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Greenpeace’s Social Media Win Has Losers

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Rainforest

If you were paying attention to social and traditional media, you will recall the Greenpeace/Nestle global crisis communications situation primarily in March and April this year. I wrote about it here; it was a fascinating study in public relations. (I would’ve liked to have been teaching a PR class when this was unfolding.)   

The issue became quite ugly quite fast when Greenpeace launched a crusade with a viral video accusing Nestle of killing orangutans in the rainforest due to its purchase of palm oil from a company in Indonesia that harvested palm oil from the rainforest and sold it to the likes of Nestle.

Nestle went on the defensive on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media hot spots and garnered thousands of hits to its page. Social media erupted against Nestle, as well, and Greenpeace watched their fireworks for weeks. In spite of Greenpeace’s social media win, the losers are still trying to uncover.

The accused Indonesian company from which Nestle and Unilever had been purchasing palm oil, PT Sinar Mas Agro Resources & Technology (SMART), ceased doing business with the two global giants as a result of the allegations. Unilever had been purchasing 47,000 tons of palm oil from SMART annually.

On August 11, 2010, this headline in the Wall Street Journal grabbed my attention, “Palm Oil Firm Rebuts Greenpeace Claim.” STAR paid to conduct a third-party audit of its estates to determine research “shows the company wasn’t responsible for cutting down forest and destroying orangutan habitat for palm cultivation.”

While I can’t corroborate the research report (Greenpeace is rebutting it), I can give you the skinny:

DAMAGE DONE, GREENPEACE “WINS.”

The public relations and social media strategy behind the Greenpeace maneuvers are amazing; and, they’ve been doing this for years.  These campaigns are the most well-orchestrated on a global scale; why? Because we live in an interconnected world where videos go viral within hours, and instantaneous, real- time, in-bound communication on social networks heightens the crisis to unmanageable proportion.

The tools are available to all the players except STAR. I have not done my research on this company’s mission, values or business philosophy (here’s a link to Business.com with some info). What I can assume is that people in Indonesia lost money and jobs because of this campaign and monkeys perhaps lost homes, too. World-wide, real-time refute via social media of the allegations by STAR were not possible, but the Wall Street Journal provided the company a solid foundation for which to air its side of the story.

As I weave this story again, I’m drawing your focus to the profound impact social media has all companies. Size Doesn’t Matter!! Word-of-mouth marketing is an amazing channel. If you watched the man in the video biting off the finger of an orangutan when he opened a Kit Kat, it’s highly likely you’ll never eat another (uh, chocolate bar).

Awesome Customer Service Story

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eReleases editors welcome Soulati Media, Inc.

Let me tell a story about good customer service.

I fielded a phone call in the spring from a man selling for eReleases. At the time, I didn’t have a need to send a traditional press release on the traditional wires because so much of Soulati Media, Inc. business is oriented to online press releases.

But, I saved his number and phoned him within the last month. After explaining the package levels and how to use the e-Releases services, he informed me he no longer worked at the company. Now, that’s customer service #1!

Recently, I used the company’s services and was pleased to be able to distribute my story on the PR Newswire for 2/3 the cost; cool. Afterward, a welcome note comes in the snail mail with $100 coupon and hand-written ideas from the editors on staff suggesting other ways I might consider writing a follow-up story. Now, that’s customer service #2!

Today, trolling through my in box of 7,000+ horrid emails, I found a note from the editorial staff of e-Releases with a clever, funny, happy photo of the gang there welcoming me to the e-Releases family. See the photo above; you can’t miss the feel-good customer service of that effort  (sent to me a month ago, sadly; but, I still saw it!). Now, that’s customer service #3!

So, what’s the summary here?

  • Welcome new customers into the mix in a personalized way.
  • Welcome new customers into the mix with a coupon for the next purchase.
  • Welcome new customers into the mix in a clever way that brings a smile.

