Key Lessons From The Top PR Business Crises of 2014

16 Dec Key Lessons From The Top PR Business Crises of 2014

2014 just might go down in history as the “Year of the Crisis.” It seemed liked every time we turned our TV or tuned onto social media, a leading business had unleashed a Pandora’s Box of missteps on the world. From bungled car recalls, to the leak of hate filed emails, to credit card terminal breeches, the firestorms that business created this year were even more damaging than anything Olivia Pope was dealing with. Here are the top business crises that kept PR professionals on their toes this year and lessons they’ve taught us:

Sony Hack

PR Lesson: You know what they say, “if you can’t say something nice, then don’t put it in email.”

The mega studio was recently hacked and had several of its un-released films, employee personal data and emails stolen in the process. The revelations, especially the emails have ranged from mundane to the highly offensive and have ruined the reputation of some of Sony’s top executives by exposing their true character. The company’s response to threaten media for releasing the files and to wait for the next round of data to be released leaves much to be desired. Considering the amount of data stolen, we’re pretty sure this crisis won’t end anytime soon. Their team needs to get in front of this situation fast.

Uber’s Worst Party Ever

PR Lesson: Never assume anything is off the record.

If Silicon Valley was waiting for any company to be knocked off its high horse, all bets would have been on Uber. The ask forgiveness later organization has been on a tear this year violating regulations, attacking competitors and skirting local laws; yet it’s biggest PR crisis came from a single executive voicing his desire to spy on journalist at a party with journalists. That one comment gave pause to every media outlet in the country and gave fuel to Uber critics everywhere that the company needs to be reigned in immediately. The company’s response to hire a experienced PR expert (after a series of missteps followed the first incident) was a good first (albeit late) step to shaking off the perception of a frat-boy culture.

Apple’s Really Bad Update

PR Lesson: Respond swiftly, apologize and develop a solution fast.

Apple’s first major software update without its iconic leader Steve Jobs went, well, terribly. It’s not that Apple hasn’t had bad IOS updates in the past, because they have. This IOS 8 update, however stroked the public’s fear that Apple couldn’t make it without Jobs. Less than 24 hours after its initial release and and complaints from thousands of iPhone users, Apple yanked its IOS 8 update from the Apple Store. It has released several fixes to the original update since September and apologized for the screw-up. In the months since, the company has been working to hard get consumers to download their new tweaked software.

NFL Abuse

PR Lesson: Lying never works.

Besides discovering that the NFL was completely without a crisis management plan, the public learned that the organization could not be trusted. After a video of Ray Rice knocking his then fiancee out in an elevator surfaced, the organization denied ever receiving the footage beforehand. When that was reveled to be a lie, the NFL looked as guilty as the abuser they had been covering up for. Seeing as the NFL has jumped from one abuse scandal to the next in 2014, they desperately need to work on repairing their brand image in 2015; after of course they figure out what they stand for.

GM Recall

PR Lesson: Never let an issue fester. Deal with it immediately.

GM worked for more than a decade to deny and hide the fact that their ignition switch on their cars were faulty. Once the ongoing issue came to light, dozens of people had been killed by their malice with hundred more injured. The company set up a compensation fund totaling millions for those impacted by the defected cars, but the public wants justice (i.e. jail time for those executives who were helming the ship). Time will tell what the outcome of this scandal will be, but sales of GM vehicles have tanked in recent months. The company has a long road ahead of trying to get the public to believe that GM cares about safety over profits.

Home depot breach

PR Lesson: Avoid playing defense.

Sony wasn’t the only company to be hacked in 2014. Several retailers found their customer data had been stolen this year, the largest being Home Depot. More than 56 million customer credit cards were stolen from the companies terminals, which is a population bigger than the state of California. What was unique about this breach is that it seemed to catch the home improvement chain by surprise, which was shocking considering the retailer, Target announced it was breached in late 2013. Home Depot is currently busy trying to shore up its systems against future attacks and prove to the public that it will take the necessary steps to protect customer data.

What are your thoughts? What other PR scandals and lesson did we miss?

– à bientôt

Charell Star | A Girl In A Dress