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.

Celebrity gossip is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. Since Sunday, I’ve been monitoring reports on the Rihanna and Chris Brown saga. (In case you’re not as in tune with Perez Hilton as I am, last Sunday R&B singer Chris Brown was arrested for alleged physical abuse of his girlfriend, pop singer Rihanna.) I obviously have no idea what really happened between them or if Chris did anything wrong. The injuries that Rihanna suffered certainly suggest that an act of violence occurred, but I’ll leave it to the authorities to figure all of that out.

This is an incredibly troubling and sad situation, but as a public relations professional, what really catches my attention here is not the reports or the drama, but the silence. As far as I’ve seen, neither Chris or Rihanna have made a statement or spoken to the media about these allegations. Rihanna hasn’t defended him, and he hasn’t defended himself. My guess is that legally they have been advised against making any statements. While that’s understandable, the void that’s been left seems to spell GUILT to a lot of people.

I question if that’s a fair assessment; but, from a PR perspective, perception is reality. So if people think that Chris’ lack of communication means he hit his girlfriend, then to those people, Chris Brown beat Rihanna. With such high profile personalities, and a highly visible case, the consequences of that perception are vast. Chris’ songs are being pulled from the air waves. And fans are completely swearing him off. When radio play and fans start dwindling for a musician, that usually means their career is headed for the trash can.

In the past, I’ve seen legal counsel and public relations counsel disagree on how to respond to a crisis. I can’t say whether or not that is the case here, but in my mind, honesty and forthrightness almost always have better results than twiddling your thumbs and letting others imagine the worst. The media is running wild with the possibilities, other celebrities are chiming in, Chris’ family is blabbing, and the assumptions are snowballing. With a big dollar career on the line, it seems like speaking up could only help at this point, even if that means an admission of guilt and getting a head start on re-building a self-induced image implosion. If nothing else, it might give people less to speculate (read: talk) about. 

Hypothetically speaking, do you think Chris (or Rihanna) should listen to lawyers or to publicists? I vote for breaking the silence, because it isn’t proving golden.

Have you ever used ProfNet? It’s basically a way to connect reporters and journalists to sources through the public relations community. We had the service at the PR firm where I used to work. Reporters submit queries, which are distributed to ProfNet subscribers who can respond when appropriate.

I loved the idea behind the service and from time-to-time found some great opportunities for my clients to get positive publicity. But I was always overwhelmed by the number of emails and queries I had to dig through. I cursed ProfNet regularly, especially on days when I was out to meetings and came back to find an e-mail box full of them. And though I never knew the exact price for it, I perceived it as expensive. As such, I didn’t sign up when I started my own firm.

Recently, I came across a similar service that I like better and that’s FREE! It’s provided by Peter Shankman and is called Help a Reporter Out (HARO). Peter sends just three e-mails a day that have a very personal tone. It’s like your friend Peter is just passing along some leads he thought you might be interested in.

I can’t for the life of me remember where I first read about HARO. It may have been on Facebook, or Wordfeeder or through MarketingSherpa, or any number of other news services I subscribe to. Nonetheless, I signed up.

I enjoy Peter’s daily commentary, even though I skip it sometimes if I’m too busy. And I’ve made use of at least two queries already. With my pursuit of accreditation in public relations, and my personal desire to pursue more public relations business, this is a great tool for me.

You should know, though, that I’m really jumping on the bandwagon by writing about HARO. You see, just since I signed up last week, I see HARO everywhere. Kind of like when you first admire a friend’s bold new fashion statement, and suddenly it’s like everyone around you is sporting the same trend. I’ve seen HARO mentioned on Twitter (and am following Peter Shankman there), it’s been on Shel Holtz’s blog, I found out I’m part of a local Facebook group that was inspired by HARO, and after passing the site along to some PR friends, saw it reported in my local PR association’s newsletter. Also, when trying to figure out where I first saw it, a Google search for “peter shankman” and “help a reporter” returned 836 results.

If you haven’t already signed up for this service, do it now. Soon you’ll feel like Peter is your new best friend and all of your other friends are starting to pal around with him too. A new clique of cool kids is forming. But this time you’re actually invited to be a part of it!

Peter – you’re taking over the (PR) world. Great idea and great job.

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.