus. Roxana rightly pointed out that the impact of
social media, in terms of either a dulling or positive effect, depends on how
we use it. Ultimately, Roxana believed
that social media is a powerful tool for giving a voice to the voiceless. "People are searching for meaning beyond
themselves," she said, "and they are finding their oneness with
others through faith, education or hardship...when we don't have a voice, we
need other people to speak out for us, and we should use our skills and
technology to be those voices."
However,
I happen to believe that social media absolutely does have a dulling effect on
the global consciousness. To understand
my perspective, we have to look to the past.
During the Vietnam War, Americans protested vehemently against the
war. During the first and second World
Wars, protests were few and far between.
Why the difference? The Vietnam War was the first time America saw the
real, on-the-ground violence of war.
Nightly news shows covered the war with foreign correspondents and
graphic video of the violence, and America's consciousness was shocked. Thousands of Americans were moved enough to
protest the war and call for peace.
Today,
images and news of violence have become so prevalent, that I would argue our
consciousness has been dulled. We hear
every day about soldiers and citizens losing their lives, and see almost daily
vivid video depictions of the violence in Syria. But just minutes after the news ends, we
casually return to our family dinners. We've seen it before, and we'll see it again
tomorrow, and we accept it. "Just
the way it is," we say.
I'd
like to think social media will play a powerful role in a long term trend
toward world peace. Sadly, the cynical
academic in me quickly kills that optimism.
The more we hear bad news, the more routine it becomes. Rather than being awoken by social media's spread
of news of world violence and unrest, we are lulled back to our perpetual state
of what I call "functional unconsciousness", and the world spins on.
" Functional Unconsciousness: The state of being by which one functions through submitting oneself to a sleep-like state with regard to global events and problems. "
On
Monday, October 8th, His Holiness the Dalai Lama (yes- THAT Dalai Lama) graced
the Syracuse campus with his presence.
77 years young, he surprised the crowd with his sassy comments and
contagious laughter that rang through Goldstein Auditorium and the Carrier Dome
during his lectures. One of the most
interesting questions put to discussion was about social media's role in
spreading peace and changing the global consciousness. NBC's
Ann Curry, the moderator of the panel, acknowledged the power of social
media in revolutions like the Arab Spring, but also asked whether the
opportunity to care about the world can be dulled by social media. 