Crisis Communication in the Era of Social Media

KFC Malaysia Crisis: I-City KL Incident of Customer Assault

2012-02-14T09:33:00.002+08:00

KFC Malaysia has once again been thrown into the limelight. On 7 Feb 2012, a video was uploaded showing a KFC employee assaulting a customer at its I-City Kuala Lumpur outlet. KFC Malaysia responded promptly to the incident by posting a video message by its Deputy President on its Facebook page.

The message in KFC's Facebook video was (a) we regret and acknowledge the incident; (b) we are conducting an internal investigation and have suspended the employees involved; (c) a police report has been made; (d) we constant train and monitor our staff but our system failed us in this instance: and (e) we will learn and improve to prevent it from occurring again. A quick analysis of online reaction to KFC Malaysia's response shows that netizens are still angry.

So where did KFC Malaysia go wrong? Let's conduct a Stakeholder Analysis and see how KFC Malaysia could have done better …

If you look at the Stakeholder Analysis, the Stakeholders had two main issues/ concerns - customer safety at KFC outlets and whether KFC Malaysia would cover-up the incident.

Hence, if you look at KFC Malaysia’s response, you will realise that it did not fully address stakeholder concerns resulting in continued anger by netizens. Using the Stakeholder Analysis as a basis, KFC Malaysia’s key messages should have been as follows:

(a) KFC Malaysia acknowledges and regrets the incident;

(b) KFC Malaysia takes the safety of its customers and employees very seriously; and

(c) KFC Malaysia will deal with this incident in an open, firm and fair manner and asks for the public’s patience and understanding.

An important point that was not reflected in KFC Malaysia’s response is that to their internal stakeholders. Perhaps they did communicate it, but we are not privy to it, but I believe that customer and employee safety are equally important messages. While the customer is always right, it does not give them the right to abuse an employee. Thus, I believe it is important that any KFC response emphasizes “KFC Malaysia takes the safety of its customers and employees very seriously” and that “KFC Malaysia will deal with this incident in an open, firm and fair manner.” The latter message being to reassure employees that KFC Malaysia will not unfairly discipline its employees for the sake of a customer.

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A Tongue-in-Cheek Perspective of Social Media

2012-02-07T22:24:00.002+08:00

IPRS Workshop: Being on the RIght Side of a Crisis

2012-02-05T09:04:00.000+08:00

Continuing Education

As Henry Ford once said: "Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young."

Attending workshops to stay up to date on industry thoughts ...

Translation ...

2012-02-01T23:01:00.000+08:00

It feels good when your work is translated into a foreign language ... :-)

Survey Findings: Reputation is the #2 Risk Facing Corporations

2012-01-29T11:56:00.004+08:00

Eisner Amper's Second Annual Board of Directors Survey – 2011, reveals that after Financial Risk, Reputation Risk was the top concern for Boards in the United States. With the proliferation of Social Media, this is not surprising. The question is whether your organisation is ready ... Click here to read the full report.

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SCDF and CNB Chiefs Arrested by CPIB

2012-01-26T14:06:00.000+08:00

The Ministry of Home Affairs’ (MHA) crisis management of the arrests of the Commissioner of the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and Director of the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) has raised a valuable lesson for the crisis communicator i.e. the manner in which potential sensitive news should be released to the public.

In the era of social media, we operate in a perfect information environment. As such, crisis communicators should always plan on the assumption that nothing can be hidden indefinitely. In this case, I must accept that the on-going investigations into alleged personal misconduct by Mr Ng Boon Gay and Mr Peter Lim would inevitably become public knowledge and that the MHA needs to be open about the matter; timely in the release of information; 100% Truthful on the facts of the case; and broadly communicated in both the internet and main stream media\. In other words, go on the information offensive.

Going on the information offensive has two key advantages: (a) it allows you to frame the crisis to your advantage; and (b) it allows you better control how the crisis develops. Crisis Communications is essentially the battle of narratives. Thus, if the MHA had proactively broken the news that it had “uncovered corruption,” “taken decisive actions against high-ranking civil servants” and that “no one is above the law,” I postulate that the MHA would have been able to frame the incident as a successful anti-corruption operation and averted the current stakeholder issues of wide-spread fraud in the civil service. Additionally, going on the information initiative obliges your detractors to challenge your statements. This prevents your detractors from being able to push their own agendas as your chosen “issues” are the ones stakeholders are focused on.

Overall, my assessment is that MHA’s poor management of this crisis stems from a failure to understand that in the new information environment nothing can be hidden forever. If they understood this, I am certain that they would have opted to go on the offensive.

Crisis Management Case Study: Importance of Identifying the Ultimate Target Audience in Your Message

2012-01-21T10:03:00.000+08:00

Panerai Boutique's Ex-Manager Allegedly Absconds with $109k of Client's Money

The Straits Times reported on 19 January 2012 that a former manager of a luxury watch boutique has gone missing with at least $109,000. The amount is believed to be payment for watches that have up to now not been delivered. In the article, Panerai South-East Asia responded that they “intended to honour their commitment to their customers” and that their “key priority is to take care of affected customers to ensure that their client's rights and benefits are well preserved and protected at all times.”

As a crisis communicator, I am impressed with Panerai South-East Asia's response. This is because Panerai South-East Asia could have easily shirked responsibility and claimed that as the transactions did not take place in its premises, or that the cheque was not made out to Panerai then it was a private matter.

Panerai's response is an indication of their understanding that there are generally 4 target audiences in any message and the importance of selecting the correct one. (For a detailed explanation, please go to my earlier blog posting).

In this instance, the apparent target audience are purchasers of Panerai watches i.e. the end-consumer. However, if you look a bit deeper, you will realize that end-consumers are unlikely to buy directly from the Panerai South-East Asia but more likely from one of many authorized dealers. Hence, for the end-consumer, it is rare that payment will be made without delivery of goods. Thus, in this instance, Panerai South-East Asia's message, is not meant for the end-consumer (the apparent target audience), but their authorized dealers who are in effect the Ultimate Target Audience. In this instance, there are no intermediate or unintended target audience.

I highlight this as a case study because I strongly believe that themes and messages delivered in a crisis must target the ultimate target audience to be effective. In this scenario, if Panerai South-East Asia had wrongly identified the ultimate target audience as the end-consumer, then a very different message would likely have been developed and used. In the situation where the end-consumer was identified as the ultimate target audience, Panerai South-East Asia might have developed messages to reassure end-consumer of the measures in place to safe-guard their buying experience. Such a message delivered, would be ineffective in addressing the issues/ concerns of the key stakeholder – the authorized dealers.

In summary, in a crisis, the PR professional must clearly define who the Ultimate Target Audience is. Only then can an effective crisis response strategy be developed and implemented.

Crisis Communication Workshop: Impact of Social Media on Crisis Communications

2012-01-18T09:47:00.003+08:00

An event organized by COMAT and GRID MMS ...

Date: 18 January 2012
Location: *SCAPE 2 Orchard Link

Time: 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM

URL: http://infocommunity.eventbrite.com/

“How should we handle strategic communication to win war on terrorism?”

2012-01-15T19:30:00.001+08:00

Thanks Mamdoh for the interesting question on “How should we handle strategic communication to win war on terrorism?”

These are my thoughts ...

1. Know the Ultimate Target Audience. Firstly, we must understand that an act of terrorism is a message in and of itself. A quick analysis of the objective of the “message” will reveal that it is to seek publicity for their cause. However, I believe that this is just the Apparent Target Audience. I believe that the Ultimate Target Audience of the terrorists act are the followers and supporters of the cause. This is because, I doubt (and I believe the terrorists know themselves) that no act of terrorism can accomplish what they want i.e. Al-Qaeda desire for a complete break from all foreign influences in Muslim countries, and the creation of a new Islamic world wide caliphate. Hence, in my mind, acts of terrorism have the specific aim of showing their followers that the organization is still active so as to garner support and funds. In fact, simply highlighting that such and such an organization is planning an attack, already gives the terrorist organization street credibility to fuel their cause. Hence, in my opinion, the first thing that Strategic Communication needs to do, is deny terrorists this publicity.

2. Understand the Target Audience. Secondly, I believe that terrorist organizations are not a homogeneous group. Structured like a pyramid, I believe that the top of the pyramid is made up of a small group of vocal and violent people who are fanatical in their beliefs. And, it is this group that plan and carry out the attacks often times at great personal risk to themselves. The pyramid is then made up of a larger second layer of silent but active supporters. It is this layer that provides the top layer with the needed physical and financial support to plan and execute terrorist attacks. In this layer, you will find people who believe in the cause and who are willing to make small sacrifices. They however do not support the cause to the extent of risking their own lives. The third and final layer is the broad base of the pyramid. Here, you will find people that tolerate the actions of the upper two layers, but will not do anything as long as it does not inconvenience them. It is this third layer which the upper two layers believe they act for. With this better understanding of the conditions, attitudes and beliefs of these 3 target audience, Strategic Communications can now better select and use the appropriate Theme and Messages to achieve the desired effect.

3. In short, if you ask me if the war on terrorism can be won? I would say no. This is because we cannot eradicate terrorism completely as there will always be fanatics out there. If however you are asking if we can win by minimizing terrorism, my answer would be yes. Strategic Communications can “win the war on terrorism” if it seeks to undermine the terrorists' credibility and their support base by by turning its silent supporters and the larger population's tolerance against them.

I hope my perspective helps.

Crisis Management: Changing Mindsets to See Opportunities

2012-01-13T23:39:00.000+08:00

In a recent discussion with the General Manager of a local FMCG company, I was reminded that the Chinese character for crisis is made up of the symbol for danger and opportunity.

From experience we know that how we respond to a situation is often determined by how we view it. And, in my opinion, it is no different in a crisis scenario. Often times in my work with organizations, I find that in a crisis organizations are too focused on avoiding the “danger” that they lose sight of the fact that they have also been presented with the “opportunity” to build their brand and reputation. This opportunity exists because stakeholders tacitly believe that adversity (just as it does with people) reveals the true "character" of an organization. Thus, how an organization responds will either strengthen or weaken its brand.

For example, if an organization brands itself as placing customers first but responds in a crisis by redirecting blame, then I think the crisis response strategy would have done more harm than good. However, assuming that the organization's initial response is not to redirect responsibility for the crisis, but instead goes the extra mile to address customer's inconvenience at its own expense, then this crisis response strategy would instead strengthen the organization's brand.

Marketing and PR professional will tell you that advertising is expensive. Fortunately, or unfortunately, a crisis will bring with it literally millions of dollars of free publicity. Organizations thus have the choice of either frittering away the free publicity by focusing solely on damage control, or they can spend it wisely by taking actions and making statements to strengthen or build their brand. Often times, I believe the cost of service recovery will likely work out to be less than on the cost of the publicity given.

In short, when confronted with a crisis, organizations must realize that with the danger comes opportunity. The organization must therefore not focus exclusively on avoiding the dangers, but to seek the opportunity to strengthen and build its brand.

Singapore Ministers' Pay Cut: The Importance of Correctly Identifying Stakeholder Concerns in a Crisis

2012-01-06T21:34:00.002+08:00

It is interesting to note the response from the public on the cuts in ministerial pay. This, in my opinion, is a classic example of a “damned if I do and damned if I don't” scenario.

So what can crisis communicators learn from this?

To me, the main lesson to be learnt is the need to accurately identify the issue or concern of the stakeholder in a crisis. The issue of high ministerial is not a new one and has been a thorn in the side of many since it was first introduced. The opposition parties had been trying to politicize the issue in past elections but failed. If we look back at the recent General Election, ministerial pay became a political lightening rod only when it became apparent that Tin Pei Ling was all but guaranteed to become a Member of Parliament (and earn the high pay) when she was announced as a candidate in a Group Representative Committee led by the then Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong. This was despite overwhelming public perception that she was not “qualified” for the position.

This, in my assessment, was the trigger that politicized the issue of high ministerial. And, if my assessment is correct, then reducing ministerial salary does not address stakeholders' concerns. To me, the real issue is the apparent lack of transparency in determining who is entitled to the ministerial pay. Thus, unless this "real" stakeholder issue is addressed, ministerial pay will continue to be at the forefront of public discontent.

In summary, the need to do a proper stakeholder analysis in a crisis can not be understated. Failure to identify the "correct" issue, will only result in ineffective crisis response strategies being developed and executed.

Singapore Business Review: How Do you Respond to Online Bashing

2012-01-03T22:08:00.000+08:00

An article I wrote for Singapore Business Review ... http://sbr.com.sg/information-technology/commentary/how-do-you-respond-online-bashing

Liat Towers Flooding About Turn by the Public Utilities Board (PUB)

2012-01-01T11:20:00.000+08:00

In another Public Relations (PR) faux pas, the Public Utilities Board (PUB) has now admitted that high waters in the Stamford Canal contributed to the flooding at Liat Towers. This was after a PUB spokesperson issued an earlier statement essentially attributing responsibility to the pumping capacity of Liat Towers' flood prevention system.

Contrary to what many think of as crisis management, in today's day and age of 'perfect information', crisis communicators cannot change the facts of a crisis. The days in which “spin doctors” hide the truth and lie to stakeholders has gone the way of the dinosaurs. The most that a crisis communicator can do, is help frame the situation in a manner that better helps stakeholders deal with their anger and manage any possible brand or reputation damage to the organisation.

As such, one of the first rules for crisis communications is to always determine the truth before making a statement. And, in the event that the truth cannot be determined in time to stay ahead of the news cycle, state so in your statement. Stakeholders, while unforgiving, are reasonable and can accept (within a degree of tolerance) that it will take time to determine cause and effect.

While there is unlikely to be any further fall-out from this faux pas, the damage to the PUB is that all future statements will be tainted with doubt about their accuracy. I cannot say for certain what were the circumstances that led to the issuing of what turned out to be an inaccurate statement. But I must caution PR Professionals that while the organisation is your pay-master, your true value to the organisation is in managing its credibility in the eyes of the stakeholders. Thus, in circumstances where doubt exists over the accuracy of a statement, as a professional, you must stand your ground and not let it happen.

1-Day Crisis Training Workshop - Singapore

2011-12-31T09:47:00.003+08:00

I am pleased to announce the introduction of our 1-Day Crisis Training Workshop (in-house) for companies in Singapore. This is a modified version of our current 2-day programme in response to client feedback on the need to cater to senior managements' time constraints.

Who Should Attend

This course is designed for Managers who are responsible for the reputation and brand of their company.

What I Will Learn

At the end of the 1-day workshop, participants will:

understand social media's impact on crisis communications
understand the nature of a crisis
identifying Stakeholder issues/ concerns
learn how to develop Themes and Messages
use frameworks to manage a crisis – Attribution Theory
use framework to manage negative blog postings or online Mentions – SCAER
understand the Singapore media environment and the Media's 'agendas'
learn how to deliver your message in a media interview
learn how to handle “sensitive” questions during a media interview

How I Will Learn

During the workshop, participants will be trained using:

Multi-media Presentation
Group discussions
Discussions
Practicals (supported by video recording and play-back for debriefing and coaching where necessary)

For enquiries, contact us at justin@cwfongandassociates.com.

SMRT Sets-Up Twitter Account

2011-12-26T17:10:00.002+08:00

It was interesting for me to learn that SMRT only just realized the importance of using Social Media to not only communicate with its stakeholders, but also as an effective platform to communicate crisis information. I expected this of government institutions where the need to control information outweighed the need to keep stakeholders informed. But, frankly, not from a “private” institution that profit-driven.

As a crisis communicator, I acknowledge that SMRT has taken a step in the right direction, but having a Twitter account is not being social media savvy. Like SMRT, many corporations establish impromptu social media presence when a crisis strikes. They then hope that this new social media will be the cure-all only to be disappointed.

What corporations fail to realize is that Social Media true value is the corporations' “relationship” with the stakeholders. Thus, similar to real life relationships, it takes time and effort to build. And, unless a corporation has spent time to build a social media relationship with its stakeholders, any impromptu social media presence will only be seen as another form of propaganda and will be ineffective in a crisis.

The key lesson here for crisis communicators is this. Social Media's impact on the information environment is undeniable. Corporations must therefore start building their social media relationship with their stakeholders before a crisis.

SMRT Breakdown: Clamour grows for SMRT CEO to step down

2011-12-18T09:33:00.000+08:00

There have been increasing calls for SMRT's CEO Ms Saw Phaik Hwa to resign following another MRT service disruption on Saturday 17 Dec 2011. This followed Ms Saw's response to a reporter's question during the press conference to address the 15 Dec 2011 breakdown which have been dubbed the “worst in 24 years.” When asked if she would reign to take responsibility, Ms Saw responded by saying that "it is something I would seriously consider if there is a necessity to do so, but I think I will reserve comments at this moment."

In the era of social media, I believe that such calls for accountability are not only inevitable, but will be a major issue in crisis management situations. This is because social media has the ability to rally people. In a crisis, stakeholders instinctively seek to attribute responsibility (see my earlier blog posting) and once an individual (or organization) is seen as responsible (rightly or wrongly), stakeholders expect contrition.

In this context, SMRT's CEO only accepted responsibility and followed this with a pledge to do better. Hence, in my opinion, SMRT failed in their understanding of stakeholders need for an act of contrition. If SMRT had understood this, they would have stated the act of contrition up-front in their initial statement. Such an up-front statement would have given SMRT the information initiative and given it more credibility.

The question then becomes what sort of contrition. From a crisis communications perspective, experience has shown that for an act of contrition to be sufficient to appease stakeholder anger, the act of contrition must be perceived as “equal” to misery caused. Thus, in Ms Saw's case possible acts of contrition could range from (a) forfeiting her annual bonus; (b) self-imposed “suspension without pay” until the cause of failure has been determined and fixed; or even (c) submitting a letter of resignation to SMRT's Board of Directors for their consideration. While any of these acts will not appease all stakeholders, it will appease many and, in my opinion, “humanize” Ms Saw and gather her some allies.

Thus, in short, the key lesson for crisis communicators here is that accepting responsibility is only one part of the equation. An act of contrition is the other element that needs to be addressed for the crisis communication strategy to be effective.

SMRT Breakdown: Service Disruption North-South Line

2011-12-17T22:59:00.001+08:00

At a presentation today, I was asked to comment on how I thought Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (SMRT) could have better managed the current crisis they are facing over the recent series of service disruptions. The main trigger being the breakdown of the north-south line which affected thousands of commuters.

I essentially shared that in a crisis, stakeholders need to attribute responsibility. And, to assist them in this, stakeholders instinctively consider the three factors of locus of control, predictability and controllability. For a more in-depth explanation, please refer to my earlier blog posting “Framework for Crisis Management”.

In essence, locus of control refers to the perception of whether the crisis was caused by the organization or the situation; stability whether the factors contributing to the crisis was predictable; and controllability whether the organization could have acted to prevent it. Thus, if the crisis was caused by the organization, was something which the organization could reasonably have predicted to occur, and was within the ability of the organization to prevent, then attribution of responsibility would be high.

In the context of the current SMRT crisis, stakeholders currently attribute responsibility to SMRT as they feel that (a) the crisis was caused by the organization's failure to design or maintain the rail system properly; (b) the organization could have predicted the breakdowns as they have been happening recently; and (c) the organization could have controlled for the impact of the breakdown through better preparations.

