Social Media, Strategic Planning and Crisis Management: B-M is Ready !

Just yesterday Burson-Masteller presented a comprehensive study on Fortune 500 companies and how they are participating in the world of social media. http://www.digitalperspectiveblog.com/2010/02/23/79-of-fortune-100-companies-using-social-media The study looks into the practices of these companies and how they are using the Internet to propagate messages with the public. It presented several markets across the world and also the percentages of users from within these companies.

As we discussed in class the way a company carefully builds a strategic plan and assesses crisis vulnerability will ultimately impact the way in which they will react once a crisis happens. The careful planning and creation of a crisis management plan goes hand in hand with how this company will be viewed by the stakeholders, employees and outside public. Social Media, in this time and age, has become an intrinsic part of these crisis management plan and all those companies that are using it in a proper way should be commended for using it in a pre-emptive way.

Why do I say “pre-emptive”? Because companies that are careful with disseminating a message through the internet and have an in-house group or a PR agency to run a well though-out comprehensive approach to social media are already preparing the way for when a crisis happens. Not only are these companies disseminating a positive message but they are aware of what is being written about them by outside sources, sometimes negative and other times positive- and they can react accordingly.

B-M as one of the PR powerhouses has had in place a whole arm for Social Media - Proof Digital Media - not only for themselves, but for their clients. http://www.burson-marsteller.com/Practices_And_Specialties/Digital_Media/Pages/Default.aspx . In their site they warn their potential and current clients that “digital conversations are happening right now … about your business, about your brand, about your leadership roles.” What a better way to prepare for a crisis than to be in-tuned and in control with what is being exposed about your company in the world of social media?

Kudos to B-M and their team at Proof Media Digital for having the foresight about the impact of social media and providing their clients with their expertise on this new way of communication!

Crisis Communications and Apologies - A Professional Approach

In my research of everything B-M I came across a very interesting Blog posting “Apology PR: Asia’s Latest Export to the World?” (http://bobpickard.com/category/blog/crisis-communications/) by Bob Pickard, B-M’s new CEO for Asia Pacific. A longtime PR professional who worked for many years with Edelman Communications and just recently moved to B-M (February 2010), Pickard wrote about the importance of apologies, the timing for these apologies and the impact on crisis communications. In our QU PR Seminar we have been recently discussing Chapter 8 of “Crisis Management in the New Strategy Landscape,” dealing specifically with Crisis Communications. After reading Pickard’s blog on the Western and Eastern differences of perception about apologies, I went back to Chapter 8 and re-read it for any mention of “apologies” and guess what? There was none.

Pickard’s main point, that comes from many years of living in Asia and acclimating to their culture, is that it is essential to the eastern cultures to apologize and that this apology is not misconstrued as acceptance of guilt, but it is considered as compassion to the crisis situation. He also mentions how Western culture has been programmed to believe that an apology = guilt. As he stated “the generous Asian approach to apology ensures more harmonious and friendly relationships between people, contributing to civility in society and helping prevent angry public outbursts…”

For the US public, a mega consumer of reality TV (especially if it involves a crisis of some sort), teary apologies and acceptance of guilt have become a spectacle of “Coliseum” proportions. Teary apologies by politicians, entertainment personalities, and sports “heroes” are usually gobbled up by the public and make for media heaven. But notice that these are individuals accepting GUILT. One barely sees a corporation or organization apologizing during a crisis. Can it be possible that “apologies” will be included in the future as part of crisis management and the strategic plan of a corporation? Should executives learn the “right” way to apologize without seeming guilty? Could it be possible that we as a public could slowly change our empathetic thermometer to include accepting apologies as mere acts of humanity? I think Pickard is definitely on to something and the Asian culture too!

