 |  |  |
Four Ways to Avoid Brand Implosion
It would seem obvious that the notation of "child" and "finger amputation" in the same sentence in a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission report would send most companies into crisis overdrive.
But Maclaren, a privately held British company that makes children's strollers, attempted to trump common sense with what it obviously hoped was good business sense.
It seems the strollers, when folded, could conceivably injure or even sheer off a small child's fingers if they became caught in the hinges. There had been 15 such injuries over the last decade in the United States.
However, the firm rightly became concerned after eight injuries were reported over the last two years. Those injuries led the safety agency to mandate that the hinges be replaced.
This is where Maclaren ran into its biggest public relations blunder: Since the complaints and the safety ruling were from America, the company distributed repair kits in the U.S., but only issued a warning to stroller purchasers elsewhere.
Lesson One: In a crisis, there can be no double standard in dealing with target audiences. Consumers were rightly outranged that it was okay to mangle the fingers of European children, but not those of American toddlers.
But the problem went deeper:
Lesson Two: The company didn't seem to realize it had a serious problem, and therefore didn't have sufficient empathy for potential victims. Instead, the company hid behind its safety record and said accidents wouldn't happen if children were correctly seated in the strollers.
Lesson Three: Communicate. Communicate. Communicate. The crisis got out in front of the company, and the company was never able to catch up. Too much time elapsed between the time of the first news reports and the day that a company official met with reporters. Stories move fast and furious in an Internet world.
Lesson Four: Envision the worst-case scenario. Certainly, if the executives at Maclaren had realized the extent of the public uproar in the first place, common sense probably would have prevailed over pseudo business sense.
By not acting early, equitably and with empathy, company officials caused the brand to take a roundhouse punch to its reputation.
Tough Love with The Sagacious Swami of SpinWould you care to weigh in on that controversy in America having to do with the opposition to Muslims building a community center near the World Trade Center “ground zero” site? President Obama first supported then he seemed to waver slightly.
- Muslim PR specialist
First, there is a need for a quality, English-language marketing magazine. Secondly, we need to reach out to a larger contributor base to gain more diversified opinions. Thirdly, we need to define the purpose of the magazine more clearly.
The advent of Internet web logs, or blogs, has given thousands of people the opportunity to share their views with the world. Some bloggers find regular and loyal audiences, while most do not. Those that have attracted readers are succeeding because they offer more than opinion alone; they have relevant knowledge and timely information to share as well.The Death of Newspapers
The important word in newspaper is not "paper" but "news", and the sooner publishers realize this, the sooner the angst over a dying industry can be brought to an end.
The Swami was asked the other day by the media if it were true he didn't much care for cuddly dogs, cute children, purring kittens or Bono, the saintly pop and rock singer. His reply was a quick, "Yeah, sure, I like pit bulls."
When I was working my way through university as a deckhand, my shipmates called me Loophole - partly to differentiate me from my father, who they called Louie, and partly as a term of affection and respect.How to be a Great Copywriter
Copy is king.This is the case even in a visual world, where the public grazes through thousands of ads each day, where messages flicker across the TV screen and dangle from or are plastered on every conceivable surface.Four Ways to Avoid Brand Implosion
But Maclaren, a privately held British company that makes children's strollers, attempted to trump common sense with what it obviously hoped was good business sense.The Zombie Generation?
Guess what, mommies and papas? Little Igor is not - repeat not - becoming a social zombie by spending so much time on the computer.
Sergey Detyuk was promoted to information technology director at DTEK, a leading Ukrainian power company controlled by Rinat Akhmetov.
For the average small business owner, marketing research is a personal matter. They are less likely to engage research firms or marketing consultants to conduct opinion polls and focus groups than they are to merely engageThe Great Slogan Contest
You're not going to remember that slogan. It was thought up by a clever ad person in 1929, but our publisher-who insists he wasn't around at that time-says it was the best positioning statement ever for Coca-Cola.