So what could have SMRT done to better manage this crisis?

First of all, I believe that all crisis communication plans must be based on the truth. In today's perfect information environment, anything less would cause a secondary crisis that will most certainly bury the organization.

Using the Framework, a better response from SMRT's would be to proactively redirect responsibility for the crisis by introducing information that would help stakeholders draw a different attribution of responsibility. In this context, assuming that SMRT did its level best and the series of service disruptions were beyond its control, as a crisis communicator, I would have attempted to minimize responsibility by introducing information that would lead stakeholders to believe that the locus of control was external. For example, during the CEO's press conference, apart from citing possible alignment problems as the cause, SMRT would have done better to augment this information with additional facts alluding to external causes. In this context, information like facts on about strength of SMRT's design, the comprehensive maintenance schedules and perhaps third-party endorsements of the system.

In summary, I felt that SMRT's crisis communications plan failed as it lacked a coherent strategy. While I dare not postulate that crisis communications is a science, I do believe that understanding the “science” behind how stakeholders attribute responsibility, would have helped SMRT weather this crisis better.

Bedok Residences Queue: Real Interest or Marketing Gimmick?

2011-11-26T09:18:00.000+08:00

Some have begun questioning whether the demand for units at Bedok Residence was genuine or merely a publicity gimmick. These doubts were raised when it was reported in The Straits Times that some students and foreign workers were paid to wait in line.

In response to these questions, CapitaLand's CEO Wong Heang Fine issued a response via the Straits Times forum page. Wong's response essentially said that "by 5 pm of the first day, 350 of the 450 units released for sale was sold," which thus supports the view that "the queue comprises genuine prospective buyers."

From the crisis communications perspective, while I assess that CapitaLand correctly identified stakeholders' concerns and managed to address it via direct refutation using facts, I however feel that CapitaLand 's response could have been raised a notch if it had first empathized with the stakeholders.

This is because I strongly believe that every crisis is both a threat and opportunity. Seeking first to build empathy before delivering your message will build valuable reputational credit and position CapitaLand as the developer of choice. In short, paid publicity is expensive and companies should seek to integrate its marketing and communications functions to leverage on each other.

Singapore Hawker in Jackpot Dispute with Marina Bay Sands (MBS)

2011-11-10T08:57:00.001+08:00

The Straits Times today reported that Marina Bay Sands (MBS) has decided to pay Madam Choo Hong Eng the full sum of S$416,742.11. The dispute between Madam Choo (a Hawker) and MBS arose when Madma Choo hit the jackpot but was subsequently told by the casino that her machine had malfunctioned. Instead of the sum of $416,742.11 (which was displayed on the machine), MBS offered Madam Choo a sports car worth S$258,962 and S$50,000 in cash.

In its statement to the media, MBS spokesperson explained that "Marina Bay Sands regrets any confusion over the numbers displayed when Madam Choo Hong Eng won the Lotus Evora slot jackpot in our casino. After carefully reviewing this matter, Marina Bay Sands will pay the patron the amount that was displayed on the slot machine." The spokesperson added: "We deeply regret the inconveniences caused."

From a Crisis Communications perspective, I find MBS’ initial response lacking in forethought as the outcome in which MBS paid Madam Choo the full sum was inevitable. I believe the outcome was inevitable as a quick calculation shows the difference to be a mere $107,780 - a minor sum compared to the amount required to repair the casino’s reputation. In my opinion, MBS was in a no-win situation as even if the Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA) ruled in its favour, the negative publicity would have done its damage.

While I agree that the casino needs to protect its shareholders’ interests by ensuring that all jackpot payments are “legitimate”, from the facts of the case as presented in the media, I feel that MBS should have just paid Madam Choo the full sum in the first instance and avoided the negative publicity. In fact, an astute PR department would have been able to turn the incident in MBS’ favour by showing how MBS valued its patrons.

To me, the key lesson for PR Professionals and Crisis Communicators is that sometimes being “right” is not the most important. This is because businesses are profit-driven and sometimes the “right” decision is what impacts the bottom-line the least.

Workshop: Managing your Online Reputation in the Era of Social Media

2011-11-08T18:59:00.000+08:00

Synopsis: The proliferation of Social Media has impacted the way individuals receive information. Unfortunately many organizations are still relying on out-dated techniques and approaches to manage their reputation. This workshop will (a) explain how Social Media's impact has changed the information environment; and (b) present a framework which organizations can use to manage their online reputation.

Who Should Attend: Individuals who are responsible for the reputation of their organizations.

Date: 16 Jan 2012

Time: 3-5pm

Venue: Institute of Adult Learning

Announcement: Crisis Communications Consulting Firm

2011-11-05T13:47:00.001+08:00

I am now on Facebook!!!

In response to demands for my Crisis Communications Workshops, I have established a boutique consultancy to serve my growing client list. To stay updated on the latest thoughts and discussions on Crisis Communications in the Era of Social Media, as well as Workshops and Training Courses, do join me on Facebook.

Thanks for your continued support.

Insurers Offer Policies to Cover PR Crisis. Putting a Dollar Value to Reputation.

2011-10-18T13:16:00.000+08:00

On October 17, 2011 Ragan’s PR Daily published an article reporting that insurers are now offering policies to cover PR crisis. This is an interesting development as it signals that an organisation’s reputation not only has a dollar value, but that it is worth spending money to protect.

I see this as a major step forward for the PR Profession which has been seen as a ‘good to have’. With this development, PR’s tangible contribution to the organisation’s bottom-line will give it more clout in the Board Room and, hopefully, when instances call for strategies like “compensation” to retain customer loyalty after a crisis, more organisations will consider the merits of such a strategy. A case in point is Research in Motion’s (RIM) recent decision to offer free applications to subscribers in the wake of last week's globe-spanning BlackBerry outages.

To my fellow PR Professionals, the proverbial door is now open. It is now up to us to show the C-Suites what PR can do and it is my hope that we can “up” our game such that every organization will eventually have a Chief Reputation Officer.

Singapore General Elections 2011: Not an Internet Election? Who are you kidding?

2011-10-12T07:17:00.003+08:00

I read with great interest the recent findings of a joint survey by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) and the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) that suggests that Singapore's recent General Election was not an "Internet election".

According to the survey, “media consumption remained centred on traditional media such as television, newspapers and radio, with only about 30 per cent of respondents also looking at new media sites for election news during the GE period” and “only about one in three said they got information through social websites, but their media diet included mainstream sources too.”

A closer look at the numbers surveyed would reveal that only 2,000 people were polled. With such a small sample size, I do not find the survey findings reliable. This skepticism is based on an extract from the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) 2011 survey on Internet and Mobile Phone Penetration Rates, published in The Straits Times on 9 July 2011. In that extract, it was reported that Mobile Phone (2G and 3G) penetration rate by population of 146.1%, Residential Wired Broadband penetration rate by households of 102.7% and Wireless Broadband penetration rate by population of 138.3%. With sure penetration into the lifestyles of Singaporeans, I find it counter-intuitive to say that the Internet did not play a major part in the election.

For example, as was highlighted by Mr Alex Au, who owns the "Yawning Bread" blog, the Internet allowed the raising of less well-known sentiments and, based on ground-swell, resulted in the mainstream media taking up the issues. Additionally, those 30% that obtained information from Social Media are likely to have shared their “discoveries” with family, friends and colleagues. Thus, the information from Social Media would have likely reached more people than the survey concluded.

I can only conclude from the survey numbers that, contrary to what the IPS and NTU wants us to think, this was indeed an Internet Election.

(If you can spare the time, I would appreciate if you can complete the following survey which I am conducting to determine the credibility level of wikipedia to new media users. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KN2YVJT)

Measurement of Effectiveness

2011-10-08T20:15:00.002+08:00

I was speaking with a friend of mine (the editor of a company website) and he was sharing with me his current challenge of maintaining his team as his company is looking to cut head-count as the number of visitors to the company website has stagnated. Fortunately, or unfortunately, my friend's challenge is not unique. Companies are profit driven and cost-center adverse, and a business unit's Measure of Effectiveness (MOE) is determined by its assistance to the top-line or contribution to the bottom-line.

My response to my friend was as follows:

A company's website is like a magazine. Thus, depending on the size of the magazine's targeted demographics, the maximum possible number of visitors is “finite.” Similar to the print edition of Singapore bridal magazine, the maximum possible circulation in a given year is capped at the annual number of marriages. While I agree that there maybe some overlap with those getting married the following year, by and large the numbers will not vary much as someone who is already married or not about to get married is unlikely to purchase a bridal magazine.

I then asked my friend to consider if the visitor count had reached what I term “maximum saturation.” If it did and, he wanted to grow the number of visitors, he then had no alternative but to enlarge the targeted demographics. If this enlargement was not possible, my suggestion to him then was to be up-front with Management on their expectations for the company website. In the unfortunate event that Management was still unreasonable and determined that they wanted an increase in visitor numbers, my suggestion to him was to then add the root cause of MOE. In this instance, he then needed to move the company's focus away from visitor numbers as a MOE to others such as conversion rates or even “engagement” numbers.

My point is this, Perhaps in the past, when the Internet was nascent, visitor numbers was the appropriate MOE. Unfortunately, in the era of Social Media, where effective online marketing is now about “engaging” the customer, visitor numbers (aside from being capped by demographics) are no longer useful in determining effectiveness. In the era of Social Media, companies need to select and monitor more useful MOE such as conversion rates, engagement percentages and even referral rates.

Philippines Officials Photoshop Themselves into Typhoon Cleanup Photo

2011-10-03T19:36:00.000+08:00

On 30 Sep 2011, officials from the Philippines Department of Public Works and Highways were embarrassed when a blogger discovered that they had Photoshopped three officials into a clean-up photo of Typhoon Nesat.

The blogger had apparently noticed that the picture "didn't appear quite right" and upon careful scrutiny realized that the three officials' (Undersecretary Romeo Momo, Director Rey Tagudando and District Engineer Mikunug Macud) images has been superimposed onto a scene to make it appear that they were assessing the damage of the typhoon.

More proof that we operate in a perfect information environment and that, as communicators, we need to be 100% truthful.

Please help: Petition for a UN Resolution for World Down Syndrome Day to become an Official Observance Day

2011-10-03T06:48:00.000+08:00

A United Nations Resolution for World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD) to become an official Observance day will be voted on in October 2011. Down Syndrome International is supporting this initiative which will make such a difference for people with Down syndrome, and we ask you to help us by signing our petition which will be presented to the UN 3^rd Committee on 17 October 2011.

Here is the link to the petition http://www.ds-int.org/news/wdsd-petition.

Your support is much needed and very much appreciated!

London Weight Management Controversial Slimming Ad Sparks Debate

2011-09-29T09:16:00.000+08:00

London Weight Management (LWM) responded to criticism of their latest advertisement as being demeaning and discriminatory of overweight women. The controversy started when TV host Anita Kapoor penned an open letter to the company on her blog on 23 Sep 2011 which was eventually picked-up by Social Media and then the Main Stream Media.

While I cannot be certain that LWM's response is not intended to continue the debate so as to keep it in the public eye (i.e. some PR professionals hold the view that all publicity is good), if it is not, then the response is ineffective in 2 key aspects:

Lack of Empathy. The response as printed by Yahoo! News showed a complete lack of empathy with stakeholders' concerns. In fact, LWM appeared to completely ignore it and simply stated that they complied with local regulations and that the advertisement was approved by the MDA (I am quite certain MDA will respond to this as MDA does not regulate ads tastefulness). This approach is not ideal as by not demonstrating an understanding of their concerns, stakeholders will then not be “open” to listening to your explanation.

Did not “Elevate” the Issue. In defending its approach to the advertisement, LWM's Marketing and Communications Manager, Ms Hazel Tang, stressed that the storyline is based on the real life experience of one of its clients. While this explanation is “strong”, I feel that LWM could have “elevated” the issue to one of using “real life examples” to sell its product and services instead of simply stating that “we complied with all local regulations” and that "it is based on a client's personal experience." Elevating the issue will then prevent frivolous counter-arguments by stakeholders and afford LWM a stronger position to defend itself.

In short, in order to manage negative stakeholder comments, it is imperative that the affected organization (a) demonstrate empathy and understanding of stakeholder concerns/ issues; and (b) “elevate” the argument to a universally accepted concept or ideal before addressing it.

My assessment is that this response by LWM is unlikely to end the controversy.

Last Minute Cancellation of Night Safari Halloween Horrors Event by WRS' CEO Isabella Loh

2011-09-24T10:54:00.000+08:00

Much has been said about the sudden cancellation of the Halloween Horrors event and the possible personal agendas that may be behind it. As a Public Relations (PR) Professional, our job is to stay above the fray and to help our client communicate the “correct” message. In this instance, using the negative fall-out as a gauge, it is safe to assume that Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) did not quite communicate their message as well as they could have.

So what can PR Professionals learn from this incident? To me there are 2 key lessons:

Internal Stakeholders and Communication Policies. One factor that aggravated the crisis for WRS is the appearance of a “divide” between the management and staff. Media reports included “leaked” information and “anonymous” sources that contradicted the official statements of the CEO. While I am the last person to support a cover-up, I however firmly believe that any organization facing a crisis must portray a united front. Without dwelling into the possible group dynamics in this incident, WRS could have (a) communicated the intent and rationale for the cancellation to all internal stakeholders before going public; (b) put in place a Communications Policy that clearly stated who is authorized to speak with the media (both main stream and social) and, more importantly, what is to be said. This internal alignment would have, in my opinion, limited the perception of a management-staff divide.

Appropriate Use of Social Media. While I acknowledge that the speed of Social Media is a game changer in crisis communications, Social Media is nonetheless still a tool. In other words, organizations should be aware of its impact, but should not allow it to dictate what must be done. To illustrate, it was observed that Isabella issued an apology to the Singapore Polytechnic (SP) interns via Facebook as opposed to face-to-face. This, in my opinion, lacks the sincerity of an apology and comes across as pandering to the masses. A more effective approach, would have been for Isabella to apologize to the SP interns in person, and thereafter issue a Facebook posting publicizing it. In fact, a face-to-face apology may illicit some understanding from the interns would could be included in the Facebook posting. Social Media is after all only a tool for crisis communication and not the communication.

In short, this incident has highlighted the increasing importance of employee brand ambassadors in the era of social media. To strengthen this aspect, organizations must have in place a good internal communications framework and the supporting communications policy. This incident has additionally highlighted the dangers of PR Professionals forgetting that Social Media is a tool for crisis communications and, while it is an important consideration, it should not be the communication.

PR Crisis for California Fitness Over Cancellation of Membership Over Failure to Pay $8 Admin Fee

2011-09-22T10:04:00.001+08:00

Today, The Singapore Straits Times and Social Media scene has been abuzz over California Fitness' cancellation of several members' lifetime membership due to their failure to pay a $8 annual administration fee. Media reports have highlighted that an affected member, who had brought the fitness chain to The Small Claims Tribunal, had been awarded a $1,500 refund from the original membership fee of $4,000. California Fitness has a major PR crisis on its hands and, in my opinion, if not managed well will signal the start of its demise as a going concern.

This is incident reminds me of a similar one I blogged about on 2nd September 2011, People's Association (PA) Replies to Forum Letter on Appointment of Grassroots Advisor, and is another classic example of how “good communications cannot help bad policies.” This is because crisis communications is about presenting the truth to affected stakeholders and no amount of sugar coating or reframing can change the fact that a policy is flawed. To put it simply, a rose by any other name still has thorns.

So what should California Fitness do?

In this instance, as has been demonstrated by the finding of the Small Claims Tribunal in favor of the member, California Fitness is legally at an indefensible position. Hence, California Fitness' only approach is to change its policy and to go on the PR offensive to shore up its brand reputation. To do this, California Fitness must (a) acknowledge the error of its past policy; (b) empathize with affected customers over the distress they have felt; (c) apologize and offer some act of contrition. The Theme which California Fitness' crisis communication plan should adopt is one of "Remorse".

While this approach may be difficult for management to swallow, it is in my opinion the only possible solution to prevent decline in sales over the very negative publicity. After all, as I have said in the beginning of this post, "good communications cannot help bad policies".

Crisis Scenario Discussion: What would you do if your teacher is accused of molesting one of the children

2011-09-16T23:35:00.002+08:00

Scenario

You receive a complaint from a mother that her son had been sexually abused while at the pre-school you manage. From your industry sources, you know that the mother had made a similar false claim in the past. The police are investigating the complaint. What would you do?

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My first step is to do a Stakeholder Analysis to identify the major Stakeholders and their Issues/ Concerns. It is only after I have done this, do I then develop the appropriate message (including actions) to address them.

In this scenario, there are two major stakeholders - the parents of the other children who would be concerned about the safety of their child, and the teachers who would be concerned that one is considered innocent until proven guilty. Thus, in my opinion, the appropriate response would be to issue a statement (a) acknowledging that a complaint has been received; (b) that the school places a high premium on the safety of the children under its charge; (c) that the school is helping authorities investigate the allegations; and (d) additional measures would be instituted to ensure the continued safety of the children until investigations are completed.

Essentially, I would go public with the allegation as we now operate in a "perfect information environment" and it is only a matter of time before the public finds out. Being proactive then enables the school to frame the issue and gain the information initiative.

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Do you agree or disagree with my proposed response? Do share your thoughts.

OCBC Succeeds in Managing Customers Unhappiness over Service Disruption

2011-09-14T18:03:00.002+08:00

OCBC suffered a “technical glitch” yesterday (13 Sep 2011) which resulted in an island-wide disruption to its banking services. For a period of approximately 4 hours, OCBC customers could not access their accounts via the ATM, Internet Banking or Credit Card Services.

Apart from the “physical” immediate action undertaken by OCBC to mitigate customer inconveniences, OCBC also responded well in the “information” dimension to protect its reputation. OCBC's crisis communication plan was open, timely and included the use of Social Media platforms like Twitter. This Social Media integration with Main Stream Media proved effective in keeping customers updated. The piece de resistance in OCBC's crisis communication was the broadcast of a SMS apology by its CEO (Mr David Conner) which, judging from Social Media monitoring sites, was well received by customers.

So what are the key lessons for Crisis Communicators from this incident.

Firstly, as mentioned in my research, an effective crisis communication plan must comprise the 5 Essential Elements of being open, timely, 100% truthful, broadly communicated and internet present. A quick look at what transpired yesterday would reveal that OCBC's plan included all of these elements: (a) OCBC's confirmation of the technical glitch was noted to have been posted on Twitter within an hour of the incident; (b) OCBC was “truthful” over the cause (at least as far as we can tell for now); and (c) OCBC used a mix of Social Media as well as Main Stream Media channels to communicate with stakeholders.

Secondly, attribution theory of crisis communications states that stakeholders will attribute responsibility based on OCBC's perceived role in the crisis. In this instance, in view of the prompt restoration of services and OCBC's perceived attempts to minimise customer inconveniences, stakeholders can tolerate one off “technical glitches” and “forgive” OCBC. Unfortunately, this is a one-time pass and a second incident would not be viewed in the same light. Hence, in my opinion, while it was a brilliant PR move for the CEO to SMS an apology to affected customers, I thought OCBC should have gone one step further. This is because technology is unpredictable and even with numerous redundancies in place, I would predict that it is impossible to prevent a second occurrence. Hence, a stronger approach would have been to “compensate” customers for their inconvenience. Much like Domino Pizza's strategy where a failure to deliver a performance standard is reframed into one in which the customer accepts willingly. Such a move by OCBC, would have put OCBC in a strong position should a second incident occur. In fact, I would even venture to say that such a move would encourage existing customers to switch their banking to OCBC.