Thanks, e-Releases, for some amazing customer service to cut through the clutter of every-day online life.

What awesome addition can you make to this story about customer service over and above?

JetBlue Flight Attendant, Social Media and Jobs

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Slater quits JetBlue after luggage lands on head

Just read the current Bloomberg Businessweek to arrive in the mail (I do like magazines). Its first story about the “Mad As Hell” JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater caught my eye and that of the rest of America, too.

To bring you up to speed, he quit his job in a flamboyant way, over the plane’s PA system to “curse a rude customer whose bag landed on his head, politely thanking other passengers, grabbing two beers from the galley before sliding down the inflatable emergency chute and sprinting toward home.”

What did America do in response? APPLAUD! And, social media erupted.

Facebook pages attracting 18,000+ fans with 211,000 likes lauded his gutsy move to quit a 20-year career in the airline industry. Others lamented their lack of nerve to do the same.

While Slater ponders a possible seven years in prison for criminal mischief and reckless endangerment, companies should ponder the entire real-life situation. Social media is not attacking JetBlue in this case; luckily the employer had nothing to do with this incident – or did they?

 I think there may be some culpability on the company’s part; however, not in a financial or legal way…here’s how.

Everyone is aware of the state of the ever-worsening economy. Those with jobs are coping with workloads overflowing and work-life balance in disarray.  Companies with a majority of frontline sales and customer service reps need to examine how they keep employees’ tempers in check when hazards of the job cause stress eruptions.

It may be easier for teleservice representatives to maintain composure, but the airline industry, retail, health care and professional services, for example, should look at new programs to de-stress frontline employees.

When was the last time you interacted with a customer service rep face to face? Was the experience professional, calm, satisfactory? Hopefully, it was because employees are not trained in social work or psychology and really don’t know how to handle other peoples’ stress beyond their own (even that’s suspect).

  • Perhaps workers who engage the public as frontline ambassadors should experience a friendly course in anger management for non-offenders.
  • Maybe employers can pop for a hotel getaway on the company to help de-stress frontline workers.
  • What about engaging a company-wide spa day? That would jolt a niche of the economy, wouldn’t it?

What do you think about Steven Slater’s decision to toss a job down the chute and contemplate prison garb in the not-too-distant future?

This is fascinating, and he, too, has hired a publicist; just like the post I wrote about Mark Hurd of H-P who has a PR firm on board to manage their celebrity.

(photo credit courtesy of Facebook)

Former H-P CEO Hires PR Firm; Lesson for Tiger

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Mark Hurd in 2009 (Credit: Mark Peterson)

By now, you’ve read the unfolding story of former H-P CEO Mark Hurd asked to resign a week ago due to some “I-did-not-have- sex-with-that-woman” snafu. What you likely haven’t heard about Hurd is the truth. The H-P board of directors is already bored with the entire scandal, and instead of releasing the truth behind the untruth, everyone is left to guess why the lack of transparency.

In the wake of the crisis, Mark Hurd hired Sitrick Public Relations of Los Angeles to help influence his brand and maintain his positive image as we await the whole truth and nothing but the truth. 

Is Hurd’s hiring of the PR firm Paris Hilton uses a smart thing? Or, is it squarely an admission of guilt? If anyone needed to hire a PR firm, it’s former-presidential-hopeful -now-fallen-star John Edwards or Governor of South Carolina Mark Sanford.

That’s an interesting move by Hurd to hire my peers in Los Angeles. Stories in the Wall Street Journal suggest he did it to pave the way for future employment and to set the unbalanced record straight.

My first impression was that Hurd is hiding something and that his decision to hire PR is an admission of guilt beyond a faulty expense account and a “close personal relationship” with Jodie Fisher, actress turned hostess. Let’s use Tiger Woods as an example.

Tiger’s crisis unfolded via a front-man gatekeeper who was a criminal attorney. No PR team in place to help craft the message in the immediate aftermath of Tiger’s early morning crash turned sex scandal extraordinaire.  If Tiger had hired a public relations team to help with his horrendous image, perhaps he’d be farther along on the pathway to repair than where he’s floundering now.

