Reputation Management Archives - Page 3 of 4 - Wellons Communications

Starbucks Beetle Juice has Vegans Seeing Red

Posted on April 9, 2012 by Wellons team

The world’s largest coffeehouse chain has the vegan community in an uproar…over Strawberry Frappuccinos®.

It was recently discovered that Starbucks has been using ground-up beetles for the coloring of this tasty treat. As disgusting as that sounds, the Cochineal Beetle is actually a very common, government-approved food coloring used in familiar foods, such as Yoplait Yogurts and Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts. It is also used to make more than 300 bright red lipsticks.

With the vegan community frothing over what was thought to be a veg-friendly drink, Starbucks now has an unexpected PR crisis on its hands. ThisDishIsVegetarian.com, among other websites, is buzzing about the beetle juice and announced to their readers not to drink it anymore. They are not trying to cause trouble; they just want to alert members.

Starbucks made the switch to using beetles in January to help get rid of artificial ingredients in their food and drinks. The coffee giant maintains it was simply trying to do the right thing. