The Art of the Apology

Recently, more and more cases of Sexual Misconduct have been popping up all over the news. Many beloved celebrities and well known individuals have been accused of Sexual Harassment or Assault. First and foremost, these horrific acts cause so much pain and stress for those who have been victimized and at the same time it severely damages the reputation of the accused as well. One person who has recently been accused is world famous chef, Mario Batali. After the allegations, Batali was fired from the daytime TV show, The Chew, which he has co-hosted since 2011.

Mario Batali

The obvious next step for the accused is to do whatever they can to restore their image and try to rebuild the trust back in their followers. A PR Specialist can be very effective in planning out the right course of action remedy the issue and move forward. Sometimes the best course of action is to admit your mistakes, show compassion for those that were affected and show how you are going to do things differently moving forward. Batali almost got that right, but the last line of his apology letter made everything worse.

According to CNN, Batali used an online newsletter to acknowledge "many mistakes" and apologize for disappointing "my friends, my family, my fans and my team." But what has people talking is the conclusion of the message, which read: "ps. in case you're searching for a holiday-inspired breakfast, these Pizza Dough Cinnamon Rolls are a fan favorite." The postscript included a picture of the referenced sweet treats, along with a link to the recipe. This last line proved to be extremely insensitive and made it seem like he wasn't taking the allegations seriously.

An effective PR Specialist should know that this was not the best way to handle this apology. One of the key traits of an apology is sincerity, but all it took was one line to show that Batali was not so sincere in his attempt to empathize with others. Hopefully, Batali can understand that he must lean on someone with good PR experience to help guide him through this issue and restore his image with the public.

Bullying is not OK!

A recent article published by the Huffington Post talks about a young boy from Knoxville, Tennessee named Keaton Jones who is a victim of bullying at his school. His Mother shared an emotional video of him crying and discussing how the kids in his school were bullying him. The video which has now gone viral has captured the attention of many people including several celebrities and organizations who have come to the defense of Keaton and are advocating change. Other business have also responded offering trips and once-in-a-liftime opportunities for Keaton and his family.

The response and call for support is an example of how companies are using real life events like this to not only influence change in the world, but highlight the values of the company and build relationships with the community. An organization is more than just an entity existing for the benefit of themselves. The most reputable organizations are those who know when to take a stance on an issue and promote good around the world. One article published by Fast Company, states that organizations have an, "opportunity to join issue conversations on equal footing to more traditional advocacy voices. And, increasingly, brands aim to nurture customer relationships that are lifelong, built not just on product features but also on shared cultural values." (Mintz, 2016) Issues like this are an opportunity for a company to show who they really are. 

This particular case relates back to the Public Relations technique of Community Relations. Bullying is a serious issue in our schools today. It is going to take some brave people and organizations to step up and help advocate for protections and support for those who are affected by bullying. A company should have the moral ambition to be more than an organization, but a beacon of hope and support for the community it exists in. Keaton's story is a touching reminder that we are a human and we should support each other and build one another up, and Public Relations can be the vehicle for that change. 

Citation:
Mintz, R. (2016). Companies, Don’t Be Afraid To Take A Stand: It Can Be Good For Your Brand. In Fast Company. Retrieved from https://www.fastcompany.com/3061109/companies-dont-be-afraid-to-take-a-stand-it-can-be-good-for-your-brand

Uber Transparency

Uber is widely known as a prominent rideshare app, but has faced several Public Relations issues in recent months and has suffered because of the actions of those in leadership at the company. A recent article published by Bloomberg, states that, "Hackers stole the personal data of 57 million customers and drivers from Uber Technologies Inc., a massive breach that the company concealed for more than a year. The ride-hailing firm ousted its chief security officer and one of his deputies for their roles in keeping the hack under wraps, which included a $100,000 payment to the attackers." Trying to conceal this information has proven to be a disastrous decision for the company.

Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber CEO

Dara Khosrowshahi, who took over as Chief Executive Officer in September, learned of the terrible decision and is doing everything he can to restore trust back in the company. The first thing that Dara did was fire those responsible for the incident and cover up and then he released all of the information to the public. The public has a right to know if their information was compromised and if the company ever wants to rebound from this they need to let their customers know that their data is in safe and responsible hands.

The Public Relations connection in this case is extremely important. The CEO had a very important and difficult choice to make. When he learned of the hack and breach of data, he had the opportunity to remain silent and keep the incident from the public. The other option was to tell the public, knowing that the disclosure would harm the company's reputation even more and push the company further down the competitive ladder. The CEO decided to take the more difficult, but morally sound choice and tell the public. Transparency is an important part of public relations and even though this was a very unfortunate incident, coming clean and informing the public was the right thing to do. Hopefully, the public will see this decision as a responsible one and a turn in a different direction.

