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Module 4:

Social Media Crisis

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1. One bad interview can ruin your company’s reputation

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2. You are already a brand ambassador (so you need to know how to promote your company’s agenda 24/7/365 to the media)

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3. Perception matters -- media visibility affects the bottom line

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4. Speed matters

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5. Being professional matters

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Not so “Bersih” news coverage

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Denials despite online evidence

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Social media forces everyone to be

more transparent and accountable

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Case studies

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“Woman dies in fire as BHP staff refuse to loan fire extinguisher”

Sara Mateoi, mother of dead student, Florina Joseph. –The Star

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BHP: The humane response• Trapped 27-year-old student

screams for help after crash with another car and lorry.

• Passer-by Teo Chai Hong races to nearby BHP to get a fire extinguisher.

• Two attendants refuse to open doors despite pleas and offer of identity card.

• Teo returns to scene to see student and car engulfed in flames.

• Teo posts his account online.

• Media picks up story after it spreads on social networks.

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Social media impacts brands

Facebook protest group

Boycott inHumane Petrol

picks up 8,000 likes in 22

days.

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Responses from BHP

1.BHP government relations manager Abdul Kaiyum: “Teo

was not acting calmly when asking for assistance. Neither

did they refer to their supervisor because it was past

midnight. The two of them previously had been attacked

and beaten up by assailants while on duty at the

station”June 3, 2010 Komunitikini

2."We regret this has happened. The incident took place at

3am. Thefts and robberies at service stations are common

during these hours. Thus staff at the service station were

only concerned and did not respond to the request as the

attendant could not see the accident which took place

some 300m away.” statement issued to Malay Mail, June

4, 2010.

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3.BHP managing director Tan Kim Thiam had

expressed regret over the incident, saying the

attendants had refused to open their doors because

robberies were common at that hour. “The staff were

concerned and did not respond to the request as

they could not see the accident,” said Tan, who

declined to comment further. The Star, June 5, 2010

4.“As the BHP staff could not see the accident, then a

misunderstanding occurred with Teo claiming the

staff refused to hand him a fire extinguisher,” said a

BHP spokesperson who declined to be named.

Malaysiakini, June 8, 2010

(Note: Cancelled a press conference on June 7, 2010)

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BP: Leadership matters

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BP CEO’s Gaffes• May 3: “Well, it wasn't our accident...The drilling rig was a

Transocean drilling rig. It was their rig and their equipment

that failed, run by their people and their processes.”

• May 14: “The Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean. The

amount of volume of oil and dispersant we are putting into it

is tiny in relation to the total water volume.”

• May 18: “I think the environmental impact of this disaster is

likely to be very, very modest.”

• May 30: “We're sorry for the massive disruption it's caused

their lives. There's no one who wants this over more than I

do. I would like my life back.”

• May 31: “The oil is on the surface. There aren't any plumes.”

(Scientists had video images to prove otherwise)

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The web community had already

hijacked the brand

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They found fault everywhere

BP crisis command centre posted on official website

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Original picture posted later

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Bloggers say it was “photoshopped”

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Dell laptop explodes at Japanese conference

By INQUIRER.net newsdesk: Wednesday 21 June 2006

An Inquirer reader attending a conference in Japan sat just feet away from a laptop computer that suddenly exploded into flames, in what could have been a deadly accident.

Gaston, our astonished reader reports: "The damn thing was on fire and produced several explosions for more than five minutes"…

For the record, this is a Dell machine," notes Gaston. "It is only a matter of time until such an incident breaks out on a plane," he suggests.

Our witness managed to catch all the action in these amazing pictures….

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Good news, get it out fast

Bad news, get it out faster!*

(*Caveat: Information is verified)

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Dell to recall 4m laptop batteriesCNET News.com,August 14, 2006

Dell and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission plan to recall 4.1 million notebook batteries on Tuesday, a company representative confirmed.

The recall affects certain Inspiron, Latitude and Precision mobile workstations shipped between April 2004 and July 18, 2006. Sony manufactured the batteries that are being recalled, the representative said.