All said and done, I think overall the PR Team at OCBC did a fantastic job! Kudos!

Role of Employees in Crisis Communication

2011-09-10T13:13:00.001+08:00

In Aug 2011, the Altimeter Group published an interesting report on the impact of social media. In its report, based on studies on 50 social media crisis, Altimeter Group concluded that 76% of these crisis could have been avoided if the companies involved had put in place the necessary organisation structures, staff processes and social media policies.

Based on their research, Altimeter Group identified that “advanced” companies that use social media had correctly identified the crucial role their rank and file employees play in the social media environment. These companies then not only allowed employee usage, but encouraged employees to use social media professionally. This is something I had blogged about on 2 Sep 2010 in my posting on “SIA Crew Warned over Facebook Use” where I mooted the idea of creating “ambassadors.

As a system, at the employee level, “advanced” companies were observed to have established (a) a robust and comprehensive social media policies that guide employees on what they can or cannot disclose; and (b) introduced corporate social media training programmes that taught employees on the correct use of social media.

Judging from the successes reported by these “advanced” companies, I think it is time that Singapore companies embrace the notion of developing their own social media “ambassadors”.

CW

P.S. It feels good when research substantiates your thinking. :-)

Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) Suspends Facebook Comments Function Over 'Cyber-Harassment'

2011-09-06T14:28:00.002+08:00

The Straits Times today reported that Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) had to temporarily disable its Facebook comments page after animal rights activists flooded it with messages calling for the release of the resort's 25 dolphins.

RWS' response was to go on the offensive by labelling the activist's actions as cyber-harassment and attributed responsibility to Animal Concerns Research and Education Society's (ACRES). To support their position, RWS provided screen-shots of the “abusive” posting and cited ACRES' own Facebook wall posting on 2 Sep 2011 where it “urged its followers to repeatedly post messages relating to the Marine Life Park on the Resorts World Sentosa Facebook page over the weekend from 9am Saturday to 9pm Sunday”.

So what can Crisis Communicators learn from this?

Firstly, RWS' response. It is my opinion that RWS made the correct decision to suspend the comment function on its Facebook page. Similar to an incident in which activists stand in your physical establishment and deny you the freedom to conduct your business, it is necessary for an organisation to use all proportionate means to deal with the “attack” and to allow it to restore normal business activities.

Secondly, and this is where I disagree with RWS, is its approach to go on the offensive against ACRES. I disagree with this approach as ACRES is after all an activists group and being labelled negatively is nothing new to them – in fact, it is expected. Additionally, crediting them with the “attack” adds to its “street credibility” and it is likely to embolden them further.

When dealing with activists, it must be noted that such groups are made up of the vocal elements (those that do the actions), a larger base of silent supporters (those that provide the financial support) and a still larger base of people that tolerate them (those that say do what you want just don't inconvenience me). Thus, it is my opinion, that a better approach for RWS would have been to seek to undermine ACRES credibility and support by indirectly by turning its silent supporters against them and the larger population's tolerance of them. To this end, RWS should have adopted a Theme of “benevolence” and hence (a) acknowledge that ACRES held a different view from RWS and the majority of Singaporeans; (b) RWS is willing to work with ACRES to address their concerns; (c) a denial of service attack on RWS' Facebook wall was not constructive as it inconvenienced other customers.

Activism is not common in Singapore. Unfortunately, with the increasing reach of Social Media, Singapore companies need to understand activism, its structure, and how to deal with it. This attack on RWS will certainly not be the last.

(If you find this blog posting useful/ interesting, please click the Google +1 button to show your support. Thanks.)

Social Media Abused: Mexicans Face 30-Year Prison Term for Using Twitter to Spread Fear

2011-09-05T20:56:00.001+08:00

The Associated Press today carried a report that 2 Mexicans are facing a 30-year prison term for allegedly using Twitter to spread chaos. In the report, the man and the woman (Gilberto Martinez Vera, 48, a private school teacher, and Maria de Jesus Bravo Pagola, a radio presenter) are accused of spreading false reports that gunmen were attacking schools in the city of Veracrus.

As I explained in my research on Crisis Communications in the Era of Social Media, social media has enabled practically anyone with Internet access to reach out to a global audience. Unfortunately, unlike professional journalists who subscribe to a professional code of conduct, these citizen journalists do not. Citizen journalists are therefore free to pursue personal agendas without regards for the consequences.

This is another prime example of the dangers of allowing the unconstrained use of social media. While I am not advocating Government regulation or censorship of social media, I am however advocating that Governments enact laws that will enable them to hold netizens accountable for their actions. Such laws, used judiciously (so as not to infringe on the individual's right to expression) will then enable Governments to stop blatantly irresponsible actions against the common good.

While I firmly support the right of free speech, I also believe that the right comes with the obligation to use it responsibly. And, if an individual fails in his obligations, he or she must be held accountable.

PA's 2nd Straits Times Forum Response Once Again Misses the Point

2011-09-03T11:39:00.004+08:00

In an attempt to correct an earlier botched response to a Straits Times Forum letter questioning the appointment of PAP Advisers to Grassroots Organisations, Ms Ooi Hui Mei (Director Corporate Communications for the People's Association) 2nd response was carried in the 3 Sep 2011 edition of The Straits Times. In her response, Ms Ooi (a) once again failed to acknowledge the concern of the writer but instead trivialised it by saying that the “Government appreciates the public's interest” in this matter; and (b) attempted to explain why the PA needed to be pro-government.

In an earlier blog posting of mine, I shared with readers 2 principles which I believe are essential in handling negative stakeholder feedback. They are ...

Firstly, the stakeholder's unhappiness must be acknowledged as genuine and the response must directly address this. A common mistake made is to provide a general response to the concern raised. Doing so, the organisation not only "trivialises" the stakeholder's concerns, but demonstrates a lack of understanding of the situation. This is likely to instigate the stakeholder to continue his "attacks" on the organisation as he feels that he has not been “heard”.

Secondly, as I mentioned in my post yesterday, the organisation must avoid addressing the concern at the "tactical" level. The stakeholder's concern must be elevated and linked to universal principles like fairness, safety or perhaps corporate social responsibilities. Doing this will avoid a drawn out PR battle as it is very difficult for an unhappy stakeholder to argue against universally accepted principles.

Hence, in order to effectively address negative stakeholder feedback, the PA must do 2 things - (a) acknowledge the stakeholder's concerns; and (b) elevate and link the concern to a "universal principle" before offering a solution.

Based on Ms Ooi's second response, it is my opinion that this is not likely to be the end of this matter.

(If you find this blog posting useful/ interesting, please click the Google +1 button to show your support. Thanks.)

Follow me on Twitter @sg_crisis_guru

2011-09-03T11:04:00.001+08:00

Dear Readers,

I resisted the push to have a Twitter account for the longest time as I felt that I did not have much to up-date on a regular basis. Well, things have changed and I now have a Twitter account.

Hence, if you want to stay updated on the latest thinking on crisis management and, more specifically, crisis communications (in Singapore and around the region), please follow me on Twitter @sg_crisis_guru.

I hope to share my thinking, as well as to hear and learn from you.

Cheers!

People's Association (PA) Replies to Forum Letter on Appointment of Grassroots Advisor

2011-09-02T20:14:00.005+08:00

The 31 Aug 2011 People's Association (PA)'s response, to a Straits Times forum letter by Mr Muhammad Yusuf Osman supporting the idea that Advisers to grassroots bodies should be the elected Member of Parliament (MP), is a classic example of the refrain that “good communications cannot help bad policies.”

This is because communications is about presenting the truth to affected stakeholders. No amount of sugar coating or reframing or, in this case, double-speak, can change the fact that the policy is flawed and biased in support of the government. To put it simply, a rose by any other name still has thorns.

So what could the PA have done?

For this particular case, instead of attempting a feeble attempt to explain the issue, my advice as a crisis communicator would be for the PA to first “elevate” Mr Muhammad Yusuf Osman question to one about fairness (which, by the way, is the writer's main concern). And, once having established that, gone on to try to explain why it is more “fair” to the public for the Government to appoint grassroots advisers who support its programmes.

While this approach may not address the root issues of fairness and equity, it would in my opinion (a) show an understanding of the issue raised; (b) demonstrate empathy to the writer; and (c) perhaps make a bad policy sound more palatable.

(To stay up to date on the latest thoughts on crisis communications, 'Like" us on our Facebook page.)

News Release: What is more Important? Timeliness or Accuracy

2011-08-25T10:58:00.002+08:00

In a recent discussion with a group of executives, the issue of timely press releases was raised. Some in the group felt that while we endeavour to be timely to frame the crisis, others felt that it is important to ensure accuracy which usually takes time. Hence, the group was divided on the relative importance of timeliness versus accuracy.

To guide the discussion, I shared the following perspective. I told the Group that the answer to their dilemma was in understanding (a) stakeholder behaviour towards news; and (b) the psychological concept of primacy/ recency effects.

Stakeholder Interest in News. Anecdotal evidence suggests that unless an issue directly impacts them, stakeholder interest is short-lived and dependent on whether there are “newer” more interesting developing news. As a norm, from my observations, interest in an issue (in both Main Stream and Social Media) usually peaks between 12 to 24 hours and thereafter declines significantly beyond 48 hours.

First Impressions. Based on psychological studies, stakeholders’ strongest memories of an issue will be either the first or most recent “facts” he or she receives. In the context of an issue in which the stakeholder has no interest, he is therefore unlikely to be on the look-out for more facts on the issue. Hence, it is a natural assumption that the organisation’s first response is what he or she will remember making it more crucial.

With these two premises in mind, I then opined that the balance between accuracy and timeliness must be seen along a time continuum. In the early stages of a crisis, the need for timeliness takes priority over accuracy. This then gradually changes when we cross the 24 hour mark where accuracy takes priority. Thus, both groups are correct depending on the time continuum they were referring to.

Congratulations ICOR!

2011-08-14T08:43:00.001+08:00

ICOR (International Consortium for Organisational Resilience) has been awarded accreditation status for its certificate programmes by the ANSI (American National Standards Institute). As the Singapore equivalent of SPRING (and the British's Standards Institute), ANSI's accreditation recognises the quality of ICOR's Business Continuity Management (BCM) programmes. With this accreditation, ICOR is the only training and professional certification body in USA to be granted this special honor.

Organisations and individuals in Singapore seeking professional training in Crisis Communication can now confidently undertake ICOR's CM2050 Crisis Communication Planner Course with the knowledge that the course meets international standards.

As ICOR's Singapore trainer, I congratulate ICOR on this significant milestone.

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Course Description: Crisis Communication Planer (CS IL CSM 2050)

An organization in crisis faces many grave threats. Employees can be in physical danger. Buildings can fall. Customers can be lost. But the most serious threat is and always will be the threat to the organization’s most important asset – its reputation. To protect the organization from reputational threats requires careful, thoughtful, detailed planning and a methodology for inculcating a culture of organizational crisis preparedness. In this two-day seminar, you will learn how to prepare the organization for inevitable threats to reputation, execute the crisis communications plan, then, when the crisis has passed, assess and do what must be done before the next threats occur. Attendees earn a certificate as Crisis Communications Planner.

News Release: Selection as a Guest Contributor for Icon Media Group's Professional Blog

2011-08-14T08:24:00.000+08:00

I am happy to announce my selection as a Guest Contributor to Icon Media Group's professional blog. My selection as a Guest Contributor is a recognition of my thought leadership in the area of crisis communications and my contributions to the industry as a whole.

My first contribution is an article explaining the reason for the current ineffectiveness of Strategic Communications. Having observed that current approaches to strategic communications uses Social Media as an ancillary communication channel, I explained that the fundamental mode of information dissemination has changed from traditional Main Stream Media to Social Media. Thus, unless organisations re-structure and place Social Media at the epi-center of their communications strategy, any communication strategy will be ineffective at best and damaging at worst.

Icon Media Group is a full service, communications consultancy, delivering Purposeful; Integrated and Uncompromising communication solutions. As experts in Communications Strategy, Icon Media Group empowers enterprises with Total communications capabilities to prepare for and to best manage tomorrowʼs communication challenges, from Strategy to Execution.

I look forward to a mutually beneficial working relationship with Icon Media Group in serving the communication needs of businesses.

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For clarifications, visit http://www.cwfongandassociates.com.

Strategic Communication and the Era of Social Media: An Alternate Definition

2011-08-12T00:32:00.000+08:00

Although much has been written about Strategic Communications (SC), unfortunately there is little agreement amongst its many practitioners. Some practitioners view SC as a concept of facilitating communication to allow an organisation to attain its long-term strategic goal, while other practitioners view SC as a process to co-ordinate an organisation's internal and external communication processes. To me, I believe that SC is all of the above and more. Allow me to explain ...

As I advocated in one of my earlier posting, in the Era of Social Media, organisations now operate in an environment where practically anybody can create and disseminate “news” contents. These “Citizen Journalists” can now galvanise populace support as widely and as effectively as any big budget news organisations. Additionally, the Internet's ability to provide instantaneous news on a 24/7 basis, consolidated and indexed (via intelligent search engines), has made it the primary source of information. The convergence of media technology has therefore fundamentally altered the way individuals receive news and gather information and has created the dimensions of User Generated Contents and Rallying Tools.

Together, these two new dimensions has effectively changed the information environment. Information is now becoming as valuable as prime real estate where top-search engine rankings and positive (or negative) reviews on influential blogs can have tremendous impact an organisation's fortunes. In view of this, I have defined Strategic Communications as a social media centric process of managing an organisation's communications to its stakeholders via aligning (and leveraging where possible) communication channels to deliver a consistent Theme to achieve a strategic end state.

Unfortunately, many organisations today use Social Media as an ancillary communication channel and continue to communicate to their stakeholders via a multitude of out-dated and ineffective channels. To their credit, these organisation have acknowledged the need to have a consistent message and have adopted SC as a process to co-ordinate and align their various communications channels. Regrettably, what these organisations are finding is that, even with SC, they are losing the communication battle as Social Media continues to out-flank and out-manoeuvre them at every turn. This is happening because Social Media is rapidly becoming the de facto news and information platform and without a Social Media centric communication platform, these organisations will never be able to effectively communicate their Themes and Messages.

Thus, organisations seeking to effect SC must first understand and accept the increasing impact of Social Media on the new information environment and place SC at the center of its Corporate Strategy where communication can then be used to deliver either supporting or 1^st order effects and add to the organisation's bottom line. Given Social Media's assured dominance of the information environment in the near future, Social Media's central role in future communications is inevitable and organisations need to restructure now to effectively deal with it.

Crisis Communication: Fatal Police Shooting Sparks London Riots 2011

2011-08-09T10:53:00.000+08:00

On 6 August 2011 the fatal shooting of 29-year-old Mark Duggan in Tottenham, by London's Metropolitan Police, set the stage for a series of riots which have since spread to other areas like Wood Green, Enfield Town, Ponders End and Brixton.

Since the start of the riots, officials have been proactive in managing the situation by urging calm by committing to an open and transparent investigation into the shooting. Officials have essentially adopted a theme of legitimacy where they are telling stakeholders that they have a system to ensure that justice will be served. Unfortunaetly, as evidenced by the spreading of the riots, the theme of legitimacy does not seem to be working. Additionally, negative news continue to dominate main stream media and social media accounts of the riots, its devastation and its impact on London.

From a crisis communication perspective, there are 2 lessons which crisis communicators can learn from this crisis – value of a Stakeholder Analysis and the need to push positive news.

Stakeholder Analysis. As I have constantly advocated, a proper stakeholder analysis to identify the conditions, attitudes and attributes of the target audience is a necessary first step in developing an effective crisis communication plan. This is because the target audience's response to the selected theme is predicated on the “vulnerabilities” derived from the target audience's conditions, attitudes and attributes. In the case of the London Riots, current and historical mistrust of authority and recent allegations of biased police actions against the target audience make the legitimacy theme inappropriate at best and a furthing rallying point at worse. In my opinion, the authorities could have adopted an alternate theme of “bandwagoning” by getting key communicators from within the target audience to demonstrate restraint and call for others to follow suit.

Push Positive News. An Internet search of “London Riots 2011” returns endless negative postings. Anyone searching the Internet for news on the riots will get the impression that the riot are inevitably much worst than it is by protraying (a) the riots are out of control; and (b) everybody in the affected areas are against the police. What the authorities need to do is to push out positive news of their own. News of acts of heroism by police officers or stories of citizens banding together to stop the riots. Such postive news will go a long way in balancing cyberspace's portrayal of the riots and in my opinion, will go a long way in helping restore law and order.

Crisis Communication Plan: Use of Social Media

2011-08-06T13:35:00.004+08:00

In a recent presentation on the 5 Essential Elements of Crisis Communication in the Era of Social Media (i.e. (a) open; (b) timely. (c) 100% truthful; (d) Internet present; and (d) broadly communicated), one of the executives asked if broadly communicated was necessary if the crisis was developing only in cyberspace. His perspective was that, as crisis communicators, we should not be unnecessarily enlarging the number of “fronts” on which to fight the battle by involving the main stream media.

My response was this.

In the era of Social Media, there is an increasing overlap between social and main stream media. Often, what starts out in social media, is picked-up by main stream media and reported. A prime example is the Mar 2011 incident involving the picture of a maid carrying the field-pack of a Singapore Armed Forces' Full-Time National Serviceman. In this example, the crisis began when a reader on STOMP (Straits Time Online Mobile Print) found the picture on Facebook and uploaded in onto the website. Within days, the picture went viral and was carried in all major main stream media. This is but one example.

Hence, while I agree with the executive that we should limit the fronts where we fight so as to concentrate our efforts, we need to acknowledge that social media and main stream media are becoming one and the same. With main stream media journalists increasingly tapping on social media for the next “big news”, by confining our response to a negative blog posting or online mention to only social media, we are effectively conceding the information initiative and this makes it harder for us to frame a developing crisis in our favour.

Thus a crisis communication plan must be disseminated as broadly as possible.

(For more information on crisis communication training for your organisation, contact www.cwfongandassociates.com)

Crisis Communication Plan: The 5 Essential Elements

2011-07-29T11:00:00.003+08:00

The proliferation of Social Media has changed how effective Crisis Communication is to be done. The presence of low cost Internet access and Internet ready devices have broken the monopolistic hold of professionally run news organisations. In today's information environment, practically anybody can create and disseminate “news” contents. These unregulated “Citizen Journalists” can now galvanise populace support as widely and as effectively as any big budget news organisations. Furthermore, the Internet's ability to provide instantaneous news on a 24/7 basis, consolidated and indexed (via intelligent search engines), has made it the primary source of news. Essentially, the convergence of media technology has fundamentally altered the way individuals receive news and gather information and has created two new dimensions to Crisis Communication – User Generated Contents and Rallying Tools.

