PR Crises of 2014: Mistakes Made and Lessons Learned

Mistakes Made and Lessons Learned PR Crises of 2014

2014 was filled with some big news stories. They were splashed across headlines, discussed at length in newsrooms and debated over social media. From the Malaysian Airlines lost plane, to the riots in Ferguson, and the scandal in the NFL, 2014 was not without its own media crises.

PR Crises of 2014: Mistakes Made and Lessons Learned

But what were the biggest crises from a PR standpoint? Who had to do the most damage control and why? And whose reputations were tarnished?

When we talk about PR crises out there, they often originate from a news story with the headline “breaking news.” One outlet that is notorious for abusing the term is CNN. We dove into our media intelligence platform to perform a search on “breaking news” across all mediums dating back to 2012. Performing this search confirmed what we’ve seen before: the term “breaking news” is overused.

How do crises originate in the news?

PR Crises of 2014: Mistakes Made and Lessons Learned

When you look at the chart, you can see distinct spikes where mentions of “breaking news” jumps, probably related to the shootings in Aurora, Colorado and the unrest in Israel. But in 2013, the lines become more blurred, especially after the Boston Marathon bombings in April 2013.

According to media relations expert Gerard Braud, breaking news is a gimmick that local and national news outlets are latching onto. This gimmick catapulted earlier this year during the Malaysian Airlines crash. We witnessed CNN forgoing all other news to cover speculation around the missing airliner, and it put them in a bind by attaching themselves to a crisis that wasn’t coming to a conclusion. Many crises end within a week or two, but this one showed no signs of dying down.

What does that mean for us in PR?

With outlets repeatedly using the term “breaking news,” organizations experiencing a crisis stand the chance of getting tagged as a breaking news story on a slow news day. This forces you to discuss your crisis at length, making it a much bigger deal than it should be. Be prepared!

PR Crises of 2014: Mistakes Made and Lessons Learned

Why do we think this is? Our panel of experts agreed that Target was simply not prepared, and then did not respond to the crisis quickly or communicate clearly about the stolen consumer information. Target’s crisis also affected people personally, where as Sony’s only affects internal staff, actors, and its movies. Our experts advice for Sony? Apologize, apologize, apologize and communicate clearly to the public about their future plans to prevent such a crisis.

Data breaches have been a huge topic in the news throughout 2014. In fact, it seems that the media is still talking about Target’s data breach that occurred in late November/early December of 2013. If you look at our data below, you can see that some of the data breaches of 2014, such as Sony, seem to peak when they occur and then drop off (unlike Target which was still being talked about).

Data Breaches are still being talked about

PR Crises of 2014: Mistakes Made and Lessons Learned

The Ray Rice scandal was one of the worst to hit the NFL in some time. Tapes were released of Ray Rice physically abusing his wife Janay. The scandal was even worse for the NFL’s image considering that they stated that they had never seen the tape, but yet it was released to a celebrity gossip website. Furthermore, the organization only suspended Ray Rice for 2 games, which did not sit well with women who support the NFL. Why did this crisis go so wrong for the NFL and its Commissioner Roger Goodell? First, he was slow to communicate what actually happened and how they were going to address it.

NFL & Roger Goodell: What went wrong?

As the leader of the organization, he failed to accept responsibility of the incident, and he failed to communicate how they would address something like this in the future. Our experts agreed that the easiest thing Goodell could have done to improve the situation would have been to resign.

PR Crises of 2014: Mistakes Made and Lessons Learned

Mary Barra took the position of CEO of General Motors in January of this year. Barra has worked for the company since 1980 and has seen it through its ups and downs. Shortly after taking over the company, they were faced with a hefty crisis which involved faulty ignition systems responsible for 13 deaths. The company has been fined $35 million, but that number could increase pending the outcome of the investigation by Congress.

How we can learn from GM’s new CEO?

PR Crises of 2014: Mistakes Made and Lessons Learned

She has apologized profusely, visited families who have lost loved ones, has ensured the public that this will not happen again and said that they will be completely transparent with all of their findings. In doing all of these things, they have also been clear that they are willing to lose millions of dollars to recall all necessary vehicles so they do not hurt anyone in the future.

All of our experts agreed that Barra has done an excellent job at taking this head on and addressing the crisis appropriately.

How we can learn from GM’s new CEO?

PR Crises of 2014: Mistakes Made and Lessons Learned

The unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, has been one of the most talked about crises across the news and social media in 2014. Even though many Americans feel like we have made some strides in the conversation about racism, things like this continue to happen and keep resurfacing a tough and very debated issue.

Ferguson: How should’ve it been handled?

PR Crises of 2014: Mistakes Made and Lessons Learned

All our experts agreed that where the Ferguson Police Department failed was to get out information quickly.

They also underestimated the power of social media. They should have put out facts immediately, and there would have been some control over opinions of the situation. Unfortunately in a racially charged issue such as this one, you will always have those who will love you, those who will hate you, and those who will stay neutral but swing from one side to the other.

Ferguson: And what can others learn?

PR Crises of 2014: Mistakes Made and Lessons Learned

While there were many crises to discuss this year, these were not only the most popular but also ones that any organization can learn from. Our experts always suggest that an organization of any size study up on crises as they are happening and develop a plan on what they should and should not do when a crisis arrives for them.

For more information on the crises and suggestions on how you can prepare, please listen to our recording. Interested in a media listening tool such as iQ media to help you analyze current crises? Contact us today for a web demonstration.

PR Crises of 2014: Mistakes Made and Lessons Learned

Take a demo of our Discovery tool todayReach us at

[email protected] www.iqmediacorp.com

Designed By: Digital Pomegranate