Youth Olympic Games: Pole Dancing

8/3/2010

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Singapore.  (4 August 2010.  0930 hrs).
(http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2010/08/03/sneak-peek-at-yog-opening-ceremony/)

It is now Day 2 since the story of pole dancing at the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) was reported on YahooNews.  The report generated a few more negative comments about it appropriateness for the games, but in general there has been apathy towards it.

As predicted in my blog yesterday, this issue is unlikely to degenerate into a crisis communication situation.  This is because, as assessment yesterday, the video clip included in the report showed that the routine was not suggestive in nature.
 
While this report is unlikely to degenerate into a crisis communication situation, the PR Dept of the YOG needs to plan ahead for the international coverage of the event.  With many conversative countries participating, depending on the attire of the "pole dancers", this is likely to generate some discussion.

Hence, to ensure that the story and discussions are "framed" correctly in Singapore's favour, it is my belief that the YOG's PR Dept needs to issue an official response on the inclusion of "pole dancing" into the opening ceremony.  Doing so, will ensure that we are ahead of the media cycle.
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Singtel, now's not the time to boast (Day 2)

8/3/2010

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Singapore.  (3 August 2010.  1645 hrs).
(http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2010/08/02/singtel-please-fix-teething-issues-quickly/.)

It's Day 2 and Singtel has not responded to any of the negative comments on its MIO service.

As predicted, the original report has elicited additional comments of MIO's poor service and quality.  Similar to the Case Study on Yoshinoya, the longer Singtel waits to respond, the more negative experiences will be reported.  And the more negative experiences reported, the harder it will be for Singtel to do service recovery.

Suffice to say, without an "official" explanation by Singtel as to the reason for the poor quality, the stakeholder of potential customers will be left to speculate and fill in the information void.  As mentioned in my research paper, this is dangerous, as it will spiral out of control affecting take-up rate for the service.

Only time will tell if this incident will impact Singtel MIO's bottomline. http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2010/08/02/singtel-please-fix-teething-issues-quickly/.) 
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Singapore Youth Olmypic Games: Pole Dancing

8/3/2010

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Singapore.  (3 August 2010.  1630 hrs).  Yahoo News carried a report today on the Opening Ceremony of the Youth Olympics in Singapore.  (http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2010/08/03/sneak-peek-at-yog-opening-ceremony/) 

The report was factual and provided the view of some of the spectators.  Included in the report is a video clip of a pole-dancing routine.  The report did not generate much comments, but one reader commented that pole-dancing was inappropriate as it makes "Singapore look cheap."

It will be interesting to see if the pole dancing routine will degenerate into a crisis.  Based on the video clip, there was nothing suggestive and the pole was used more as a prop for a dance routine.  I'm not sure if the leotards the dancer wore is the actual costume, but my assessment is that even if it is, this is unlikely to degenerate into a crisis communication situation.

However, as I always advocate, the PR Dept of the YOG should be timely in responding to this situation.  A timely response will allow the YOG to "frame" the situation correctly before it gets out of hand.
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Singtel, now's not the time to boast (Day 1)

8/1/2010

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Singapore.  (2 August 2010.  1040 hrs).  YahooNews today reported on the poor quality of Singtel's MIO free movie service over the weekend (http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2010/08/02/singtel-please-fix-teething-issues-quickly/.)  The reporter equated the free movie to watching a pirated movie with the poor audio and start-stop images.  The reporter went on the comment on MIO's track record of poor quality and poor service citing its $50,000 fine by the Media Development Authority of Singapore and the poor quality of the recent World Cup coverage.

It will be interesting to watch how Singtel's PR Department will respond to this current attack on the quality of its MIO service.  As there is clearly a trend of poor service and poor quality, the usual PR lines of "this is an isolated incident' is unlikely to hold.

As a Crisis Communicator, my stakeholder analysis would identify two key stakeholders - potential customers and existing customers.  The former's main concern/ issue would be feeling "cheated" over not receiving the quality of movies they have paid for, while the latter's concern/ issue would be hesitation to sign-up as they would not want to be "cheated".

My advise to Singtel would be to be open and upfront on issues, and acknowledge the challenges of rolling out new and advance technology.  Singtel should also state the specific actions they are taking to address the problems and the timeline for it to be resolved.  To address stakeholders' concern of being "cheated", Singtel should unilterally offer their customers "compensations" in the form of discounts or free movie credits to affected subscribers until the technical issues are solved.
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Financial irregularities at Hindu temple

8/1/2010

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Singapore.  (1 August 2010.  2100 hrs).  The Sunday Times ran a half-page article on this case today.  The article reported that the temple's devotees were standing behind their ex-leader and went on describe how Mr Arumugum Sivalingam was single-handedly responsible for making the temple what it is today.  Mr Arumugum was once again "not available for comments."

From a Crisis Communication perspective, this was a fantastic article to portray Mr Arumugum as a man who made a mistake.  I am not certain if this article was planned for, or initiated by Mr Arumgum, but this third party endorsement has gone a long way to shape stakeholder perception of him.
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