Chipotle: The Power of Social Media

Chipotle Mexican Grill recently took another blow to the chest after an actor complained about their food and said that it put him in the hospital. Jeremy Jordan an actor on the show "Supergirl" posted to his Instagram story, "I, as you can see, am in the hospital and I have fluids in my arm because the food did not agree with me and I almost died." The post collected thousands of likes, comments and shares and caused much havoc for the restaurant.

The post and the subsequent reaction was so impactful that the company's stocks dropped 2.7 percent the following Monday. The company responded and stated, "We were sorry to hear Jeremy was sick and were able to get in touch with him directly regarding where and when he ate" Chipotle has been in recovery mode for the last 2 years, since a norovirus outbreak caused a complete shutdown of the entire chain of restaurants. Chipotle has conducted an internal investigation and has come to the conclusion that whatever made the actor sick, did not come from the restaurant. According to Chipotle, there were no other reports of illness at the location Jeremy visited.

The way that the story spread so fast is an indication of how Social Media has impacted society and the Public Relations world. There wasn't much the company could do to stop the story from spreading. However, the company did do the right thing by contacting the individual directly and apologizing for the incident. It will be hard for Chipotle to fully recover from the string of health concerns it has faced over the years, but if they are strategic, they can use social media for their benefit. In the same way negative news spreads throughout social media, positive news and a rebranding can spread just as fast.

Star Wars: A PR Awakening

Star Wars is one of the largest and most profitable franchises in the world. So as you can imagine the long awaited video game, Star Wars Battlefront II, caused quite the commotion upon release. However, it wasn't received with all the glory that the developing company, Electronic Arts, had hoped. Instead, they were met with widespread criticism regarding their "micro-transaction"method for gameplay. Gameplayers who purchased the game at a price of $60, do not have access to the iconic characters in the Star Wars Franchise. Instead, they have to credit up to 40 hours of gameplay, or purchase the characters at a cost.

Star Wars Battlefront II Video Game

Obviously, this was not received well by the gaming community who felt that Electronic Arts were exploiting the community for their own greed. The Verge which is a popular News and Media network wrote on the controversy and stated, "while EA is encouraging players to pay money to essentially skip this process. Is the company just being nakedly hostile and money-grabbing?" Comments like this were posted all over Reddit, which is an online forum very popular with the gaming community. Electronic Arts decided to respond on the forum and soon realized that their response was not welcomed.

According to many customers of EA, the company does not do a great job listening to their consumers and taking their suggestions. EA chose to respond in a forum where there was a lot of animosity and frustration and their response which can be found here, did not come off as apologetic but was instead seen as a justification. This relates back to the course text when it says that PR is a two way process and listening to the customer is an important tool when handling a PR issue. EA has a history of doing the opposite of what their customers want in pursuit of more profits. Unfortunately, they will learn that the inability to listen to their base, will lead to a departure of their most valued supporters.

Perception is Reality

For many years, it has been a home tradition for many people to open a box of cereal and turn the box around to view the cartoons. comics or illustrations on the back. However, a recent cartoon printed on the back of a Kellogg's Corn Pops box has landed the company in some hot water. The Kellogg's box features a, "bunch of light-colored Corn Pops hanging out in a mall — while a darker-skinned Pop scrubs the floor and acts as a janitor. Pictures showing the offensive packaging surfaced on social media and prompted the company to respond." (New York Post)

Kellogg's Cartoon Ad

Kellogg's immediately jumped into damage control and sent out an apology message saying they were sorry and that the cartoon was being replaced and that new boxes were already being sent out to stores. This incident shows how important it is to be intentional about the message you are trying to convey. Even though Kellogg's most likely meant no offense with the cartoon that was printed, the perception that the public had was different. Sometimes, perception is reality and for a company as large as Kellogg's, the perception of the company and the values it upholds is critical to the sustainability of the company.

Public Relations is defined as, "a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics". (Seitel, 2017) In this instance, PR was used to admit that the company made a mistake and what course of action was being taken to remedy the situation. The company was also intentional about reaffirming their stance on diversity and how it has made them a better company. In other potential instances, PR can be used in a proactive manner to gain a better understanding of the public's sentiments and tailor communications to them in a way that takes these types of issues into consideration.

*Reference: Seitel, F. (2017). The Practice of Public Relations (13th ed.). N.p.: Pearson.