Implications for Crisis Communications

As a direct result of these technological advances, the nature of Crisis Communication has fundamentally changed. In the new information environment, Crisis Communication operates in an environment in which information is:

a. Near Instantaneous Media Cycle. As acknowledged by Reuter's Director of News Media Development, Chris Cramer, “every key event going forward will be covered by members of the public and not by traditional journalists.” The omnipresence of “journalists,” coupled with technology that enable professional journalists to report the news as it develops, has compressed the media cycle and crisis response times. This compression was demonstrated in January 2009 when US Airways Flight 1549 crash landed in the Hudson River. In that incident, emails, tweets, photos and videos of the incident began filtering through cyberspace 15 minutes before the main-stream media even reported it. In fact, the first recorded tweet occurred 4 minutes after the incident.

b. Perfect Information Environment. The ability of Internet search engines to trawl the world wide web for information, and to present it collated and indexed, effectively provides stakeholders with perfect information about an incident. This means that nothing is likely to remain hidden forever and that once the spot-light is turned-on, everything related (both past and present) will be revealed and scrutinised. This “know-all” nature of the Internet environment is demonstrated in our daily news reports where the subject's childhood associations, past comments on websites or blogs can be reported. In the November 2009 Fort Hood Massacre, the New York Times tracked a posting on the website Scribd allegedly published by the shooter supporting suicide bombings by Muslim extremists.

c. Multiple Media Platforms. A 2008 study commissioned by The Associated Press on the News Consumption Behaviour of Young Adults revealed that younger consumers are not only less reliant on newspapers for their news, but that they also consume news across a multitude of platforms and sources. Online videos, blogs, online social networks, mobile devices, RSS, word of mouth, web portals and search engines have become their go to sources. As many of these New Media sources are unregulated, the risk of distortion to the facts is extremely high. Nik Gowing, in his July 2002 article for the Humanitarian Practise Network, describes how facts about an Israeli offensive into the West Bank in the Spring of 2002 to neutralise suicide bombers targeting Israel was distorted by questionable emails, photos, videos and blogs to portray an Israeli massacre of Palestinians. While eventually unsubstantiated, the negative world opinion cost the Israeli Defence Force heavily and forced their early withdrawal denying them the ability to act in self-defence.

In short, in the new information environment, Crisis Communication is beyond the control of any individual or organisation. Crisis Communication Planners must accept that nothing can be hidden forever and that a Crisis Communication Plan must be open, fast, accurate, broadly communicated through multiple platforms and comprising a cyberspace component.

Characteristics of Effective Crisis Communications - The 5 Essential Elements

To meet the challenges of operating in the new information environment of a near instantaneous media cycle, one in which perfect information is available, and one in which stakeholders get their news from multiple platforms, effective Crisis Communication Plans must be (a) open; (b) timely; (c) truthful; (d) broadly communicated; and (e) present in the Internet.

a. Open. As nothing in the new information environment can be hidden indefinitely, Crisis Communication Planners can no longer try to manage an incident by preventing it from being made public. It must be assumed that all news worthy incidences will be reported and that the role of the Crisis Communication Planner is to “frame” the incident so that the company will be seen as positively as possible. Adopting an open reporting approach has two main advantages. Firstly, open reporting will establish the company's credibility with stakeholders with regards to their desire to resolve the crisis. This credibility will in turn position any subsequent actions taken positively. Secondly, being proactive in releasing information about the incident will prevent distortion of the facts. This will allow the company to “frame” the incident in its favour as well as prevent the crisis from spiralling out of control.

b. Timely. Given the speed with which the New Media operates, Crisis Communication Planners can no longer “beat” the media cycle. Fortunately, stakeholders accept that it takes time for a company to gather the facts of an incident and are willing to wait a reasonable time to hear from the company. While there is no hard and fast rule as to what constitutes a reasonable time, an initial statement acknowledging the incident within the 1st hour and a follow-up press conference within 4 hours has so far proven to be the norm. The timely acknowledgement of an incident will also enable the company to gain the information initiative. In addition, as there is usually conflicting information during the early stages of a crisis that causes confusion, the timely release of information will fill this vacuum and reduce distortion of facts. Putting a “face” to the company also allows the company to establish itself as the primary source of credible information on the crisis.

c. 100% Truthful. In the perfect information environment, false or deliberately misleading statements will be found out. It is not uncommon for stakeholders to search for past incidences to discredit the company's claims or for other similarly affected parties to come forward. Once a pattern of deceit is established, this will imply a cover-up on the part of the company giving further traction to the crisis. Crisis Communication Planners must therefore only allow complete truths to be disclosed. This is because in a crisis, the credibility of the company's spokesperson is central to an effective Crisis Communication plan. The Crisis Communication planner must therefore protect the spokesperson's credibility. To fulfil this role, the Crisis Communication Planner has to think like a journalists and when facts are doubtful, seek proof from their internal stakeholders before releasing the information.

d. Broadly Communicated. The presence of numerous news platforms has complicated Crisis Communication as Crisis Communication Planners can no longer rely on the traditional press conference to communicate the company's message to all affected stakeholders. Online videos, blogs, online social networks, RSS, web portals and search engines are alternate news platforms that also need to carry the message. As such, the development and release of Social Media compatible information, customised to the different technical requirements of each platform, is integral to a holistic Crisis Communication plan. Given the large number and types of platforms, requiring specialised skills, the Crisis Communication Team alone is unlikely to be able to cope and will need to be augmented with a team from the IT department.

e. Internet Presence. As mentioned earlier, the perfect information environment allows powerful search engines to instantaneously collate and index all related information on the incident for users. Hence all news reports, both positive and negative, will be seen by the stakeholders. To maintain a positive "spin" to the crisis, Crisis Communication Planners must ensure that the number of positive reports exceed the negatives. This is done via the proactive and deliberate publishing of information on the Internet. Additionally, as the Internet “archive” practically everything indefinitely, the company's Crisis Communication plan does not end with the closure of the crisis. The company's side of the story must remain posted so that the company continues to tell its side of the story indefinitely.

Conclusion

Internet technology has fundamentally changed the nature of Crisis Communication. Companies and PR Professionals operating in this new information environment must understand the technological implications and adjust their approach accordingly. Only then, can the PR Professional adequately serve his or her client.

Crisis Communication: KFC Malaysia Food Tampering Scandal and How Facebook Saved the Day

2011-07-28T20:17:00.003+08:00

In Jun 11, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) Malaysia was faced with a potential social media crisis when videos of food tampering by their kitchen staff started circulating on the Internet. As part of its crisis response strategy, KFC Malaysia established a page on its Facebook wall to tell its side of the story and restore consumer confidence.

Like many other crisis communication experts, I attribute KFC Malaysia's success in avoiding a crisis to its timely, open, truthful, Internet present and broadly communicated crisis communication plan – what I have termed the 5 essential elements of a crisis communication plan. This approached effectively enabled KFC Malaysia to seize the information initiative and effectively frame the crisis as the action of a single rogue employee. Additionally, by responding via social media, KFC Malaysia also ensured that their response was on the same platform as the video.

As a crisis communication consultant, I must admit that I was impressed by KFC Malaysia's social media savviness to create a Question and Answer to centralise all feedback related to this matter. While dangerous in the sense that anger feeds upon anger, this forum is nonetheless a useful tool for the organisation to “hear” everything that is being said about it. The organisation can then use the collated “intelligence” to accurately judge consumer sentiments, stakeholder concerns and respond appropriately to it. Furthermore, the forum gives netizens a platform to vent their anger with the knowledge that someone in authority is listening. This cathartic act in itself is useful to dissipate stakeholder anger.

If there is one suggestion that I can give to KFC Malaysia, it is to consider purchasing Google Ad Words related to the crisis. This is because Facebook pages cannot be index by search engines and KFC Malaysia's response is not showing up in searches related to this crisis.

Overall, well done to the PR Team at KFC Malaysia.

Crisis Communication: Why the CEO is not the Best Spokesperson in a Crisis

2011-07-23T15:11:00.001+08:00

As part of crisis communications, it is often necessary for organisations to put a “face” to the crisis. In view that the spokesperson must demonstrate top management's commitment, accountability and control of the situation, many organisations select their CEO to front the crisis. In my opinion, the CEO is not the most appropriate choice.

This is because studies have shown that communication is based on 93% body language and paralinguistic cues and only 7% on the words themselves. Thus, in the era of social media where videos or pictures of press conferences are readily available for viewing, scrutiny and analysis on a 24x7 basis, the spokesperson's ability to deliver a congruent message is crucial.

In a crisis, the CEO is usually fully aware of the facts of the situation and, in order to successfully manage the crisis, certain facts may need to be temporarily withheld from the public. In such instances should the CEO to be questioned by the media, his body language may “leak” indicators that he is being less than truthful. This in turn may do more harm than good.

It is therefore my opinion that the best spokesperson in a crisis, is not the CEO of the organisation, but the organisation's Director of Public Affairs (DPA). And, in order to prevent “leaks” when communicating with the media, the DPA should not be a member of the Crisis Communications Team. The creation of such a Chinese Wall, will additionally maintain the Director's credibility with the media in the event the media discovers that the organisation has been less than 100% truthful.

Research Data: Internet and 2G/ 3G Mobile Phone Penetration Rates

2011-07-09T11:39:00.002+08:00

Singapore's The Straits Times today (9 July 2011) published an extract from the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) latest survey on Internet and Mobile Phone Penetration Rates. The extract showed the following:

Mobile Phone (2G and 3G): 7.41 million mobile phone subscriptions giving a penetration rate by population of 146.1%.

Residential Wired Broadband: 1.2 million subscriptions giving a penetration rate by households of 102.7%.

Wireless Broadband: 7 million subscriptions giving a penetration rate by population of 138.3%.

As the figures show, wireless Internet connections is almost as prevalent as mobile phones and with industry experts estimating that smartphones account for between 72% to 90% of all mobile phone sold in Singapore, the impact of social media on crisis communications is significant.

Public Relations and Crisis Communications professionals must therefore realise that we live in a 'perfect information environment' where nothing of significance can be hidden indefinitely. Thus, the best (and in my opinion the only) approach in a crisis, is to be open, timely, 100% truthful and Internet present.

Cognitive Bias: Where Perception is Reality

2011-07-03T12:56:00.000+08:00

In crisis communications, perception is reality. Stakeholders are after all humans and, like all of us, subject to involuntary cognitive bias.

The significance of cognitive bias in crisis communications is that it leads stakeholders to form lasting first impressions that will then “color” all subsequent information to fit the bias. Consequently, any new information that matches the bias will be used to reinforce it, while any information that contradict it will be discarded. This explains why first impressions are difficult to change and the importance of framing the crisis early.

In a crisis, the most common form of cognitive bias affecting communications is that of stereotyping. Defined by Wikipedia as a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing, stereotypes can both help or hinder the crisis communications efforts.

A classic example of the use of positive stereotyping was by Oliver North during the Iran-Contra scandal. Oliver's defence rested on him convincing the American public that he was an honorable man, fighting for freedom and democracy. Tapping on the values and image that the American public associated with its military men, Oliver conspicuously wore his military uniform throughout his televised trial. To many, this was what enabled Oliver North not only to avoid incarceration, but walk away as a “hero”.

In the same light, crisis communicators must be aware of the negative stereotypes that their clients may have. Be it the negatives associated with a politicians that “lie” or corporate leaders who are “heartless” and only interested in the bottom line. In a crisis, good crisis communicators must “distance” their clients from the negatives.

IPRS Lunch Talk - Digital Communications - 22 July 2011

2011-07-02T09:15:00.000+08:00

The Institute of Public Relations Singapore (IPRS) will be organising the following Lunch Talk on 22 July 2011.

Anthony Weiner Twitter Scandal: A Better Approach?

2011-06-08T19:56:00.005+08:00

Background of Crisis

US Congressman Anthony Weiner is currently in crisis mode as he tries to manage the fall-out from the scandal of him sending a 21-year old a link to a photograph of his erection under his boxer briefs via his Twitter account. After initial attempts to cover-up the scandal proved futile by saying his account was “hacked”, Weiner eventually initiated a press conference on 6 June 11 (10 days after the scandal broke) where he admitted that the tweeted photo was not the work of a hacker but his own. Weiner then apologized to his family and his constituents, and admitted to having had exchanged "messages and photos of an explicit nature with about six women over the last three years.”

Let us analyse Weiner's management of this crisis from two perspectives – the Crisis Response Strategy and the Communications Plan.

Crisis Response Strategy

In terms of a Crisis Response Strategy (CRS), Weiner has adopted the “accept responsibility” strategy with the Theme of “human fallability”. Weiner's CRS was however incomplete as it failed to provide information to help stakeholders deal with their “anger”. This is because while an admission of a mistake and the issue of an apology is important, stakeholders' sense of justice demand that Weiner “pay” for his actions and demonstrate contrition in proportion to the severity of his misdeed. Weiner, in my opinion, should have followed-up his apology with either voluntarily undertaking to perform community service as penance, or enrolling himself for “treatment”. By holding himself accountable for his actions, it is likely to shift stakeholder anger to one of neutrality or sympathy.

Communications Plan

From the communications plan perspective, while Weiner made several mistakes, to his credit he also did somethings right. As mentioned in my research, in the era of social media, an effective crisis communications plan comprises 5 essential elements – open, timely, 100% truthful, broadly communicated and Internet present.

In this instance, Weiner's communication plan comprised 3 of the 5 elements i.e. he was 100% truthful and communicated his response broadly and on the Internet via a press conference. Weiner's decision to be “100% truthful” by readily admitting his other indiscretion is also the correct move. This is because it is inevitable that the other women would come forward and not being upfront would only add fuel to the fire.

Unfortunately, Weiner failed in being open and timely in addressing the scandal. Being open and timely is important as these 2 elements will not only frame the crisis to his advantage (i.e. human fallibility vs cover-up), but also demonstrate Weiner's willingness to hold himself accountable. While there are no hard and fast rules, a response time of 48 hours (2 news print cycles) can be used as a rough guide.

Conclusion

To me, the key lessons for Public Relations Professionals are these:

a. The Crisis Communication Plan must work in tandem with the Crisis Response Strategy. If the decision is to adopt an “accept responsibility” strategy, then a timely and open plan will reinforce the strategy and enhance the probability of its success.

b. Contrition is an important part of the “accept responsibility” strategy. Without it, stakeholders are less likely to accept the apology. Being accountable means “punishing” yourself when you have failed to live up to expectations.

Managing Your Online Reputation in the Era of Social Media

2011-06-04T10:17:00.002+08:00

The ability of internet search engines to trawl the world wide web for information, and to present it collated and indexed, has effectively provided netizens with perfect information on almost anything. From major incidences to a person's past indiscretions, nothing is likely to remain hidden forever and once the spot-light is turned-on, everything related (both past and present) will be revealed and scrutinised.

In my earlier posting titled "not all websites are created equal", I argued that Public Relations Professionals needed to closely monitor the postings of influential websites. This was important as these websites have the power to sway public opinion and Wikipedia is one such website. In my opinion, Wikipedia's influence is based on three factors: (a) its high-ranking in search engines; (b) its massive "knowledge based" covering practically any topic under the sun; and (c) the perception that it is a credible source of information.

For example, on 24 Feb 2011, The Straits Times commenced its coverage of the High Court case between Dr Susan Lim and the Singapore Medical Council. The case revolves around Dr Lim's attempt to block the SMC from appointing a second disciplinary committee to investigate allegations by Singapore's Ministry of Health that she had abused the trust placed in her by the patient to overcharge them. In Dr Lim's case, a search of "Dr Susan Lim" on google returns a Wikipedia link on her within the top 10. Clicking on the link then brings us to a biography of Dr Lim. Interestingly, the biography ends with a paragraph stating that she was accused in Feb 2011 of overcharging her patient and that she had offered to "waive the entire bill if the patient's family would withdraw their complaint but the family did not agree to do."

From what I have read in the main stream media, this last statement has not been proven. Hence, to the casual reader, this statement in a "credible" source like Wikipedia would give the perception that it was true and that Dr Lim had indeed been guilty of overcharging.

My point to PR Professionals is this. The organisations and the CEOs you work for are likely to have Wikipedia pages just like Dr Lim's. Hence, it is essential during any crisis to ensure that the "facts" as reported on influential websites like Wikipedia is accurate and if it is not, to refute it.

In fact, understanding the influence, and managing the use of social media is no longer the domain of Public Relations Professional. Every individual with a Facebook, Twitter or even eBay account must be aware that anything posted online is archived indefinitely and, can be collated to develop a profile of you.

How to Maximise the Effect of Your Facebook Posts

2011-06-02T00:56:00.000+08:00

I came across the following article on how to maximise the effect of your Facebook posts. For your informationn and awareness.

http://www.allfacebook.com/8-essential-tricks-for-publicists-using-facebook-2011-05

M1 Service Disruption: Separating a Good Crisis Response from the Great

2011-05-29T09:52:00.000+08:00

On 18 May 2011, Singapore's MobileOne (M1) experienced technical difficulties with one of its client management server that resulted in service disruptions to many of its subscribers. M1 promptly released press statements acknowledging the issue, apologising for the inconvenience and assuring subscribers that it was doing its best to rectify the problem. On 24 May 11, M1 issued a press statement apologising for the the 18 May disruption and offered 1 day of free local calls as well as SMSes and MMSes to all its customers on Wednesday (25 May 2011).

From a Public Relations perspective, M1's handled the potential crisis well.

Firstly, the timely release of a statement acknowledging the issue, apologising for it and assuring subscribers that they were working on the problem sent a clear message of “professionalism”. Nothing irks, and reduces customer confidence, more than a company that denies a problem exists and tries to cover it up. Customers want to know that they are dealing with companies that are professional in the way they do business. Hence, in issues where there is clear accountability on the part of the company, the correct crisis management strategy is to accept responsibility and help customers deal with their anger.

Secondly, M1's decision to offer 1 day of free local calls as well as SMSes and MMSes was the correct gesture to help subscribers "deal" with their anger. As I mentioned in an earlier blog posting (John Galliano's Outburst: Racist Rant Crisis), stakeholders not only expect apologies to be authentic and sincere, but also expect it to involve some act of contrition in proportion to the “wrong” committed. Hence, in this incident, M1's gesture was positively received by their subscribers and, in my opinion, maintained their brand image.

Overall, kudos to M1 and their Public Relations Team for managing this crisis well.

I however have 1 point to add. While M1 had done well to manage this potential crisis and maintain its brand image, I however felt that M1 could have capitalised on the issue to build and enhance its brand image. M1's decision to give 1 day of free calls is proportionate to what their subscribers was denied and, to a large extent, the minimum expected. I therefore assert that if M1 had gone 1 step further an offered an additional day of free calls, M1 could have turned this potential crisis to its advantage and enhanced its brand image with its subscribers and those currently with others. This last step of capitalising on the incident to enhance brand image is often overlooked by management and the Public Relation Team and, in my opinion, separates the good from the great.

Organisations: Delay Using Social Media at Your Own Risk

2011-05-22T21:16:00.001+08:00

In a recent presentation to the Public Relations Department of a large multi-national organisation, I asserted the need for organisations to actively engage their stakeholders via Social Media. While acknowledging that it was inevitable for his organisation to do so, the Public Relations Director expressed his fear that his company was “not yet ready” to do so. This was because he believed that his organisation had a lot of detractors and using Social Media would open an avalanche of negative press which his organisation could not adequately respond to.

