Fulcrum Blog

In the last few days, the viral potential of social media struck again, and resulted in a major public relations crisis for a worldwide brand. When two Domino’s employees filmed a video while at work and posted it on YouTube, it spread like wildfire.

The video showed sandwich preparation that made Domino’s appear a bit less than appetizing, or sanitary, through the creative use of snot, nasal crevices and gas. Apparently, the employees thought it was a pretty funny joke. And 930,000 people took notice online (the video is no longer available due to a copyright claim from one of the employees).

When I first heard about the video, my reaction was to get the heebie jeebies thinking of any food prepared outside of my house, as opposed to swearing off Domino’s. (But maybe that’s because I couldn’t tell you the last time I had Domino’s.) Hopefully other people also recognized that this isn’t evidence of common practice at any one particular fast food chain; but regardless, Domino’s had to take it very seriously. And that’s exactly what they did.

You can now find this video on YouTube, and it’s the first result returned when you search for Domino’s.

In my opinion, the PR team that managed this crisis followed some key principles to a tee:

• The CEO was chosen as spokesperson to demonstrate the highest level of commitment to the issue.
• The CEO’s message was crafted to very genuinely show concern, disgust, shock and disappointment.
• They didn’t waste any time. The plan was enacted, messages were crafted, the video was filmed and it was posted in a very timely manner.
• They responded using appropriate media by focusing on YouTube, the “scene of the crime” so to speak, and Twitter, in an attempt to reach the same audience that would have seen the initial video.
• They apologized and vowed to make things right, while being able to immediately reference the actions they took to do so…. Firing the employees, having them arrested, temporarily closing and sanitizing the store, and evaluating hiring procedures.
• They kept it short and stuck to the main points, driving home their most important message, “nothing is more important or sacred to us than our customers’ trust.”
• They were transparent and didn’t try to lie, deny, hide or ignore.
• They maintained control of the situation by being proactive and responding on their own terms.

The unfortunate reality of this situation is that so far only 66,000 people have seen the CEO’s video (as of the time I published this post), a mere 7% of the audience for the negative video. And for the most part, we can presume the mainstream media won’t cover Domino’s response to the extent they covered the more ratings-favorable initial video, if they even cover it at all. But the point is that Domino’s has modeled how to respond to a crisis.

In all likelihood, Domino’s had a comprehensive crisis communication plan that was immediately accessible for this situation. It helped guide them through their response, remain calm and act quickly. Chances are, the plan wasn’t specific to employees defaming the company, and I’d be willing to bet it wasn’t focused on responding to a “new” kind of social media crisis like this. But it worked.

Domino’s had a general roadmap for protecting its reputation no matter what the obstacle, as we all should. Regardless of how big or small your company is, whether you’re in the public eye or not, there is always the potential for crisis. If you aren’t prepared, then you should be prepared to stumble.

Our local authority on business news, the Orlando Business Journal, recently put out its annual list of Central Florida’s Largest Advertising Agencies. I happen to love the lists and look forward to this particular one each year. But this time something different caught my attention … something other than just who was on the list or how much their annual billings were. This year I noticed that 22 out of 25 on the list, or almost 90% promote “web design,” “interactive,” or “electronic marketing” amongst their scope of services, which also include everything from media placement and collateral design to branding and public relations. It made me think, “How good can they really be at so many things?”

It’s not that I’m dogging Orlando’s respected advertising firms; we have some incredibly creative and hard-working talent in this town. I’m not saying it isn’t right to compete, and surely every one of these agencies needs to offer these services to keep up with the times and compete with their peers. Nor can I argue against being a one-stop-shop and providing your clients everything they need from one consistent perspective.

But this year’s list has made me ponder the idea of “focus.” How deep can you get when you’re doing so much? When we were starting our business, we really thought hard about that. We are capable of many things, and enjoy providing services that span the landscape of communications and marketing, but when it came to being an authority, an expert on something … when we really thought about how we could be true masters of a domain for our clients … we felt that we had to significantly narrow our focus. We can still do all of those other things well, and when asked, we do; but in order to be as effective and efficient as possible, we have to invest the majority of our energy in one place … and for us, that’s online and interactive communication.

Providing your clients the best of something requires dedication. We read a lot of publications, news outlets and blogs to keep up with the online world. We spend time keeping up with technology and web design tactics to offer our clients cutting edge solutions. We are always learning more about search engine optimization and social media. We can’t imagine doing all of that for ten additional disciplines and being able to do it as well as we do now. We believe in focus, and we know our clients believe in us because of it.

Bulldog Reporter and TEKgroup International, Inc. just released a study that shows journalists are increasingly relying on the internet and social media to keep up with news and develop stories. The study reports statistics such as:

• 70% of journalists follow at least one blog regularly.
• More than a quarter visit a social media or networking site, such as YouTube, Facebook and MySpace, at least once a week. Almost 45% visit at least once a month.
• 37% receive at least one regular RSS feed.
• 64% use online news services.

Since you’re reading this blog, you obviously have some interest in new media. Whether you’re a rookie or a veteran, this study shouldn’t surprise you. Web 2.0 is here to stay and from reporters to customers, we have to adapt our strategies to stay relevant.