Back to Mark Hurd. At the time of this writing, the man is apparently not that guilty; yet, he hires a public relations firm to be the frontline spokespeople on his behalf. EXTREMELY SMART.

I love that Hurd turned immediately to PR as his frontline support and crisis team. I expect Hurd’s lawyer is also on that team, but the Wall Street Journal prominently featured a Sitrick spokesperson in its story and not a lawyer.

The “Smart Money” column in the Wall Street Journal by James B. Stewart on August 11, 2010 is a can’t-miss read.  I appreciate Stewart’s candor and blunt talk about transparency at H-P, “Hewlett-Packard Still Can’t Handle the Truth” on August 11, 2010. Nothing for H-P to be happy about, Stewart suggests investors avoid H-P stock. The $35 million exit package paid to the fired Hurd, the lack of transparency by H-P, and ridiculous way this situation is being handled have all created a nose dive for H-P stock. This week, $8.7 billion was shaved off H-P’s market value. (Seriously?)

I hope H-P is taking lessons from its former CEO. It should have a full-court press in investor relations, public relations, crisis communications along with social media strategies front and center to reverse its embarrassing downward spiral.  

What’s your impression of yet another sex scandal plaguing corporate America and government?

Blogging Takes Confidence

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This post is as much for me as it may be for you.

Blogging takes confidence. This list below includes several circumstances and what I know from experience helps make that confidence grow upward instead of into the dumps:

  • The recognition to spot a stumble with content and how to get ahead from that confidence-lacking position.
  • The ability to hear, process and get beyond the somewhat-negative commentary implying that “you suck” at this blogging thing and should hang it up.
  • The strength to read and take inspiration from the massive amounts of content being generated by others in the blogosphere and on social networking that put your feeble attempts to match that to shame.

If anyone is anyone who is a blogger who had to start somewhere, I bet any of the above has come to fruition. Indeed; for me it’s true. And, let’s not forget – we are our own worst critics.

And, so, these tips below are as much for me as they may be for you:

  • Blog with confidence and believe that you have something to say today.
  • Hear, process and determine whether to take action about others’ negative comments who at heart are critics not intending to derail you.
  • Read the blogs you subscribe to, comment there, and become inspired from peer bloggers’ inspiration. It’s OK to adopt a topic and fashion it into one of your own with a new perspective.
  • Be true to yourself. If your editorial content is more about reporting on a wide variety of topics, there’s a reason for that. Perhaps you come from the agency world of public relations (ahem) where knowledge about a breadth of topics, industries, companies, and concerns navigate your ship.
  • Know that it’s commonplace to stumble on voice because no one has the perfect voice every day they blog. It’s OK to craft a simple, short post chock full of emotion about one topic or another. It’s OK to struggle with what to write about today and then recognize that maybe today is not a good day to write.
  • It’s very OK to wonder if anyone is reading these words, and then it’s OK to be pleasantly surprised when someone provides a comment (whether positive or slightly smarmy) verbally or on e-mail because that is an indicator someone is paying attention.
  • You’re not to worry about the dag-gone back-end of the blog because that, too, comes with experience. You will persevere on the technical insides of your blog (Jayme) because learning does not happen overnight (Jayme).
  • When you’re having second thoughts about blogging, look around. Are you in balance? What circumstances have your inner balance off kilter? This can be your children, your finances, summer, and a house under construction, clutter, or lack of “me” /”you” time. Breathe, and focus on you.

So, blog with confidence, people, and know that that is exactly what you’re charged to do. Being a thought leader or expert comes with time.

I’d like to thank Macali Communications, Kevin Donnellon and Christina Rampersad for providing the inspiration for pushing this blog forth.

What expertise can you lend to we less-than-a-year bloggers to keep on truckin’?