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. (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.
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. (30 July 2010. 1500 hrs). In an article published in the Digital Life supplement of The Straits Times dated 28 July 2010, the reporter cited incidences where past acts posted on the internet have come back to haunt her friends.
The reporter cited incidences where a man lost his job after being seen partying on Facebook while on sick leave, and the dismissal of the CNN editor for Middle Eastern affairs after she tweeted about her respect for the Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah. The reporter also cited survey reports that show that 70% of hiring managers and recruiters in the United States have rejected applicants based on information they have found online on them.
This is additional proof of the impact of the 'perfect information environment' I talked about in my research paper.
Singapore. (30 July 2010. 0945 hrs). I was involved in the organisation of a press conference to publicise an upcoming major sporting event recently, and noted that need for PR professionals to be centrally plan and execute all aspects of the conference.
During the press conference, a photo opportunity was planned for the media to capture the distribution of ice-cream to the event participants. Unfortunately, the PR team was focused on ensuring that the presentation slides were in order, the logistical set-up perfect and the proper people selected and prepared for the media interview. The organisation of the photo opportunity was delegated to the logistics team.
Unaware of the phenomenon of Ambush Marketing, the logistic team proceeded to purchase the required number of ice-cream for distribution without any consideration for the brand. Thankfully, an hour before the press conference was to begin, a member of the PR team noticed the brand of ice-cream to be distributed and the photo opportunity was cancelled. This, without a doubt, averted a potential crisis with the sponsor.
Ambush marketing is a common phenomenon surrounding major events. PR professionals must therefore centrally plan and execute all aspects of a press conference to prevent it.
Singapore. (27 July 2010. 2350 hrs). Yoshinoya has responded to the incident by stating that it was an "isolated incident" and that the mistake was made by a "part-time trainee". In their press statement Yoshinoya reiterated that their company follows "stringent standard operating procedures" and that they endeavour to "provide products and services that meet the highest expectations of their customers".
Initial response to Yoshinoya's statement has been negative with many STOMPers accusing the company of using the part-time trainee as a scape-goat. A closer look at Yoshinoya's Crisis Communication plan reveals a major flaw - failure to understand the difference between Traditional Media vs New Media.
In the former, a statement of this nature would have been acceptable as reporters would have used the facts to write their story. However, as Yoshinoya had chosen to respond via the New Media (and rightly so), a modified form of statement would have been necessary. In this case, the response from Yoshinoya should have been directly addressed to the STOMPer that raised the issue, as this would have allowed Yoshinoya to more adequately address his "outrage".
Once again, as I mentioned in my research paper, PR Professional must understand the New Media before they can effectively serve their clients.
Singapore. (27 July 2010 0700 hrs). The number of views has climbed to 16,163. Assuming 50% of these viewer tell at least 2 friends and 50% of those tell 2 another friends, the total number of people who would have heard about this incident would be quite staggering (approximately 48,489 people) and the potential loss in revenue quite significant.
As mentioned in my research paper on the impact of the "perfect information environment", other readers of STOMP have started sharing similar negative experiences with the company. A quick glance at the comments shows that readers have complained about additional charges for extra sauces and extra spoons. These additional "support" reveals a pattern of unreasonable charges and is likely to further impact the company's client base.
Singapore. (26 July 2010 2300 hrs). It is now slightly more than 24 hours since the incident was published on STOMP. There has been 15,534 views of the report and 80 comments. 76% of readers have expressed "outraged" over the incident with many saying they should bring their business elsewhere.
As of 2300 hrs, Yoshinoya has not responded to the incident and the longer they wait, the greater the negative impact as negative word of mouth will spread.
Let's continue to monitor the situation to see if Yoshinoya will respond, and if they do, how they respond.
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