This looks like the largest battery recall in the history of the electronics industry, said Roger Kay, an analyst with Endpoint Technologies Associates. "The scale of it is phenomenal."

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Sony delays response, crisis lingers in public eye…

•Aug 15, 06: Dell recalls 4.1m batteries

•Aug 24, 06: Apple recalls 1.8m batteries

•Sept 15, 06: Virgin Atlantic, Qantas and Korean Air

ban use of Dell and Apple laptops on board its planes,

unless the battery removed

•Sept 28, 06:Lenovo/IBM: 526,000 batteries

•Sept 29, 06:Dell increases recall to 4.2m

•Sept 29, 06:Toshiba recalls 830,000 batteries

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ThinkPad explodes in LAX airport, posting on Gizmodo.com, Sept 16

“So we're waiting for a flight in the United lounge at LAX, this

guy comes running the wrong way, pushing other passengers

out of the way and quickly drops his laptop on the floor. The

thing immediately flares up like a giant firework for about 15

seconds, then catches fire….”

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Charred remains of IBM notebook on terminal floor

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Crisis escalates and spreads online

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Sony finally responds…

Sept 30, 2006: Sony finally announces global recall of 9.6 million PC batteries. The recall and replacement would cost as much as 50 billion yen (about US$423 million)….

…but profit plunges 94 percent for

July-Sept quarter

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Dell’s Response• Determines cause – battery supplier,

executes costly remedial action with safety in

mind.

• Liaises with authority: Works with U.S.

Consumer Product Safety Commission to

announce global recall of 4.1 million laptop

batteries.

• Used website: Sets up recall website for

customers to check affected units.

• Assures safety: Guarantees replacement

batteries are safe.

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'Alien' substance caused Dell notebook battery to ignite

By Julian Matthews, ZDNet Asia October 23, 2000.

KUALA LUMPUR – An 'alien' substance was mixed into the production process of the battery that caused a Dell customer's notebook to burst into flames and prompted a recall last week.

"As a result of analysis, we defined the cause of the short circuit that occurred in one cell was due to mixing of an alien substance at one production process," said Yoshiyuki Arikawa, a spokesperson of battery-supplier Soft Energy Company, a unit of Japanese consumer giant Sanyo Electric Co Ltd.

In the e-mail response to ZDNet Asia, Arikawa did not define what the 'alien' substance could be or how it entered the production process…

Arikawa added, "The defect rate should be very small since it’s a specific occasion and (went through) normal inspection process after. The defect is limited only to the 27,000-set lot to Dell."

Dell Computer recalled the 27,000 batteries with a promise to replace them free of charge….

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Sony execs’ bow not deep enough?

“We want to put this

behind us. I take this

problem seriously and

I want to finish the

replacement program

as quickly as possible

for the sake of our

users and corporate

customers,”Corporate Executive Officer

Yutaka Nakagawa, Oct 24,

2006

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Social Media Listening Command Center

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CIMB and Maxis: One-to-one customer complaint resolution

Crisis communications reactions

POOR

Defensive – take it personally

Decline to comment

Deny or lie

Deflect – taichi, play blame game

Downplay

BETTERAccept – that it has

happened

Acknowledge – to those affected, media, public

Assure – show you care, calm fears

Apologize (if you have to) and be specific, express regret, suggest remedy

ACT – assess your allies, plan your action, act out your plan

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Opportunities in a crisis: What the media can do for you

• Help spread information to the public quickly– Tell your side of the story, show you care

– Repudiate and get ahead of the rumour mill

– Reassure or calm the public

– Reinforce alerts, warnings, cautions

• Disseminate appeals for– witnesses, feedback or volunteers

• Educate the public on the issue– Gain empathy for your cause

– Show you are good corporate citizen

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Best pro-active practices: Social media and crisis comms

1. Formulate a crisis communications plan that

incorporates social media, update regularly

2. Role-play crisis scenarios with reactions from

social media

3. Train staff on crisis communications with social

media elements in simulation

4. Meet and cultivate the media, first responders

through social media

5. Engage and connect with both on-the-ground

communities and online community

6. Use online tracking tools