Unfortunately, the Public Relations Director's fear is typical of most large organisations. I then asked him the following series of questions:

- Do you think that by avoiding a presence on Social Media, your organisation will keep your detractors comments and views off the Internet? If no, then in terms of issues management, would it not be better if you knew every negative thing that was been said about your organisation?

- Are all your detractors complaints and grouses valid? If yes, would it not benefit your organisation to know what they are so that you address them? Do you think that engaging your detractors and offering your point of view can convert some of them? If not all your detractors complaints and grouse are valid, then would it not be good for you to clarify the mis-perceptions?

- Do you think that your organisation can ever be ready? If no, then will there ever be a “right” time?

So the bottom line is this. Social Media's impact on your organisation is real and it is occurring with or without your participation. As such, it is best to participate so that you can at least tell your side of the story. Next, being aware of all the complaints and grouses being levelled at your organisation has advantages as it will allow you to address the valid ones and clarify the false. In addition, a Social Media presence will enable you to centralise everything into one place for ease of management. And, finally, since no organisation can ever be ready, delaying ones participation serves no purpose and it will allow your detractors time and space to continue their attacks against you and enlarge their support base.

Crisis Communications Workshop/ Training in Singapore

2011-05-17T14:33:00.001+08:00

The proliferation of Social Media has changed how effective Crisis Communication is done. Unfortunately, many business owners and Public Relations Professionals have not fully understood the impact of these changes and are essentially using out-dated strategies and techniques. Research has shown that a poorly managed crisis can wipe out as much as 15% of a company's value, while a properly managed one can add on average 5%.

I have done extensive research into the subject of Crisis Communication in the Era of Social Media and one of my key findings is that effective Crisis Communication plans must be open, timely, 100% truthful, broadly communicated and Internet present.

As a lead-in to my consulting and training services, I am pleased to offer interested organisations and companies a complimentary 1-hour workshop on Crisis Communication in the Era of Social Media. If you are keen to consider my offer, contact me fongchengwah[a]yahoo.com.sg for a no obligations discussion.

Tin Pei Ling: National Youth Forum 2008 Publicity Video

2011-05-17T12:56:00.002+08:00

On 16 May 2011, Yahoo! Singapore News carried an article by Jeffrey Oon titled the “Buzz over new Tin Pei Ling Video”. In his article, Jeffrey reported that the 39-second amateur YouTube video was shot and uploaded in September 2008 and was likely made in conjunction with the National Youth Forum 2008. In the approximately 24 hours since, 808 comments have been received on the Yahoo! Site with, all but a handful, flaming Ms Tin Pei Ling and the People's Action Party (PAP).

From the crisis communications perspective, the PAP's decision to remain silent on their selection process that enabled a seemingly unqualified candidate to be elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) is dangerous. As mentioned, in my earlier postings, not framing the crisis is dangerous as it will allow the issue to spiral off into tangents which may be detrimental to the ruling party. In this instance, some netizens are already claiming that Singapore is an oligarchy and that Tin Pei Ling is a lead-in for the inclusion of the Prime Minister's son in the next General Elections. Whether truth or fiction, all this does not benefit the PAP. And judging that Tin Pei Ling is an active user of Social Media, more videos and pictures will continue to surface.

So what can the PAP do to manage this crisis?

Using my proposed Framework for Crisis Management as the model, it is clear that stakeholders have attributed responsibility for election of Tin Pei Ling into Parliament to the PAP. Thus, the appropriate Crisis Response Strategy (CRS) is for the PAP to accept responsibility and provide stakeholders with information to deal with their anger (the aim being to shift stakeholder emotions from anger to neutrality, and eventually (if possible) to one of sympathy). Only when the crisis has been “managed” should the PAP attempt to “build” Tin Pei Ling's reputation. Any attempts to do so prior to managing the crisis will likely be viewed negatively.

As a Public Relations Professional, my proposed Crisis Response Strategy is as follows:

Step 1: The PAP to accept responsibility for making a “mistake” in fielding Tin Pei Ling. This they can do my explaining their selection process and, in particular, explain the specific factors that led them to select Tin Pin Ling over other “more qualified” candidates.

Step 2: Next, and most importantly, the PAP needs to acknowledge stakeholders' anger by showing empathy and then suggesting ways that the stakeholders can deal with any unhappiness they may have with dealing with Tin Pei Ling as a MP. This may be as simple as appointing a “senior” MP to supervise Tin Pei Ling during her Meet the People Sessions, or even instituting regular surveys of constituents on how Tin Pei Ling is performing her duties as an MP.

The bottom line is this. Perception is reality and stakeholders have already “decided” that Tin Pei Ling is unqualified to be a MP. Remaining silent does not help and will only add fuel to the fire. And a fire left uncontrolled, in the worst case scenario, will consume everything it is in contact with. The PAP must therefore act and act quickly to frame the crisis to its benefit and mitigate further fall-out that may impact the party as a whole.

(To stay up to date on the latest thoughts on crisis communications, 'Like" us on our Facebook page.)

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2011-05-11T23:09:00.001+08:00

Get your 1st Android™ powered with 2.3 Gingerbread and only #Playstation™ certified smartphone with #SingTel.

How Aljunied GRC Was Lost: Importance of Correctly Identifying the Opponent's Theme

2011-05-11T21:27:00.000+08:00

Much has been reported in the Main Stream and Social Media on how the People's Action Party (PAP) lost the Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (GRC) to the Worker's Party (WP). To the Public Relations (PR) Professional, the key lesson here is the importance of correctly identifying the opponent's Theme. Failure to do so, will make your responses ineffective and may result in serious consequences.

Allow me to explain ...

During the Singapore General Elections 2011 (GE2011), the PAP adopted the Theme of “Proven Leadership” as the basis of their value proposition to the electorate, while the WP adopted the Theme of “Transparency and Accountability”.

At the start of campaigning, the PAP's narrative focused on telling the electorate that they had the experience and quality of candidates to ensure Singapore's continued success in an uncertain future. At the same time, the PAP sought to counter (what they assessed, albeit wrongly) was the WP's Theme of a “First World Parliament” by highlighting the dangers and inefficiencies of a two-party system. On the other side, the WP's narrative focused on telling the electorate that they did not question the experience and quality of the PAP, but that it is in Singapore's interest to have someone to hold the PAP accountable for their actions. The WP's narrative also sought to counter the PAP's narrative of being “proven” by highlighting the high cost of living, high cost of public housing and congestion on the public transportation systems. As campaigning progressed, the PAP noticed that their responses to the WP's narrative was failing to address the electorate's concerns. In their belief that the electorate was responding to the WP's Theme of having a “voice in parliament”, the PAP responded by acknowledging that they were not perfect, apologising for their mistakes and assuring the electorate that the PAP has heard them.

This is where the PAP went wrong. If the WP's Theme had been a “First World Parliament” so that people had a “voice”, the PAP's adjusted narrative would have stemmed the support for the WP. Unfortunately, the WP's Theme was not about having a “voice in parliament”, but about Transparency and Accountability. Thus, while the PAP apologised for their mistakes, they stopped short of being transparent on how they went wrong and how those responsible were held accountable. This, in my opinion, is the key factor that prevented the PAP from winning over the electorate.

In summary, during a crisis, organisations may find themselves trying to gain the information initiative against well organised opponents. In such situations, correctly identifying the opponent's Theme is essential as missing it will render your Crisis Response Strategy ineffective. And as this example proves, sometimes costly.

(Footnote: The WP must be credited for their insightful identification of the electorate's “vulnerabilities” by assessing their attributes, attitudes and conditions)

Singapore General Elections 2011: Does the PAP Understand the Electorate?

2011-04-30T23:41:00.002+08:00

Early in their careers, PR Professionals are taught that for a Theme to be effective, the Theme must appeal to the “vulnerabilities” of the Target Audience. Derived from the attributes, attitudes or conditions of the Target Audience, these vulnerabilities (while generally consistent) are not static and can change over time.

An analysis of the current Singapore General Elections show that the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) has adopted the Theme of “proven leadership”. This is the same Theme that they have successfully adopted in past elections. Using the “feedback” of netizens responding to the PAP's campaign Messages, it appears that the PAP may have failed to realise that the Vulnerabilities their Theme once effectively appealed to, now no longer exists.

Specifically, the current demographics of voters are generally post-1985. Having been brought up in an environment of peace and stability, and having been exposed to western ideas of democracy, the current electorate desire for more than material comforts. Ideas like freedom of speech, transparency and public accountability of office bearers are important to them. Additionally, the past benefits of having less talented opposition candidates no longer exists. In this Election, the best of the opposition candidates trumps the worst of the PAP's.

The key lesson for PR Professionals is this. Themes and Messages must target the vulnerabilities of the Target Audience to be effective. Based on attributes, attitudes and conditions, these Vulnerabilities are not constant. PR Professionals must therefore constantly study and monitor their Target Audience to ensure that they select the correct Theme. What may have worked in the past, may not work in the present or the future.

Role of Social Media in Singapore General Elections 2011

2011-04-24T17:02:00.003+08:00

On 22 April 2011, The Kent Ridge Common published an article by Lester Lim titled “Drawing the Line on Internet Debates”. In his article on the Singapore General Election 2011, Lester argued that no one is perfect and that, in the era of social media, flaws in every candidate can be found if one looks hard enough. Lester then went on to assert that these “splinters of information” may in fact be inaccurate, taken out of context, or even possibly malicious and basing one's vote based solely on these information is dangerous. In Lester's view, all information on social media, or for that matter even on the main stream media, must be read with healthy skepticism.

While I fully agree with Lester's view that information on social media is prone to inaccuracies and subject to malicious manipulations, I however feel that an Internet savvy electorate can discern fact from fiction. As such, contrary to what Lester asserts, I believe that the Internet's ability to provide instantaneous news on a 24/7 basis, consolidated and indexed via intelligent search engines, has made it the ideal platform for political candidates (and organisations) to engage their opposition and win their constituents over.

This is because social media is beyond the control of any individual or organisation, and coupled with its ubiquitous nature, social media has created a 'perfect information' environment where anything of importance will be made public and false or deliberately misleading statements revealed. Thus, as expounded in economic theory, with perfect information, stakeholders behaving rationally will make the best decision and choose the “best” candidate to represent them.

For example, without social media, I doubt that the People's Action Party's (PAP) March 1987 condescending dismissal of Opposition Member Chaim See Tong's call to reduce full-time National Service would have surfaced to remind the electorate that the PAP does not have a monopoly on ideas. Or Sylvia Lim's convincing 2007 parliamentary statement arguing against multi-million dollar salaries for ministers. Or the political wrangling within the Reform Party that questions the party's ability to mount a credible challenge in the coming elections.

Without these “splinters of information”, voters would not have a complete picture of the General Elections and would be less equipped to choose the “best” candidate to represent them. At the end of the day, it is my opinion that far from being something voters should avoid or read with skepticism, information on social media (however splintered) is useful in providing voters with a clearer understanding of the situation and will ultimately help them make the "right" choice.

Singapore General Elections 2011: Tin Pei Ling Responds

2011-04-15T22:09:00.001+08:00

On 14 April 2011, Yahoo News! Singapore, carried an article by Alicia Wong titled “My Conscience is clear: Tin Pei Ling.” In the article, Alicia reports that Tin Pei Ling has finally broken her silence on the criticisms levelled at her since she was introduced as a candidate for the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) 2 weeks ago.

Tin Pei Ling's response was done via an interview by the Lianhe Zaobao, which was eventually carried by The New Paper and subsequently Yahoo! News Singapore. In her interview, Tin Pei Ling attempted to add context to the pictures circulating from her Facebook account, while attempting to deliver the following Messages: (a) “I cannot change the fact that I am young”; (b) "I just hope that Singaporeans can have confidence in me and give me the opportunity to prove myself"; (c) "I'm prepared to face whatever comes my way"; (d) "The most important thing is that my conscience is clear”; (e) "I have also tried to see where they are coming from and why they say certain things about me"; (f) “I want to serve society”; and (g) “I like participating in things and I thoroughly enjoyed my seven years as a grassroots activist”.

From the Crisis Communications perspective, there are several lessons which the PR Professional can learn.

Firstly, the timing of the response. It is interesting to note that since the controversy started, Tin Pei Ling made no real attempt to respond to netizens' criticisms. Instead, she chose to lay low, allowing interest to wane before responding. This is a calculated move. By choosing to remain silent, Tin Pei Ling did not “add fuel to the fire.” However, by choosing to remain silent, it only added to stakeholders' perception that she is not “strong enough” to stand up for herself.

Secondly, the choice of medium. It is also interesting to note that she chose the Lianhe Zaobao as the primary source to tell her side of the story. It is interesting as the demographics of Marine Parade (as provided by ShowNearby Analytics) show that PMETs account for 43% of residents, 33.2% are Diploma holders or higher, and language literacy is 59.2% for English and 35.5% for Chinese. Hence, if Tin Pei Ling's Target Audience was the majority of voters in Marine Parade, then perhaps an “English” newspaper would have been the more logical choice. Unfortunately, the English newspaper appear to be the most critical of her.

Thirdly, the Theme and Messages. An analysis of Tin Pei Ling's Messages reveals that she had 7 Messages to convey and this was based on the Theme of “maturity beyond my age”. Unfortunately, Tin Pei Ling did not realise that too many Messages confuse stakeholders. And, from the media reports that I have read, her Theme of “maturity” did not come across. Tin Pei Ling would have been better off choosing 3 key Messages, repeating them often and backing them up with examples.

In summary, the key take-aways for PR Professionals are this ...

- the timing of the response is important. In this instance where the Theme is “maturity”, delaying the response is not inline with the Theme and may be counter-productive

- sometimes the most logical medium is not the best option. In situations like this, using a neutral reporter or newspaper is the best way to get your side of the story out

- when it comes to Messages, more is not necessarily better. As a rule, choose no more than 3 and keep emphasising them so that the stakeholder gets the Message.

Singapore General Elections 2011: Tin Pei Ling Saga

2011-04-07T19:49:00.003+08:00

Since the People's Action Party's (PAP) introduction of Ms Tin Pei Ling as a candidate for the upcoming General Elections 2011 (GE 2011), the Internet has been set abuzzed with people questioning her qualifications to be Member of Parliament (MP) given her young age. Additionally, Tin Pei Ling's online reputation (as depicted on social network sites) seem to lend credibility to netizens' concerns.

In the realm of Crisis Communications in the Era of Social Media, two lessons can be derived from this saga.

Firstly, we undeniably live in a perfect information environment. Close scrutiny is inevitable given the high stakes and likely interest of voters on the candidates being presented as their possible future representative in government. Thus, while information posted on the Internet is archived permanently, there exists methods and techniques to “clean-up” one's online reputation. It is obvious that the PAP failed to do this for Tin Pei Ling.

The second lesson from this saga is the PAP's Crisis Response Strategy (CRS). As mentioned in my earlier posting (Framework for Crisis Management), stakeholders attribute blame based on perceived responsibility. In this saga, stakeholders are questioning the poor decisions, not only to field a 27 year old candidate, but also to field her as part of a Group Representation Constituencies (GRC) headed by Senior Minister (SM) Goh Chok Tong. In this scenario, attribution of responsibility to the PAP is high as (a) it was an internal party decision to field her (locus of control); (b) stakeholder concerns about her suitability was predictable (stability); and (c) the PAP had control over the final decision (controllability).

In such a situation, according to the Crisis Communication Framework, the appropriate CRS for the PAP is adopt is one of ACCEPTING responsibility and then helping stakeholders to cope with the crisis. Unfortunately, the PAP appears to have adopted a DENY CRS and has gone on to adopt the Theme of “proven government” with the Messages of “robust selection process” and “experienced grassroots leader.” Given the mismatch in the response (i.e. Deny instead of Accept), it is therefore not surprising that the PAP's responses has failed to quell stakeholder concerns.

The key lessons for PR Professionals from this saga are as follows ...

- In the Era of Social Media, stakeholders will rely on the Internet for information. A proper once over to ensure that unfavourable information is “removed” is therefore essential.

- Adopting the correct Crisis Communication Strategy is important. Failure to do so, will only prolong the crisis and allow it to spiral further out of control

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Pastor Terry Jones Quran Burning Incites Violence in Afghanistan UN Employees Killed

2011-04-03T21:27:00.001+08:00

On 2 Apr 2011, the online version of The Washington Post reported that Pastor Terry Jones had made good on his earlier threat to burn the Quran. In an act streamed live via the Internet, Pastor Terry Jones and his congregation staged a mock trial which found the Quran "guilty of crimes against humanity."

In an immediate act of retribution, the NBC Miami reported on 1 Apr 2011 that a UN Compound in the usually serene Balkh province of Afghanistan was overrun by protestors resulting in the death of at least 7 UN employees including 2 who were beheaded.

As I explained in my research on Crisis Communications in the Era of Social Media, social media has enabled practically anyone with Internet access to reach out to a global audience. Unfortunately, unlike professional journalists who subscribe to a professional code of conduct, these citizen journalists do not. Ciftizen journalists are therefore free to pursue personal agendas without regards for the consequences.

Pastor Terry Jones' recent Quran buring act is a prime example of the dangers of allowing the unconstrained use of social media. While I am not advocating Government regulation or censorship of the Internet, I am however advocating that Governments around the world need to enact laws that will enable them to hold netizens accountable for their actions. Such laws, used judiciously (so as not to infringe on the individual's right to expression) will then enable Governments to stop blatantly irresponsible actions against the common good.

While I firmly support the right of free speech, I also believe that the right comes with the obligation to use it responsibly. And, if an individual fails in his obligations, he must be held accountable.

Singapore General Elections 2011: High Ministerial Salaries. Is PAP's Failure to Respond a Miscalculation?

2011-03-27T10:47:00.006+08:00

Building upon my Framework for Responding to Negative Blog Postings and Online Forum Mentions posted on 15 Mar 2011, I believe that the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) has failed to fully grasp the full impact social media will have in Singapore's General Election 2011 (GE 2011).

A 2007 video clip of Workers' Party of Singapore Ms Sylvia Lim opposing the multi-million dollar salaries of ministers has gone viral on Facebook. In her statement, Sylvia raised valid points that undermined the ruling party's justifications for their high pay. As this is not a political blog, I will not go into the details of her statement, but use it to illustrate what I view as the PAP's failure to assess, analyse the impact and then respond appropriately to the video clip.

Source. The video clip (or its links) have been circulating widely on Social Networking site like Facebook and local political websites. In this instance, the credibility of the video clip is beyond question as the original video was broadcast on television in 2007. Even for those that did not view the original broadcast, the consistency in quality of the clip, the accuracy of the people shown in the clip and their demeanor lends to its authenticity. Hence, the video clip is perceived as credible.

Content. Next, the intent behind the circulation of the video clip is clear – to weaken the PAP's claims that they are building a “Singapore for Singaporeans”. The people behind the video clip are using the emotionally charged issue of high ministerial salaries to demonstrate that the PAP is no longer in touch with the average Singaporean. The intent being to urge voters to vote against the PAP in the coming election. In addition, Sylvia's statement was also well-thought out, researched and delivered. Her arguments are sound and logical and valid opposing views to that of the PAP. It is thus assessed that the Target Audience is likely to believe her.

