Today, an international celebrity who was scheduled to perform at a local event did not show-up. In a bid to "manage the crisis", the PR Team was called in to craft a News Release.
As with all Releases concerning multiple parties, the final draft was a collaborative process with the celebrity's management company proposing that the celebrity's absence be explained as "unavoidably delayed". Realising that the celebrity had likely broken a legal agreement, the PR Team decided to consult the company's lawyers on the suitability of this statement. Thankfully this was done and, on the advise of the lawyers, the word "unavoidably" was removed. This was to prevent any potential wiggle-room for the celebrity to avoid paying the company compensation.
While the word "unavoidably" sounds like good PR Speak, it was designed to protect the interest of the celebrity. As I explained in an earlier blog about the working relationship between reporters and PR Professionals, as PR Professionals we must also remember who is our pay-master. This is no different even when we are dealing with other PR Professionals from other companies.
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.
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/.)
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.
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.
Singapore. (24 July 2010. 2000 hrs). Today Yahoo News reported that a Hindu Temple has come under scrutinity by the authorities for the alledged misuse of funds. Essentially, the Chief Executive of the temple has been accused of making questionable payments to contractors and vendors without consulting the management committee. A quick analysis of this incident reveals that it is unlikely to evolve into a crisis as it appears to be the act of an individual.
To illustrate some key lessons, let us assume that we have been hired by the accused to help develop a Crisis Communication plan.
Firstly, in situations where criminal proceedings are likely, it is imperative that the Crisis Communicator work closely with the client's lawyer in crafting and releasing any statements. This is essential as any statement made by the client can, and may be used, against the client during the trial.
Secondly, unlike the usual Crisis Communication plan (which is designed to protect the image, reputation and brand of the organisation), this Crisis Communication plan is designed to achieve certain limited objectives set by the client. Once these objectives have been determined, it is then the role of the Crisis Communicator to (a) identify the Stakeholders to be reached to enable the attainment of these objectives; (b) the channels via which to reach them; and (c) the appropriate theme and messages.
In cases like this, my advise to the client would be to look beyond the crisis and position himself for recovery. To do this, my advise would be to position himself as "a person of character" who is "willing to accept his mistakes" (assuming he is at fault) and take his punishment.
Singapore. (23 July 2010. 1950 hrs). It is now Day 6 and media and stakeholder interest in the incident has faded for now. It is therefore timely for us to pause and reflect on the key lessons that we can learn from this incident:
a. The Importance of Open, Timely, Broadly Communicated and Internet Presence. In my opinion, this incident could have been contained and isolated if the MHA PR Dept had adopted a Crisis Communication plan that had the above 4 characteristics. Their failure to be open and provide timely updates, led to speculations of police cover-up, while their failure (or decision) not to communicate the facts using their MHA website (internet presence) further stoked stakeholder anger over the incident.
b. Need to do a Stakeholder Analysis. The inability of the press statement and comment by the Minister for the Environment to stem the anger, showed that the MHA PR Dept had misunderstood stakeholders' concerns. A thorough Stakeholder Analysis would have revealed that the main issue was one of "abuse of authority". A simple statement of fact that there are "measures in place to prevent an abuse of authority" would have, in my opinion, stopped the crisis from building up. While I do not have empirical evidence, I feel that the incident would have affected the morale of the police force. A proper internal communication plan to internal stakeholders would therefore have been essential to ensure that the police continue to carry out their duties professionally.
c. Framing the Incident. The manner in which the incident spiralled out of control shows the importance of using the initial press statement to frame the crisis. Without a proper "frame" the incident went in many tangents including political ones.
Singapore. (21 July 2010 2150 hrs). It's Day 4 and so far slightly over 3,000 comments have been posted on Yahoo News. The MHA has continued to remain silent on the incident.
It appears that the public outrage has generally run its course and, pending any further developments, the incident will remain in the "background." It now remains to be seen how the incident has affected the reputation and credibility of the Singapore Police Force.
Singapore (20 July 2010 2200 hrs). No new developments since this morning's blog. Comments on Yahoo News have climbed to over 2,900 posts. As anticipated, the comments have started to spin in multiple tangents with some taking on a political dimension.
As advocated in my research paper, a Crisis Communication plan must be proactive. This is to allow the Crisis Communicator to frame the crisis and keep it focused on the issue at hand.
Singapore (19 July 2010 2200 hrs). Comments on Yahoo News have reached 2,400+. The majority of netizens continue to be enraged over the incident.
Aside from the press statement released yesterday in response to The Straits Times and Lianhe Wanbao queries, the MHA's PR Dept doesn't appear to be interested in responding.
While the MHA may be refraining from commenting on the incident as they are allowing internal investigations to take place, this may prove dangerous as the comments are beginning to spin in multiple directions. This is always dangerous as it may lead down a path of no return.
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