You can see more on Bob Pickard on Twitter at BobPickard or read his blog at BobPickard.com

A Spin-Doctor Like No Other: Crisis Management @ B-M

“Crisis” by its own definition brings up the emotion of fear to the public. Crisis over an earthquake (Haiti), a hurricane (Katrina) and the list goes on and on. Crisis Management is the way a corporation, institution or person is able to spin bad news into good news and usually that falls into the hands of educated PR agencies like B-M. But what happens when the “crisis” happens to the agency itself? How are they able to change their image to capture the positive side of a possibly negative situation that can affect how their clients see them?

Throughout the history of B-M, the agency has been employed by numerous clients some of them quite controversial companies and national regimes. Like any other PR agency, the clients seek PR agencies to help them in creating a positive image. The controversial groups definitely need more help. Any other agency in its place would have surrendered itself already to the pressure given off by groups and or advocacy groups that are against those same clients B-M represents.

But not B-M.

Take for example the following video (http://vodpod.com/watch/1412630-rachel-maddow-show-mark-penns-burson-marsteller-the-p-r-firm-from-hell) of MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow and how she attacked BM for its choice of clients. Maddow, very funny I must say, references one after the other what seems as a list of horrendous clients that B-M has helped with their image: AIG, Blackwater, 3-Mile Island, Saudi Arabia (after 9/11), the Military Junta in Argentina (1976), Phillip Morris, on and on she specified at least 12 clients followed by the disaster they had either caused or were accused of causing. She actually said: ‘When Evil needs public relations, Evil has Burson-Masteller in speed dial” and finished the segment calling B-M “the PR from Hell.”

How can an agency survive this kind of barrage? Spin, spin, spin and proving that they are the best at what they do. BM’s high echelon of executives is always in a public or educational conference and in the news bringing their savvy knowledge to the public. The extended media coverage their presentations acquire is an example of how respected they are by the media.

To give you an example of how well B-M can handle "crisis", the same year of the Maddow show (2009), the agency earned thirteen prestigious awards in Public Relations.

Here is Your Opportunity to Intern With B-M

As a class assignment, my professor has asked me to post a weekly post about Burson-Marsteller in relation to topics discussed in class and covered in our book. Unfortunately, I have not received my book in the mail yet. Since I can't write about topics portrayed in our textbook, I might as well give you an update on whats up with B-M and my experience with the firm personally.

I thought it would be a good idea to let you know that B-M looking for the brightest PR Juniors to be part of its Harold Burson Summer Internship Program … This is the moment for Public Relations and Communications juniors to start looking for that “foot in the door” of major PR firms and agencies. That is exactly what B-M is offering!

As a former summer intern of B-M in their office of Puerto Rico I can tell you that it is the best experience a student can have. There is no but’s or if’s – the moment you step into the office your learning experience commences and is nonstop for the next two months. Thanks to my mentor and Director of the P.R. office, Sara Lora, I was able to learn the details of the B-M operations. From writing press releases, to collection of data, to help in the creation of a new client’s campaign, I was involved in every process of Public Relations.

Do not miss a great opportunity to work with B-M. Deadline for applications is February 26^th. For more information go to their website at http://www.burson-marsteller.com . Also, don't forget to check out my twitter account @TakeADoseOfBM .

Quick Introduction

In this blog I will be focusing on a public relations firm known as Burson-Marsteller. I will try to apply the information I learn from the textbook and in-class discussion to developing crisis communication strategies for Burson-Marsteller. For example, Professor Laskin explained that crisis can be caused by an outside or inside error (deliberate or not). Burson-Marsteller, for example, can potentially face a crisis from inside causes such as risks and problems from within the company leaking out through employees and management. Financial issues could also impact the company from within and could cause an internal crisis. In addition, there are also countless external crisis problems that could affect management and the company's image. Such problems could arise if a crisis were not to be dealt with quickly and efficiently. This course will be offering the tools necessary to handle a crisis as such.

Since this is my first official post, I will like to state that I encourage anyone to reply to any of my posts. I am looking forward to hearing what anyone has to say. Also, if anyone has a twitter account, you can follow me @TakeADoseOfBM . Enjoy.