Audience. In this case, the Apparent and Ultimate Audience are also very clear. They are the voters in GE 2011. What is however not so obvious is the Unintended Audience of potential opposition members. The publicity of high salaries that PAP ministers enjoy will make it more attractive for high calibre candidates to join the PAP. Afterall, the allure of multi-million dollar salaries is hard to ignore.

Effect. Based on the above factors, the effect of the video clip is assessed to fall into the Quadrant High Impact-High Probability. The video is assessed to have a High Impact as the demographics of the electorate has changed. Prolonged exposure to Western ideals of equity and fairness is likely to make voters “angry” at the delink between their “leaders” and themselves. The source of the video and the reach that Social Media has in 2011 makes it Highly Probable that voters will hear or view Sylvia's arguments.

Response. According to my proposed framework, a High Impact-High Probablity effect requires a Crisis Response Strategy of direct refutation. Failing to do so, and quickly, will only strengthen the perceived credibility of Sylvia's arguments. Voters will see the PAP's lack of a response as an admission that they cannot defend their position.

In summary, my view is that the PAP has miscalculated the impact of this video and has failed to respond to it appropriately. If the PAP believes that ignoring the video will keep it from being discussed further, it is sadly mistaken. In the era of Social Media, there is perfect information. Ignoring a bad Mention or Blog posting will not make it go away. Instead, the silence says more than they think.

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Framework for Responding to Negative Blog Postings and Online Forum Mentions

2011-03-15T22:00:00.007+08:00

In the Era of Social Media, organisations will inevitability find their names mentioned in some blog or internet forum. While positive mentions are good publicity and should be encouraged, the question facing PR Professionals is how to deal with the negative mentions. And, given the practically infinite number of blogs and internet forums, PR Professionals need a practical framework with which to assess, analyse the impact of the mention and then decide how to respond.

One framework which PR Professionals can use is what I call SCAER – an abbreviation for the factors Source, Content, Audience, Effect and Response. As a framework, the SCAER is a deliberate process to guide the PR Professional's assessment of the mention. Done sequentially, the framework will prompt the PR Professional to the most logical response to the mention.

Source. The aim of this factor is to determine the credibility of the source. Under this factor, the PR Professional will assess where the mention is found, the type of website, its viewership, the profile of the viewers and the reputation of the blogger. Determining credibility is important as it will determine how likely the target audience will believe the content.

Content. Next, once the credibility has been determined, the PR Professional will then assesse the content of the mention. The aim of this factor is to determine the mention's objective and intent behind the mention. For example, the PR Professional must determine if the mention is aimed at discrediting the organisation, urging customers to switch brands, or is it a personal vendatta against the CEO of the organisation. Ultimately, understanding the intent and objective of the mention will allow the organisation's response to address the root of the issue.

Audience. When a mention is put online, there are generally four target audiences which the PR Professional must consider - apparent, ultimate, intermediate and unintended. The apparent target audience is the direct recipient of the message; the ultimate target audience is the actual target of the source's mention; the intermediate target audience is the conduit to get the mention to the ultimate target audience; and the unintended target audience is anybody that may come across the mention. Identifying the ultimate target audience of the mention is crucial as it will then allow the PR Professional to more accurately assess the mention's impact.

Effect. This final factor is a cumulation of the previous 3 factors. Based on the findings of (a) the source's credibility; (b) the intent of the mention; and (c) the ultimate target audience, the PR Professional then draws a conclusion on the effect of the mention. As a guide, the PR Professional will make an asessment based on the impact to the organisation and the probability that stakeholders will believe the mention. The PR Professional can then use the following 2x2 matrix to determine whether the organisation should respond to the mention, and if so, the approach to take.

Response. In general, there are 4 possible responses that an organisation that adopt towards a negative mention. They are direct refutation, indirect refutation, forestalling and silence. My advise to PR Professionals are as follows:

Quadrant A. For mentions that have a high probability of being believed and once believed, is likely to have a high impact on the organisation, PR Professionals should directly refute the mention. In this response, the organisation goes on the “offensive” and actively disputes the mention. For example, to address a customer complaint of poor service, the organisation will dispute the customer's story point by point.

Quadrant B. In this scenario where the mention is assessed to have a low impact on the organisation but likely to be believed by the stakeholders, the appropriate response is an indirect refutation. Using the above example of poor service, in the indirect approach, the organisation will issue a response (on the same platform) citing third party endorsement of its good customer service. Essentially, the organisation addresses the mention by playing up facts that contradicts the mention.

Quadrant C. In this third quadrant, the assessment is that the impact is likely to be high but unlikely to be believed by the stakeholders. Here, the organisation's best approach to forestall. In this approach, the organisation does nothing to address the mention, but monitors it and take precautionary measures to mitigate a crisis. News releases, third-party endorsements and a preliminary crisis management plan are readied for immediate implementation in the event the mention evolves into a crisis.

Quadrant D. In this fourth quadrant, the assessment is that the mention is unlikely to be believed and even if it is, the impact on the organisation is low. As such, the appropriate approach for the organisation in this scenario is one of silence where the organisation chooses to ignore the mention and carry on with operations as per normal.

The use of the above SCAER framework is a basic model to aid PR Professionals in addressing mentions in blogs and forums. Used correctly, the framework will allow any organisation the ability to quickly assess and, if necessary, to deal with the countless mentions in cyber-space.

John Galliano's Outburst: Racist Rant Crisis

2011-03-10T23:52:00.001+08:00

Christian Dior's British Creative Designer, John Galliano, was fired from his post after a video of his racist rant was circulated on the Internet. Galliano now faces criminal charges for his comments which are illegal in France.

In efforts to mitigate the fall-out from his outburst, Galliano issued an apology and denial through his lawyers after remaining silent on the matter for days. In his statement, Galliano stated that he “completely denies the claims made against him and that he has fully co-operated with police investigations.” He continued that he “took responsibility for the circumstances in which he found himself and for allowing himself to be seen to be behaving in the worst possible light.” Crisis management experts, like Davia Temin of Temin and Company, however believe that Galliano's response is inadequate to address stakeholders anger as according to Temin, apologies must not only be authentic and sincere but must be “in proportion” to the wrong committed.

In this post, I will not comment on Galliano's failure to issue an open, timely and 100% truthful response to the crisis. Instead, I will focus my blog on proposing what Galliano's can do to manage this crisis.

According to the Framework I use, the first step is to determine if Galliano is indeed responsible for the crisis. Unfortunately based on the “citizen journalist” video of his ranting, it is painfully obvious that Galliano is. Thus, Galliano has only two possible Crisis Response Strategies (CSR) to adopt – he can either diffuse or share responsibility, or he can accept responsibility.

As there are perceptions of an alleged pattern to his anti-Semitic behaviour (a Geraldine Bloch has lodged a police report that Galliano had threatened to kill her pal Philippe Virgitti in La Perle Bar, and that he had called her a "dirty Jew face") a diffuse/ share CRS in this scenario would not work. This leaves Galliano with the only CSR of accept responsibility and help stakeholders to manage their anger towards him.

Thus, in this case, Galliano should (a) make a full and unreserved apology for his actions; (b) accept personal responsibility for his actions and its consequences; and (c) undertake actions to demonstrate his sincerity to make things right. The former two can be done via a Press Conference, while the third could entail actions like volunteering to undergo anger management therapy, making a personal (but public) apology to the victims of his actions, or even dedicating himself to work with Holocaust survivors. Galliano's CRS's Theme is to make him "human" in the eyes of the stakeholders.

If done correctly, Galliano could join the likes of Kate Moss who emerged from her cocaine snorting crisis earning more money than ever.

Israeli Gaza Flotilla Raid Ignites War on Wikipedia

2011-03-04T23:54:00.001+08:00

Building on my recent blog posting, where I advocated that PR Professionals should not ignore the effect of Wikipedia in crisis communications, an analysis of the Israeli raid on the MV Mavi Marmara on 31 May 2010 provides evidence to substantiate my position.

During that crisis, which is widely known as the Gaza Flotilla Raid, Israeli naval commandos raided 6 ships of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. During the raid, clashes broke out on the MV Mavi Marmara which resulted in the deaths of 9 activists and the wounding of dozens of activists and 7 Israeli commandos

Within an hour of the incident, the first entry on the incident appeared on Wikipedia and, according to Wikipedia's statistics function, the entry received over 80,000 hits and close to 1,500 edits within the first 24 hours. This then peaked in Jun where 4,000 edits were recorded and over 180,000 views.

Thus, as I have advocated earlier, PR Professionals cannot afford to neglect Wikipedia as an important communications platform. The statistics from the Gaza Flotilla Raid proves that in a crisis, stakeholders will rely on Wikipedia as a source of information. PR Professionals must therefore dedicate resources to monitor and "fight" the Wiki-War.

Short Survey on the Credibility of Online News Sources

2011-03-01T22:58:00.001+08:00

The promulgation of the Internet and New Media has changed the way individuals stay updated on the latest News. In order to better understand the impact of these changes, kindly complete the following survey. This survey comprises only 6 questions and should take you no more than 2 minutes to complete.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KN2YVJT

Thank-you for your participation.

Top Surgeon Dr Susan Lim Investigated by Singapore Medical Council (SMC) for Overcharging

2011-03-01T07:35:00.000+08:00

On 24 Feb 2011, Singapore's The Straits Times commenced its coverage of the High Court case between Dr Susan Lim and the Singapore Medical Council (SMC). The case revolves around Dr Lim's attempt to block the SMC from appointing a second disciplinary committee to investigate allegations by Singapore's Ministry of Health that she had abused the trust placed in her by the patient trust to overcharge her.

I will leave my comments on Dr Lim's approach for another blog posting. For today however, I would like to highlight the importance of Wikipedia.

In my earlier blog post titled "not all websites are created equal", I argued that PR Professionals needed that closely monitor the postings of influential websites. This was important as these are websites have the power to sway public opinion and Wikipedia is one such website.

In my opinion, Wikipedia's influence is based on three factors: (a) its high-ranking in search engines; (b) its massive "knowledge based" covering practically any topic under the sun; and (c) its reputation as being a credible source of information. In Dr Lim's case, a search of "Dr Susan Lim" on google returns a Wikipedia link on her within the top 10. Clicking on the link then brings us to a biography of Dr Lim. Interestingly, the biography ends with a paragraph stating that she was accused in Feb 2011 of overcharging her patient and that she had offered to "waive the entire bill if the patient's family would withdraw their complaint but the family did not agree to do."

From what I have read in the main stream news, this last statement has not been proven. Hence, to the casual reader, this statement in a "credible" source like Wikipedia would give the perception that it is true and that Dr Lim is indeed guilty of overcharging.

My point to PR Professionals is this. The organisations and the CEOs you work for are likely to have Wikipedia pages like Dr Lim's. Hence, it is essential during any crisis to ensure that the "facts" as reported on Wikipedia is accurate and if it is not, to refute it. The influence of Wikipedia cannot be ignored and PR Professionals must not neglect to communicate to stakeholders via this platform.

Crisis Communications Tip: Not All Websites Are Created Equal

2011-02-26T09:12:00.000+08:00

In my 25 Feb 11 blog posting, I advocated that PR Professionals must prioritise their attention when dealing with news agency according to the permanency of the medium. Related to this prioritisation, the PR Professional must also prioritise their attention according to the agency's “influence” with regards to their target audience. This prioritisation is important as the effect of citizen journalism allows an almost infinite number of Internet postings on your company in cyberspace. And with finite resources, PR departments cannot not possibly respond to all.

So how should PR Professionals prioritise their attention? Malcolm Gladwell's book The Tipping Point offers one possible framework.

According to Gladwell, messages spread like viruses due to the involvement of 3 particular types of people which he named connectors, mavens and salesmen. Broadly speaking, connectors are people with the ability to bring people together; mavens those who others rely upon for new information; and salesmen are those with the ability to persuade.

In any industry, there will be bloggers that meet the above 3 criteria – usually only a handful. Once identified, besides monitoring their daily postings (to forestall any potential crisis), PR Professionals should pro-actively engage these bloggers with the aim of making them into Ambassadors for the company. If this is not possible, then at least with the alternate aim of establishing a direct channel to the company so that the blogger can verify information before publishing negative things online.

In the infinite world of social media, not all websites are created equal. PR Professionals need to and, in my opinion can, exert some degree of influence. All it takes is some prioritisation and dedicated effort.

Importance of Getting it Right

2011-02-25T23:34:00.000+08:00

In a recent conversation with a former journalist for a Singapore main stream newspaper, the journalist agreed with my research findings that it was imperative that a company's crisis communication plan include an Internet presence. This is because anything published on the Internet will be cached and remain available indefinitely.

The former journalist cited his professional experience where media like radio and television almost never issue corrections, while newspapers did. This he attributed to the "permanency" of the medium. In the case of radio and television, new (and correct) news would "replace" the older wrong one, while in the case of newspaper, once a story is published, it would remain "correct" unless otherwise corrected.

This need for clarification is even more critical in new media as powerful search engines will display all relevant information indexed for the ease of the reader. Hence, without a clarification, or a deliberate attempt to get the company's side of the story out, future readers may get the wrong impression.

To me, the key take-away for PR Professionals is this.

As PR Professionals, we must always ensure that journalists publish an accurate story about the company we represent. We however need to prioritise the importance of each medium and give it the appropriate attention. In the case of less permanent media, we must be pro-active upfront to ensure that the journalists gets the story straight. However, once a mistake has been made, we should request a clarification (for legal record), but then not lose any sleep if the news agency does not issue a correction. In the case of more permanent media, we can be less pro-active upfront, but once an error is detected, we need to strongly pursue the publication of a clarification to set the record straight.

iPhone Crisis: AntennaGate

2011-02-17T00:06:00.001+08:00

In a 16 February 2011 post on hbr.org, Joshua Gans blogged that Apple broke 5 key Public Relations (PR) Rules with regards to AntennaGate and yet came up smelling like roses. In Joshua's opinion, Apple (a) did not apologise and take full responsibility; (b) created expectations with a media event; (c) did not announce the “give away” first; (d) made specific comparisons to their competitors; and (e) aired the industry's dark secrets in public.

My personal assessment however differs from Joshua's.

In one of my early blog postings on a Framework for Crisis Communications, I made reference to Bernard Weiner's research on attribution theory which links “accountability” to stakeholders' perceptions of responsibility for the crisis. Thus, depending on whether stakeholders felt that the crisis was caused by Apple, was something which Apple could reasonably have predicted to occur, and whether it was within Apple's ability to prevent it, different levels of responsibility would be levelled against Apple. Then, depending on the root cause of the crisis, Apple could then adopt one of 4 Crisis Management Strategies to manage it – deny, redirect, diffuse and accept.

In the case of AntennaGate, Apple's investigations revealed that the root cause of the crisis was not the design of the iPhone, but a physical limitations of existing antennae technology. Apple, then adopted the Crisis Management Strategy of Diffusing responsibility with other phone makers. If we overlay Apple's response to this strategy, Apple did not break any PR “rules” as pointed out by Joshua. Apple's refusal to apologise, decision to hold a press conference, their specific comparison to competitors, decision not to play-up their free give-away and their decision to air the industry's dark secrets all fit the strategy of diffusing responsibility.

Hence, if Apple has indeed been successful in riding out this crisis, in my opinion, Apple did not break any Public Relation rules, but adopted the correct crisis management strategy for the situation.

Social Media and the Media Cycle

2011-02-12T12:38:00.000+08:00

At a recent workshop, the issue of timely updating of stakeholders was raised. The executive essentially questioned the notion that an organisation can be faster than a citizen journalist. Her argument was based on the fact that citizen journalists are not obliged to verify the accuracy of the facts before posting it online, while an organisation attempting to stay ahead of the media cycle is.

Participants at the workshop as a whole agreed that organisations are at a disadvantage. They however agreed that staying ahead of the media cycle did not mean that they had to gather all the facts before responding to the incident. In time critical situations, a simple statement (a) acknowledging the incident; (b) giving some factual information about the incident; and (c) stating that the organisation was investigating is sufficient.

Hence, in the time sensitive era of social media, the old approach of responding only after gathering all the facts is no longer valid. Organisations must now be prepared to issue 2-tiered media responses to incidents.

Refer to my earlier blog posting for one possible decision matrix on "to respond or not to respond."

Net Presence: Platform for Credible Crisis Communications

2011-02-03T12:07:00.002+08:00

I read an interesting blog posting by Alexandra Samuel on HBR.Org titled "when to stop and when to keep going with your social media strategy." In his blog posting, Alexandra mentioned that the lack of a "gate keeper" allows genuine feedback about an organization's product and service to be raised. In this context, organizations that truly want to improve their offerings should not shun or fear these feedback, but embrace it as a tool to stay ahead of the competition.

Alexandra's posting resonates with me as in many of my discussions with crisis communications managers, my advocacy for a net presence (as part of building a credible source for breaking news) is often rejected. The reason is a rationalization that the day to day problems such a net presence will surface will outweigh any benefits that it can bring in a crisis.

Hence, the key lesson for me is that a net presence provides an organization two main benefits - a valuable source of unadulterated feedback to improve its product and services, and a credible platform for crisis communications. Any organization that fears a net presence as the "cons outweigh the pros" is therefore throwing the baby out with the water.

Egypt Unrest: The Rallying Effect of Social Media

2011-01-28T19:41:00.002+08:00

CNN.Com carried a report today on how protesters in Tunisia and Egypt are using social media to communicate, inform and organise themselves. This “rallying effect” of social media was one of two new dimensions of social media I identified in my earlier research.

Since the Greek Riot of 2008, where researchers first observed the rallying effect, social media's effectiveness as a rallying tool for social movement has increased significantly. This is attributed to the proliferation of mobile phone versions of social networking tools which now enable users can now stay connected to their network 24/7 and from anywhere in the world.

Authorities are therefore rightly concerned over the potential for abuse by individuals or organisations with ill intent.

It was reported that Egypt's attempts to block Internet traffic has had limited success. This is because the nature of the Internet makes it amorphous and practically impossible to block. So what then can authorities do to counter the rallying effect?

The answer lies in raising their own army of ambassadors. In a world where social networks can grow in size to tens of thousands, it is impossible and unrealistic for any government to employ sufficient number of PR or crisis communicators to address all the negative information on the Internet. The only sustainable option is for governments to communicate and engage with their stakeholders to convert them into ambassadors of the government. These ambassadors must be proactively engaged by officials to ensure their understanding of the government's position on matters, rationale for policies, and limitations to adequately address all the concerns of all the citizens all of the time. This clearer understanding of the government's position and thinking will then enable the ambassadors to "speak up" as third-party endorsements for the government to counter negative information.

In addition, as social media becomes even more pervasive, governments should begin educating their citizens on the dangers of being manipulated by individuals or organisations with ill intent.

Hence, as I have said many times in this blog, communication is the key to winning the battle for social media.

Does Open Sharing of Crisis Communication Strategies Affect its Effectiveness?

2011-01-23T18:09:00.000+08:00

While sharing the crisis communications framework with a group of executives at a workshop recently, I was asked whether revealing the "mechanism" behind crisis communications would limit its effectiveness. After all, if stakeholders knew what you were trying to do, wouldn't they view your Messages with skepticism?

