Month: March 2013

March 12, 2013

How Law Firms (and others) Can Use Social Media In A Crisis

Here’s my article, How Law Firms Can Use Social Media In A Crisis, that was just published as part of a cover story theme on crisis management in Strategies, the Journal of Legal Marketing. It’s in PDF format, so please click on the first link above and just scroll to the second page. Of course, the information here applies to any company or organization. Thanks to the Legal Marketing Association for including my contribution.

Note: The article was published right before I changed my company name from LawFirmsPR to Rich Klein Crisis Management.

Please leave feedback/comments below.

Questions? Please email rich@richkleincrisis.com. Find me on Twitter @RichKleinCrisis.

strategiescover

March 11, 2013

Crisis Management Webinar: Who Speaks for the Company During A Crisis?

Here’s information on a webinar I’m excited to participate in from 1pm-2pm EDT on Wednesday, April 24, 2013 with my colleague, Jane Jordan-Meier: 

Who Speaks for the Company When A Crisis Hits?

Learn the factors you need to consider in determining the critical choice of spokesperson. Through case studies, Rich will explain why some executives were successful in representing their company and why others actually harmed corporate reputation further by their actions and words.  He will also discuss best practices/ protocols for your spokespeople and what really works today. Rich will help you decide the best choice because each crisis scenario may have a different answer.

Jane Jordan-Meier interviews Rich Klein, founder and host of The Crisis Show and president of Rich Klein Crisis Management.

Click the link below for more information and to register: 

http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=45moqdlab&oeidk=a07e745l2qj5cb3ff28

 

March 6, 2013

Doritos Locos Tacos Campaign in US vs Traces of Horse Meat In UK

doritos

Today, Taco Bell (a subsidiary of Yum! Brands) reached the pinnacle of its biggest marketing campaign in history to launch its Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos. But late last week, news came out of the United Kingdom’s Food Standards Agency that beef used in Taco Bells there tested positive for horse meat. In response, here’s what Taco Bell posted on its “domestic” website in the News Releases section:

Mar 01, 2013

Irvine, CA – March 1, 2013

Our domestic restaurants have not been, and will not be, impacted because we do not use any meat from Europe. We stand for quality and we use 100% premium beef.  Like all beef in the United States, ours is USDA inspected and then passes our own 20 quality checkpoints. To learn more about our ingredients and food facts, please visit us at: http://www.tacobell.com/nutrition/foodfacts

And here’s what was posted on March 2 to the company’s Taco Bell UK Facebook page:

Thank you all for your comments and support over the last 24 hours. We want to apologise to all of our customers that this has happened. Food quality remains our highest priority, and we have tested and certified that all beef for sale in our restaurants meets the strict standards we demand. We’d also like to let you know that we’ll be receiving new deliveries of beef by tomorrow for all of our Taco Bell UK restaurants. 

Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos

What’s interesting is that there are two different messages. The first, aimed at Americans, is an attempt to reassure customers that they use 100 percent premium beef. The second, aimed at UK customers, contains an apology and explains that they are receiving new deliveries.

Two different messages aimed at two different audiences worked fine in the 20th century and even the early 21st century. But today, it’s easy for consumers, the media and other influencers to find both statements and come to their own conclusions.
I get that when you are dealing with different cultures that messages might differ slightly. But if you are a global company like Yum! Brands and your reputation is challenged in one country, it’s not a good idea to try to isolate potentially negative information or to use different messaging about the same subject. The world is too small and information moves too fast to expect no one will notice.

What do other marketing/PR/advertising folks think? What do you think as a consumer? And, do you think the horse meat news will impact sales of the new tacos product globally? Please leave a comment below or Tweet #RichKleinCrisis.

Update, 2:30 pm EDT, March 6:
Apparently, there’s a shortage of the new taco product after the company announced it would start selling them a day early.
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