Think your business is immune to crisis? Think again.
Americans, and the world, watched in horror as the weekend’s events unfolded. Video was posted in real time as everyone carries a phone these days, and uploading a video is fast, free, and easy. And we watched and took to social media to vent frustration, express opinions, and show our anger, sorrow, outrage, and disbelief. We shared posts in rapid succession, and messages were spread worldwide. We mentioned brand names and included their hashtags or “at” names.
Several brands were quickly associated with the rally, the participants, and the tragedy that occurred during the protest.
- One of the men in the rally video was quickly identified on social media, including where he worked. Top Dog posted a statement on the door of its three locations that he had been fired, effective Saturday, August 12.
Tiki Brand Products issued a statement on their Facebook page, disassociating themselves and the behavior of all involved, and in the process, reinforcing what they stand for as a brand.- Photos show that the driver who plowed into the crowd of protesters, injuring dozens and killing Heather Heyer, was allegedly driving a Dodge Challenger. Many have called on Dodge to make a statement, but at the time of this writing, nothing has been issued from the brand.
- GoDaddy was called upon to remove a site known for its neo-Nazi and supremacist views after it posted a derogatory story about Heather Heyer. (GoDaddy has since informed the owners of the site that it has 24 hours to move their domain to another provider for violating their terms of service. As of this writing, the site is still active.)
I won’t even go into the issues facing the White House (yes, the White House is a brand too), as they seek to clarify early statements made by the president, prompted by a fury on social media, and called out by the press and politicians on both sides of the fence for not appropriately denouncing the reason for the rally and the views of its participants.
Do you see where this is going? The ripple effect of an event such as this is incredibly complicated and far-reaching. If you have employees, sell products or services, or are in the hospitality sector, never think that you are immune to a crisis simply because you’re either a large or small business, feel that you “know” your employees, or don’t deal directly with the public. Today, companies – even small businesses – can quickly find themselves in the middle of an event where they have absolutely no involvement, but are sucked into the vortex by those who are involved.
So, are you prepared if this happens to you?
It may be time to scrap whatever else is on your calendar for the next couple days and make sure. Never wait until a crisis happens to figure out who’s going to be making statements or how it will be handled. Create a solid plan – note that I said “solid” not “complicated” – and make sure every person who may need to be involved understands it, buys into it, and supports it throughout the organization. Speed to respond is one of the most crucial elements to addressing a crisis.
Tiki Brand Products and Top Dog are not at fault for the behavior of these individuals. By responding quickly, they effectively disassociated their brand from this event and condemned the beliefs of those involved as not in line with their brand values. In doing so, social media response has been favorable for them.
A final (unsolicited) word of advice for Dodge, whose feed is filled with the hashtag #roadkillnights to promote one of its sponsorships. The last Tweet using the hashtag was August 12, after the incident occurred. (This is just one of the dangers of scheduling Tweets in advance and not paying close enough attention to what’s happening with your brand. Yes, even over the weekend. Is this covered in your plan? It should be.)
Of course, Dodge is not responsible for the driver’s actions. We understand that. But it’s time to step up and address it. Why? The Dodge brand will forever be visible in the photos from that day. Every time someone sees a photo, the unconscious connection is again made. There are times when silence is appropriate for a brand; considering the severity of this event, staying quiet is probably not the best course of action.
Especially when the world is watching.
NOTE: The ripples of this event are still moving outward, and the weekend’s events will have repercussions beyond this single incident. I have purposely not included many of the details of each of these instances and subsequent actions/reactions; I don’t want to give any more notoriety to those who participated or who support these hateful and horrendous actions. There are plenty of sources out there to fill in the gaps.