My answer was simple. All crisis communications is based on truth. And as the model suggests, the organisation's failure to gain the information initiative has allowed the crisis to take on a life of it own. As a result, the organization has either been falsely or maliciously attributed with responsibility. Thus, if the organisation's crisis communication's Messages are aimed at (a) correcting false or malicious perceptions; and (b) helping stakeholders to better cope with the crisis, rational stakeholders would welcome the act.

A simple analogy is the sales process. Every customer knows that the salesperson is not being friendly for nothing. The salesperson is doing it with the clear intent of making a sale. Knowing the salesperson's intent in no way changes the sales process. The savvy customer still purchases only when the product meets his needs. No matter how friendly the salesperson, if the product does not meet the customers' needs, the customer is unlikely to buy.

The same is true in the crisis communications process.

Prime Minister wants The Online Citizen Gazetted as Political Association

2011-01-15T10:30:00.003+08:00

On 10 January, the Prime Minister's Office of Singapore revealed its intention to gazette the website, The Online Citizen, as a political association. As a political association, The Online Citizen will be barred from receiving funds from foreign donors or allow foreigners to take part in its events. The gazette, the Prime Minister's Office explained, is necessary to prevent foreigners from interfering in Singapore's domestic politics as the website has the potential to influence and shape political outcomes.

From the perspective of crisis communications in the era of social media, I find the move by the Prime Minister's Office counter-productive.

Firstly, blogs or websites without the complementing "brick and mortar" element or a defined organisation structure are just websites. Even with a large following, netizens accept the views expressed on the website with some scepticism. The Prime Minister's Office move to gazette the website has effectively legitimised the contents over-night. And, based on the curiosity effect, I am certain that viewership of The Online Citizen has significantly increased since the announcement.

Secondly, in the era of social media, no country or entity can completely eliminate dissenting voices. Take the recent cablegate by wikileaks as a case in point. The Online Citizen is only one of many websites out in cyberspace than can easily and effectively morph itself to keep ahead of the government's efforts to "control" it. Hence, as I have advocated in some of my earlier blog postings, stakeholder engagement and not stakeholder censorship is the more effective approach to managing social media.

In short, while I can understand the Singapore government's need to prevent foreign influence in domestic politics (i.e. foreigners' agendas may not be in Singaporeans best interest), I feel that the Singapore government's approach is off the mark. In the era of social media, stakeholder engagement and not stakeholder censorship is the key to winning the battle for cyberspace.

Framework for Crisis Management (Part 2)

2011-01-12T22:13:00.001+08:00

According to Bernard Weiner's research, locus of control refers to the perception of whether the crisis was caused by the organisation or the situation; stability whether the factors contributing to the crisis was predictable; and controllability whether the organisation could have acted to prevent it. Thus, if the crisis was caused by the organisation, was something which the organisation could reasonably have predicted to occur, and was within the ability of the organisation to prevent, then attribution of responsibility would be high.

Depending on the cause of the crisis and the extent to which the organisation is responsible/ culpable, the crisis communicator can conceptually adopt 1 of 4 crisis response strategies. Where there is no culpability, the organisation can either deny responsibility or redirect responsibility, while in scenarios where the organisation has culpability, the organisation can either diffuse/ share responsibility or accept responsibility. The key in any of these strategies, or any other variations of them, is that the crisis communication Message must target at least 1, or all 3, of the dimensions.

Deny Strategy. In this strategy, investigations would have determined that the organisation was not responsible for the crisis and that the exact cause is unknown. Unfortunately, due to false or malicious attribution, the organisation is perceived by stakeholders to be culpable. The crisis communication Message in this scenario must therefore (a) directly refute the source of the false (or malicious) attribution; and (b) demonstrate to the stakeholders how the crisis was caused by an external party or event, was something that the organisation could not have predicted, and that there was nothing that the organisation could have reasonably done to prevent it. The key focus of this strategy is show that the organisation is also a “victim” of the crisis.

Redirect Responsibility. This second strategy is usually employed in scenarios where the cause is not the organisation but another entity. Similar to the former scenario, false or malicious attribution have made stakeholders perceive the organisation as culpable. Thus, the crisis communication Message would be to state the facts surrounding the crisis to guide stakeholders to the “correct” cause of the crisis. This entails providing verifiable evidence that the cause was external, that the external entity had prior knowledge of the potential for the crisis, and that the organisation was powerless to prevent the crisis. In this redirect strategy, the organisation must explicitly guide stakeholders to hold another entity responsible. The key focus of this strategy, similar to the former, is show that the organisation is also a “victim” of the crisis.

Diffuse/ Share Responsibility. In this third strategy, investigations would have shown that the organisation was partly responsible for the crisis. Thus, in this scenario, the crisis communication Message would be to guide stakeholders' perception to the fact that the crisis was triggered by an external entity, that an external entity's actions had prevented the organisation from foreseeing the crisis, and that both parties' failure to act contributed to the crisis. The key focus of this strategy is demonstrate the complexity of the crisis and that the organisation, on its own, could not have foreseen or prevented it.

Accept Responsibility. In this fourth strategy, investigations would have shown that the organisation was fully responsible for the crisis. Here, the crisis communication Message would be to accept responsibility for the crisis and focus on providing information to help the stakeholders deal with their anger towards the organisation. Common tactics used in this strategy are punishing the perpetrator, seeking forgiveness from stakeholders or even compensating the victims. The key focus of this strategy is to shift stakeholders' emotions along from anger to neutrality and eventually to sympathy.

In all of the above strategies, crisis communicators should incorporate Messages to reinforce and build upon the espoused Vision and/ or Values of the organisation. Done properly, crisis are excellent opportunities to enhance brand value.

Framework for Crisis Management (Part 1)

2011-01-08T14:51:00.001+08:00

Building upon my earlier post on what I concluded was the Essence of Crisis Communications, I will now offer (over a series of blog postings) a possible framework upon which crisis communicators can develop their crisis response strategies.

However, before we go into the framework, I must emphasize that all crisis communications must be based on 100% truth. This is because we now operate in a perfect information environment where lies and partial truth will be found out. And once this occurs, the impact to the organisation's reputation is likely to be worse than any initial admission of responsibility. Hence, the first step in a crisis is to determine the truth behind the crisis to determine who is responsible for the crisis.

Thereafter, once the cause of the crisis has been determined, the crisis communicator will then develop a crisis response strategy to guide stakeholders' perceptions of responsibility to the “correct” cause. This is done via specific efforts to influence stakeholders' perception of the dimensions related to locus of control, stability and controllability of the crisis. The theory is that changes in one, or all three, of these dimensions will result in a different attribution of perceived responsibility.

The Essence of Crisis Communications

2011-01-06T23:11:00.002+08:00

During a recent Awareness Workshop I conducted on Crisis Communications in the Era of Social Media, I was asked by a participant if crisis communications could be defined in one word.

After some reflection, I answered "attribution" or, more specifically, "attributing responsibility". This to me most accurately sums up the entire purpose and, for that matter, process of crisis communication.

According to research by Bernard Weiner, when a crisis erupts, stakeholders will seek to attribute responsibility. Then depending on factors like locus of control, stability and controllability, the stronger the perceived link between the crisis and the organisation, the greater the attribution of responsibility.

Thus, at its essence, crisis communication is about guiding stakeholders to hold the "correct" cause responsible for the crisis. And if the organisation is the cause, to help stakeholders to deal with their anger in a manner that does not adversely affect the organisation.

United States Navy (USN) Investigates Raunchy Videos with Anti-Gay Remarks

2011-01-03T23:57:00.003+08:00

CNN today reported that the United States Navy (USN) has launched an investigation into how a series of raunchy videos (full of sexual innuendo and anti-gay remarks) were produced and shown to the crew of the USS Enterprise in 2006 and 2007. The existence of these videos were made public last Saturday by The Virginian-Pilot (a newspaper in Norfolk, Virginia).

In response to the crisis, the Navy issued a statement on Saturday saying that (a) the production of videos, like the ones shown on the USS Enterprise, was not acceptable then and are still not acceptable in today's Navy; (b) the Navy does not endorse or condone these kinds of actions and that leadership had "put a stop" to the inappropriate content on the Enterprise several years ago; and (c) that it is "unfortunate" that copies of these videos remained accessible to crew members especially after leadership took actions 4 years ago.

In view of the recent controversial repealing of the Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT) policy by President Obama, the Navy was quick to realise that they had a crisis on their hands. In addition, the Navy was also astute in their assessment that the videos were likely "leaked" by an insider and that the media would thus have "perfect information" on all facts related to the videos. Hence, based on this assessment, the Navy's initial crisis response was to be timely and 100% truthful in acknowledging the incident.

After the initial response, the Navy then sought to contain the crisis by using the twin crisis response strategies of (a) minimising the crisis by demonstration that they are in control. This they did by highlighting that they were "aware of the incident" and had "taken action 4 years ago"; and (b) seeking stakeholder sympathy by hinting that the Navy was a "victim" i.e. someone had deliberately "leaked" the old videos.

In critiquing the Navy's crisis communication strategy, I feel that the Navy failed to do a proper stakeholder analysis to identify the main stakeholder concern(s). In my assessment, with the current controversy over the repealing of the DADT policy, the main stakeholder concern is that anti-gay slurs are condoned by the highest levels in the Navy. If my assessment is correct, the Navy's current response of "we already took actions" is grossly off the mark and will further fuel the crisis. After all, how can the Navy claim to have taken action, when the primary actor in the inappropriate videos was promoted to assume 1 of only 11 coveted commands within the Navy.

Hence, the key lesson for crisis communicators from this crisis is that the media will shape what stakeholders think about, why stakeholders think about it, and how stakeholders think about it. To be effective in crafting crisis communication Messages, crisis communicators must first seek to correctly identify stakeholders' main concern. Failing to do so, may prove disastrous.

Let's see if my assessment is correct.

David Beckham Fights Back Over Irma Nici's Sex Scandal

2011-01-01T14:27:00.001+08:00

The print edition of Singapore's The Straits Times today reported that David Beckham has officially filed a US$25m lawsuit against Irma Nici (the sex worker who claims that Beckham has a threesome with her and another brunette at the Claridges Hotel in London) and the publishers of In Touch Weekly magazine (who ran the story in Sep 10). In court documents Beckham has declared that “he has never met Irma Nici and never involved in sex with her” and that her “statements have caused stress to his family”. This is the latest in a series of sex scandals that have been linked to Beckham.

From a crisis communications perspective, it is clear that Beckham's reputation in the area of marital fidelity is not favourable. Thus, it is likely that any accusations against him is perceived as highly plausible by stakeholders. What is interesting is that the scandal does not seem to be affecting Beckham's brand image. On the contrary, the continued media attention only serves to keep him in the limelight and, in my opinion, add to his brand image. Hence, the decision to seek legal recourse, and what will be a very public court case, is a shrewd public relations move by Beckham.

Beckham's crisis response strategy must therefore be viewed in the context as one designed to gained publicity (and win a lawsuit) and not one in which the intention is to repair his reputation and brand image.

Effective Goal Setting for 2011

2010-12-30T16:46:00.004+08:00

Dear Readers,

As we prepare to usher in the new year, many of us will be reflecting on our past and setting new goals for 2011. Appended below is an article I wrote on effective goal setting which I hope you'll find useful.

Happy 2011 and may all your dreams and wishes come true!

CW Fong

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Effective Goal Setting

In any journey, knowing the destination is logically the beginning. Unfortunately, in their journey to success, few people start with the destination in mind. Without this focus or established goal the journey will be fraught with many pointless and unnecessary detours and reversals.

Goals then are the compass that provides direction and purpose to our actions. However, merely having goals is equivalent to merely possessing the compass. Knowing how-to set goals is then equivalent to possessing the knowledge and skill to using the compass proficiently.

To be functional, goals must be SMART. SMART being the acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-specific. Satisfying these five criteria alone is however not enough. In order for goals to be powerful and compelling, they must also fulfill the following conditions …

Step One: Know the Sacrifices and Higher Purpose

In the pursuit of any goal there will be sacrifices that need to be made. It is therefore important that after setting your goal, you then question your own willingness to make the necessary sacrifices to achieve it. If by doing so you find that you are unwilling to make the required sacrifices, you can then either choose not pursue the goal, or adjust it such that the sacrifices are ones you are willing to make. Once you have decided what you are willing to sacrifice, you have in effect made a commitment to achieving this goal.

In line with this, it is also necessary that you seek to understand the higher purpose you have for setting this particular goal. To do this, you simply ask yourself the question, “What is important about achieving this goal?” Repeatedly asking yourself this question, you will reveal the higher meaning of why you want to achieve this goal. It is this higher meaning that, more often than not, will give you the more compelling reason to achieve your goal.

Step Two: Collect Evidence and Retain Control

As part of setting well-formed goals, you must also define specific “evidence” of you achieving or, at least, moving towards your goal. This is an important step in the process as it serves the twin purpose of motivation and feedback. Motivation in the sense that nothing motivates you more than seeing yourself succeeding; and feedback in the sense that it is important to know if what you are doing is putting you on track to achieving your goal. If it is not, then adjustments to your plans can be made.

In addition, stated goals must also be those within your control. In life, there are many things that are beyond our control. Setting goals that depend on others or nature’s compliance is futile and is doomed to failure. Instead, goals must be focused on what we can control. We may not be able to control how someone else responds, however we can control our own behavior such that it increases the chance of the other person responding the way we want. In other words, the process is within your control and the outcome is not. You must trust that if you follow the process, you will get the desired outcome. This is a goal that is within your control.

Step Three: Use Self-to-Self Comparisons

The third condition to setting compelling goals is to use self-to-self comparison. No matter what we want to believe, in life no two persons start from the same point. Comparing ourselves to others, especially in the initial stages of our journey, often leads to discouragement. It is more important, and useful, to do self-to-self comparisons to judge your progress, or success, based on where you were and where you are now. Save the self-to-others comparison till you have had a reasonable time to progress.

Rest assured, that by adopting and adhering to the concept of Never-Ending Process of Improvement (where you constantly and relentless improve daily no matter how small the improvement), you will soon be comparing yourself with the best.

Conclusion

Many people know how to set goals, however, few achieve their goals as there is more to it than being SMART. Keep in mind these three conditions and you will be on your way to success. So go ahead. Set those goals and achieve it!

TSA vs The Patroit Pilot: Chris Liu Whistleblower Pilot

2010-12-28T21:57:00.001+08:00

CNN today reported the on-going controversy between the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Chris Liu's (The Patriot Pilot) personal crusade to expose the nation's faulty airport security.

In response to Liu's claims that security at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) was a “farce”, the airport responded by (a) claiming that Chris Liu has presented “false and misleading information;" (b) clarifying that the door in Liu's video led only to an employee lunchroom and not the main airfield as Liu had suggested; and (c) stating that “San Francisco International Airport is proud to both an innovator and a trendsetter in aviation security," and that "SFO meets, and in many cases, exceeds every federal security requirement."

In responding to this potential crisis, the TSA appears to have adopted the standard twin crisis response strategies of (a) denying the existence of a crisis by “attacking the credibility” of Chris Liu; and (b) bolstering the organisation's reputation by “benchmarking SFO against federal requirements”. Using comments posted on CNN's website in response to this article as a measure of effectiveness, it appears that the TSA's approach has been effective in containing this crisis. Discontent with TSA, while present, appear to be a follow-on from their earlier poor handling of the enhanced pat-downs and full-body scanner image controversy.

Well done TSA!

The Velcro Effect: When is Enough Enough

2010-12-27T23:00:00.000+08:00

I came across an interesting 2001 study, conducted by Coombs (the father of Situational Crisis Communications Theory) and Holladay, that showed an organisation's failure to properly handle a past crisis causes stakeholders to perceive the organisation as having more responsibility when a new crisis erupts. Interestingly, the same study showed that a favourable reputation (gained from the handling of a previous crisis or from other Public Relations efforts) is no better than a neutral reputation. This effect where a negative reputation “attracts and snags additional reputational damage” is known as the Velcro Effect.

So what can PR Managers and Crisis Communicators learn from this study?

Firstly, and most obviously, all crisis must be properly managed. Failure to do so will put the organisation at a disadvantage when another crisis occurs.

Secondly, and less obvious, is that in the event a crisis is managed poorly, efforts need to be made to repair the organisation's reputation. However, since empirical evidence show that there is no difference between a favourable reputation and a neutral reputation, PR Managers and Crisis Communicators can reasonable cap their efforts at returning the company's reputation to “neutral” and hence refrain from unnecessarily expanding resources where no advantage is to be gained.

All companies exist for the purpose of maximising shareholder returns. As such PR Managers and Crisis Communicators must constantly keep the company's bottom-line in mind and tailor their PR and Crisis Communication Plans accordingly.

Crisis Communications: Singapore Teaching Scholar Jonathan Wong Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Charges

2010-12-21T14:40:00.004+08:00

Singapore's The Straits Times today reported that Jonathan Wong received a suspended 2 year sentence for possessing child pornography videos. People interviewed by The Straits Times expressed mixed views on the severity of the sentence, with most being surprised (and outraged) by the leniency.

Rebuilding his Life

From a crisis communications perspective, the next question is how does Jonathan Wong rebuild his life. As I have mentioned in an earlier post, in the era of social media, the approach of avoiding media attention in the hopes of allowing public scrutiny to fade is no longer an option. Internet reports by news agencies and blogs (like this) will ensure that the issue remains "alive" for a long time to come. And the longer Jonathan remains silent on the issue, the greater the information balance will tilt towards the negative. As I have opined before, Jonathan Wong must tell his side of the story.

As a crisis communicator, my advice to Jonathan Wong is that he must address the public perception of him. Due to his silence on the issue, the stereotype of someone like him being a "monster" or "social deviant" has shaped public perception - this is demonstrated by public outrage on the perceived light punishment meted out to him. Jonathan should therefore seek to "humanise" himself by expressing remorse, showing contrition and generally showing the public that he is just a human as them. In addition, if Jonathan can also show how his family and friends are standing with, and helping, him work through this crisis, it will encourage others to come out to show support. In essence, Jonathan should reframe the issue to one where (a) "everyone makes a mistake"; and (b) "where remorse or contrition or punishment has been meted out, offenders should be given a yellow-ribbon.

In short, while everything seems stacked against Jonathan at this moment, all is not lost. Jonathan can rebuild his life by engaging the media and "humanising" himself to the stakeholders.

Press Release: Timing is Everything

2010-12-17T08:44:00.002+08:00

In issuing a Press Release, an often overlooked consideration is the timing. Timing is important as the mainstream media (MSM) has a finite amount of print space, and depending on whatever else is considered newsworthy on that day, may add or subtract from your Message.

I know that I have said in an earlier post that delaying the Press Release in the hopes of having another crisis mask yours is not advisable. That however does not mean that you should not capitalize on opportunities. My earlier statement is made in the context that a long delay in being "open" about your crisis is dangerous as leaks may put you on the information defensive.

Using the Jonathan Wong (MOE Scholar Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Charges) case as an illustration, assuming the MOE wanted to announce more information about the case but knew that the MSM would be reporting another incident of a teacher being charged in court for sending lewd messages to a student, it would be unwise for the MOE to release it on the same day. Having "two incidents" will allude to a pattern which will be damaging for the MOE. The MOE would be wise to delay the release by about a week, or seek to time the release with another on-going crisis i.e. Singapore's comments on its neighbors as revealed on WikiLeaks.

Hence, in my opinion, PR Professionals must (a) always consider timing when planning a Press Release; and (b) balance the need for being "open", with the need to control the crisis.

Delivering the Truth is the Duty of the PR Professional

2010-12-16T22:56:00.001+08:00

In response to my earlier post on the Pierre Png road rage incident, I received a comment that PR Professionals are not interested in the truth.

While I can understand the reader's perspective, I am afraid that delivering the truth is the duty of the PR Professional. This is because social media has created a perfect information environment in which nothing stays hidden forever. Any PR Professional that encourages, or allows, his client to be less than truthful is being irresponsible.

So if PR Professionals only deal in the truth, why then do we need them?

The answer is simple. While the truth will always reveal itself, unfortunately the manner in which is does is not predictable. Leaving it to chance may then result in the "truth" taking on a life of its own and going off in tangents that are not beneficial to the company. In some instances, minor incidents may be blown out of proportion and result in the destruction of the company's reputation and brand image.

Hence, in the era of social media, the PR Professionals' role is to deliver the truth in a controlled manner with the interest of the company and its stakeholders in mind. Delivering the truth is thus the duty of the PR Professional.

Red Cross finds $90k has gone missing

2010-12-13T22:37:00.005+08:00

On 6 Dec 2010, the Singapore Red Cross Society (SRCS) reported that one of its employee had misappropriated $90,000. In a positive example of how crisis communications in the era of social media should be done, the SRCS' response incorporated the 5 essential elements of an effective crisis communications plan. As a result of their effective response, Asia One News reported on 8 Dec that "donors here remain confident in the charitable efforts of the Singapore Red Cross Society."

Firstly, the SRCS was timely and open in managing this crisis. The SRCS made the police report on 3 Dec (Fri) and the SRCS issued a press release on 5 Dec (Sun). Secondly, the SRCS was 100% truthful about the circumstances leading to the misappropriation and accepted responsibility for the error. Thirdly, the SRCS ensured that their message was broadly communicated and that it had an Internet presence. This was engendered via the issuing of a press release and then following up with the posting of an open letter of apology by it Secretary General on the Society's website.

The SCRS' crisis communication plan allowed the Society to successful gain the information initiative. By doing so, the Society (a) established/ reinforced its credibility in the eyes of stakeholders; (b) allowed the Society to frame the incident as a one-off lapse; and (c) prevented the crisis from spiraling out of control via a lack of information. The SRCS' handling of this crisis is a classic example of how crisis communications, when done correctly, can mitigate any negative fall-out.

If there is however one thing that the SRCS could have done better, it is to capitalise on this opportunity to reinforce its brand image. This the SRCS could have done by simply incorporating the Society's Vision or Values into the various Messages being released.

Overall, a job well done for the crisis communication team at the SRCS.

Wikileaks: U.S. Agencies Warn Unauthorized Employees not to look at WikiLeaks

2010-12-05T14:33:00.001+08:00

On 3 Dec 2010, CNN reported that the White House Office of Management and Budget sent a memo "forbidding unauthorized federal government employees and contractors from accessing classified documents publicly available on WikiLeaks and other websites using computers or devices like BlackBerrys and smart phones." The memo stated that the publishing by WikiLeaks does "not alter the documents' classified status or automatically result in declassification of the documents. To the contrary, classified information, whether or not already posted on public websites or disclosed to the media remains classified, and must be treated as such by federal employees and contractors, until it is declassified by an appropriate U.S. Government authority."

While I can understand the US Government's legal intent to continue to maintain the security classification of the documents and hence maintain its case against Julian Assange, I think the approach of forbidding federal government employees and contractors from viewing the cables is an epic crisis communication mistake. This is because, like it or not, the information is already out there and instead of using finite resources to restrict employee usage, the US Government should instead be capitalising on it.

My proposal is simple. To win the battle for social media, the US Government must focus on achieving two things - (a) gaining and maintaining the information initiative; and (b) dominating the blogosphere by having information superiority. To do this, the US Government needs to embrace their employees (especially their employee bloggers) and convert them into "ambassadors" for the US Government. In this instance, federal government employees and contractors should be proactively engaged by their senior management to ensure their understanding of the principles and values of the US Government, the Government's political and military objectives, the context within which the memos were written. It is only with this clearer understanding of "management's thinking" will federal government employees and contractors be able to "speak up" (as third-party endorsements) and explain the rationale for the US Government's actions.

In addition, if the US Government's employee blogger numbers are large and their blogs well followed, their postings will then enable the US Government to gain the information initiative while simultaneously "drowning out" the anti-establishment voices giving the US Government information superiority in this crisis.

Hence, as I have advocated before in my earlier posts, I strongly believe that Internal Communications, and not Internal Censorship, is the key to gaining the upper hand in this cablegate crisis. The White House's decision to forbid federal government employees and contractors from reading WikiLeaks cables is thus a bad decision that will hurt it in the long run.

Celeb road rage? Pierre Png: I confronted him because he showed me finger

2010-12-05T13:25:00.002+08:00

On 3 Dec 10, a Citizen Journalist (CJ) posted a story on The Straits Times Online Media Print (STOMP) website alleging an incident of road rage by a local celebrity. Within days the story received over 19,100 page views, garnered 57 comments and was picked-up almost immediately by the mainstream media (MSM).

From a crisis communications perspective, Pierre Png could have handled the incident better. Pierre did well when he sought to regain the information initiative by promptly telling his side of the story. This then enabled STOMP and the MSM to include his side of the story in their reports which then "balanced" the CJ's claim. A "no comment response" would have implied guilt and would likely have spiraled the incident out of control as rumors would have filled the information vacuum. (See my earlier blog posting where "no comment says more than you think").

Pierre could however have done better in the following few areas:

a. Choice of "Tone". Essentially, Pierre chose to come across as a "reasonable man". While his response sought to make him appear as "mature", "rational" and "humble", Pierre's lack of anger is not congruent with a person who is falsely accused. (See my earlier blog posting on the Brad Lau Saga). Pierre's side of the story would have greater credibility if he had expressed some anger over being falsely accused.

b. Personal Attack. In his response, Pierre made a personal attack against his accuser by calling his a "coward". As the aim of a crisis communication strategy in incidents like this is to reduce media interest as quickly as possible, making personal attacks is counter-productive. This is because it is likely to instigate the CJ to seek "revenge" and this will drag the story out. In this instance, Pierre would have done better to keep the attention focused on himself as the "victim" to garner greater support from interested stakeholders.

c. Framing the Crisis. Pierre also failed to frame the crisis to his advantage. In any incident, crisis communicators should seek to elevate the issue at hand to one concerning socially accepted values. In this incident, a good frame would be one of fairness i.e. why pick on me just because I am a celebrity? Elevating the issue to this "level" will then make it harder for the accuser to continue attacking Pierre. This is because continuing an attack would likely turn stakeholder support against the CJ. Additionally, an issue of "fairness" will also allow Pierre to enlist other celebrities to his cause.

d. Clear Outcomes. Pierre's fourth and, in my opinion, biggest mistake is his failure to develop and pursue a clear outcome from this crisis. In show business, they say "all publicity is good publicity", hence having a clear outcome will enable him to respond holistically to turn this to his advantage. In my assessment, having a clear outcome would have shaped Pierre initial statement to elevate the issue, would have prevented Pierre from making a personal attack against the accuser thereby prolonging the incident, and would likely have enabled him to "gain" from this incident.

In summary, the key lessons learnt for PR Professionals are these: (a) never use "no comment" as it implies guilt; and (b) develop clear outcomes at the onset of any crisis.

Qantas A-380 Safety Crisis

2010-11-29T14:07:00.002+08:00

Singapore's The Straits Times reported today that Qantas' Chief Executive Officer, Alan Joyce, has put the blame for the Qantas A-380 incident squarely on the shoulders of the Rolls-Royce's Trent 900 engine. The report quoted Alan Joyce as saying that “it was a new engine and it was absolutely clear that it had nothing to do with anything Qantas was doing”. Alan Joyce went on to substantiate his claims that in Qantas' own “research”, people are “aware that this is a Rolls-Royce problem” and that the “vast majority of people know that there's a problem with the design of the engines.” In his own assessment, Alan Joyce felt that Qantas' handling of the incident had probably enhanced its brand rather than damage it. When questioned about other incidents that have resulted in turnbacks of Qantas airplanes since the Nov 4^th incident, Alan Joyce replied that “hundreds of them take place every year.”

From a crisis communications perspective, Qantas has obviously gone into crisis mode and Alan Joyce's statements are targeted at reassuring stakeholders on the safety of Qantas aircrafts.

My critique of Qantas' crisis communication efforts are as follows:

a. Poor Stakeholder Analysis. In my opinion, Qantas has failed to correctly identify the main stakeholder concern. In scenarios like this, stakeholders can accept that risks are part and parcel of flying. Stakeholder concern is thus whether the airline has in place the necessary measures to minimise the risk. By pushing the blame to Rolls-Royce, Qantas is implying that there is nothing wrong with their procedures. This is however contradicted by reports of several turnbacks that have occurred since the A-380 incident. To me, instead of blaming others, a more effective Message for Qantas would be to reassure their stakeholders on Qantas safety procedures and how it compares, or even exceeds, industry standards.

b. Tone. While I was not at the interview and thus cannot comment on Alan Joyce's actual tone, the “tone” of the newspaper report shows Qantas to be overly aggressive in pushing the blame to Rolls-Royce. Quotes of “our own research”, “a problem with the design of the engines”, and “the incident had probably enhanced its brand rather than damage it” all make Qantas appear desperate. This in my opinion, is more damaging than if Qantas had remained silent. The key lesson for PR Professionals here is the importance of correctly calibrating the Message. This is because it is one thing to raise the possibility of third party culpability, and another to rail-road the third party.

c. Use of Data. As mentioned in an earlier post, the use of survey data to support a Message is a double-edge sword. If the data can withstand scrutiny, then the Message will be believed. If however the data cannot withstand scrutiny, then the company's credibility is all but destroyed. By merely saying that “their own research showed”, it would appear to the lay-person that Qantas may be using questionable data to back-up its claim. In this instance, to make the data more credible, Alan Joyce should have offered more information about the scope of the survey i.e. who conducted it, what was the sample size, etc.

Qantas crisis communication efforts are underway and, by my assessment, off to a rocky start. Let's continue to monitor this campaign and see what else we can learn (both good and bad) from Qantas.

Blogging and the Freedom of Speech

2010-11-27T11:18:00.002+08:00

On 25 Nov 2010, CNN reported the release of Kareem Amer from an Egyptian prison. Kareem Amer was jailed for "spreading information disruptive of public order and damaging to the country's reputation," "incitement to hate Islam" and "defaming the president of the republic," according to a statement from the Committee to Protect Journalists.

I am not here to say who is right or who is wrong. However, assuming the integrity of the Egyptian judicial system, I am supportive of any governments' right to investigate if a crime has been committed and, if so, to take the blogger to task.

This is because, as I have said many times before in the blog, social networking websites like Friendster, FaceBook and Twitter have changed the information environment. Bloggers can now reach out and influence as many individuals as professionally run news organizations. Herein lies the danger as unlike professional journalists who abide by a code of ethics, bloggers are unregulated and may be motivated by personal agendas. In addition, the homogeneity of these social communities, and sense of bond among "friends" with common interests, make these communities susceptible to being easily manipulated.

I cite the Greek Riot in 2008 as an example where the death of a student, at the hands of the police, need not have degenerated into nation-wide violent protests. The incident could have remained contained pending investigations by the appropriate authorities. Unfortunately, irresponsible citizens began spreading unsubstantiated accusations of police brutality on social networking sites. This fanned anti-police sentiments which eventually spiraled out of control. Many analysts are unanimous in their belief that social networking websites were the catalysts in the Greek riots of 2008.

Hence, while I believe that netizens have the right to express their views, the expression of these views must be done responsibly. The inciting of hate or violence is definitely not one freedom I support. In my opinion, the Egyptian government was correct to investigate this case and, as they deemed a crime had been committed (according to their laws), taken the appropriate actions.

MacPherson School Slashing Incident: Where No Comment Says More than you Think

2010-11-25T14:31:00.000+08:00

On 24 Nov 2010, Singapore's The Straits Times reported the senseless slashing of a MacPherson Secondary School student in Jul 10 by a schoolmate after an accidental bumping incident. The mainstream newspaper concluded its article by stating that the school's principal “declined to comment” when asked about the incidence of fights amongst students in her school, and whether students can come to the school armed.

Once again, we see the use of “no comments” as a knee-jerk reaction to media queries. Unfortunately, the use of “no comment”, while convenient, implies that the school has something to hide. As a person unfamiliar with MacPherson Secondary School, my instinctive reaction to the newspaper report and the principal's decision not to comment gives me the perception that (a) fights occur frequently in MacPherson Secondary School; and (b) the school is a breeding ground for gangsters.

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately in this case, a quick research on the school shows the incident to be an isolated one. And contrary to my perceptions, MacPherson Secondary School is a good neighbourhood school that has commendable achievements like winning the Ministry of Education's Achievement Award (Academic Value-Added) 2009.

From this case, the main take-away for PR Professionals is that saying or declining comment is a comment in itself. Thus, instead of "making a negative comment", the school's principal should have capitalised on the opportunity to “set the record straight” and correct the mis-perception of MacPherson Secondary School as being a breeding ground for gangsters.

Jonathan Wong MOE Scholar Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Charges (Part 2)

2010-11-22T19:24:00.001+08:00

Having pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography videos, it is likely that Jonathan Wong's scholarship from the Singapore Ministry of Education will be revoked. In addition, the social stigma of being perceived as a sex offender will stay with him for years to come. As a young 22 year old with his whole life ahead of him, Jonathan Wong must now manage this crisis to enable himself to rebuild his reputation as well as his life.

So what must an individual in a situation like this do?

In crisis communication situations involving individuals, it is often the natural instinct for the affected party to avoid the media. This is based on the belief that avoiding the media will keep the individual "out of the news" which will then allow stakeholder attention to fade away. This is a mistake.

Unlike the past where news stayed in the publics' eye as long as the newspaper printed the articles, in the era of social media, anything on the Internet is archived indefinitely. Thus, while avoiding the main stream media may facilitate the fading of media attention, the Jonathan Wong story will remain on the Internet forever. It is hence my opinion that Jonathan Wong must engage the media to "balance" some of the negative news out on him.

The key take-away for PR Professionals is this. The information environment has changed. The practise of avoiding further media attention to allow stakeholder attention to fade is outdated. In the new/ social media environment, affected stakeholders should not avoid the media, but use it to "tell his side" of the story.

Jonathan Wong MOE Scholar Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Charges

2010-11-20T13:25:00.002+08:00

A Singapore Ministry of Education (MOE) scholar, studying at the University of York, has pleaded guilty to 17 charges of owning child pornography videos. Identified by the main stream media as Jonathan Wong, the main stream media reported that Jonathan had been publicly caned while he was a student in Hwa Chong Instituition for peeping at students and staff. Responding to media queries, the MOE issued the standard holding lines of (a) "we are looking into the matter"; and (b) "the Ministry will take the necessary disciplinary action against those scholars who have behaved inappropriately."

From a Crisis Communications perspective, the MOE could have better handled this unfolding crisis.

Firstly, the MOE's holding line totally missed the key concern of stakeholders. In this scenario, the fact that Jonathan Wong had been awarded a teaching scholarship despite having displayed questionable behaviour while in school is the key concern on the minds of stakeholders. Stating that the Ministry would take actions against those who "behave inappropriately" is little consolation for concerned parents.

Secondly, it is my opinion that the MOE lost an excellent opportunity to build empathy with stakeholders by relying on the standard holding lines. This is because the facts of the incident had presented themselves early enough in the crisis to present the MOE with an opportunity to put them on the same side as the stakeholder. This the MOE could have done by simply acknowledging stakeholder concerns before going into the standard holding lines.

So what can PR Professionals learn from this?

In this scenario, it appears that the MOE did not conduct a proper stakeholder analysis before responding. I postulate that if they had, they would have been able to identify stakeholders' key concerns and addressed it in the initial statement. Hence, the performance of a stakeholder analysis is always a must.

Additionally, this scenario shows PR Professionals that not all crisis should be handled with the standard holding lines. Sometimes, the opportunity presents itself and PR Professionals should seize these fleeting opportunities to empathise with stakeholders. Doing this will put the stakeholder on your side which will then enable you to better handle the evolving crisis.

TSA Full Body Scanner Images Controversy (Part 2)

2010-11-18T16:57:00.000+08:00

In my blog posting yesterday, I explained that stakeholders have a hierarchy of values and that because the TSA did not fully understand their stakeholders, they had erroneously believed that the American public would value security over their rights for individual privacy. Some readers have then asked me what could, or should, the TSA have done better to avoid this crisis.

To me, aside from having a better understanding of their stakeholders, there are 2 things that the TSA could have done better.

Firstly, I would have advised the TSA to initiate a "public consultation" on the introduction of the full body scanners. While the TSA need not fully accept the publics' views, a public consultation would have enabled the affected stakeholders to be a participant in the decision-making process. And as a participant, regardless of whether their views are adopted, the participant has a perceived stake in the decision and is more inclined to support it. Additionally, in the absence of a thorough understanding of the stakeholder, a public consultation is akin to test marketing a product. In this scenario, it is likely that a public consultation would have highlighted the strong opposition to the nation-wide implementation of the full-body scanners and allowed the TSA to adjust its approach.

Secondly, I would have advised the TSA to engage and develop an "independent" Key Communicator to sell its Message. In this scenario, the ideal Key Communicators would be the pilots and flight attendants as they are the ones most affected by the implementation of the full body scanners due to their frequency of exposure. In addition, pilots and flight attendants are seen as leaders in the aviation industry and their opinion would be credible.

Hence, it is my opinion, that the TSA could have avoided this crisis by simply (a) engaging the affected stakeholders via a public consultation; and (b) identifying and buying-in key communicators to sell its Message.

TSA Full Body Scanner Images Controversy

2010-11-17T19:58:00.000+08:00

I am reading with great interest the current controversy, and growing public backlash, surrounding the implementation of full body scanner in US airports. In its implementation plan, the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) had obviously done their stakeholder analysis and correctly identified the 2 key stakeholders concerns of personal privacy and health concerns. The TSA then went on to develop a comprehensive public communication package to address these concerns.

So what when wrong?

To know the answer, we must first understand that every stakeholder has a hierarchy of values. For some, especially in Asian societies, the concept of individual sacrifices for the good of society is widely accepted. For Americans on the other hand, this notion is not in their psyche and they have been brought-up believing in the pre-eminence of individual rights and freedom. Hence, in my view, while the TSA correctly identified the issues, they incorrectly believed that in a post 9/11 world, the American public would value public safety over their individual rights for personal privacy.

The key take-away for PR Professionals is this. While an organisation can correctly identify stakeholders concerns, this is not enough. To be effective, the development of a communication package must be based on a thorough understanding of the stakeholder including, like this TSA crisis shows, the stakeholders' hierarchy of values.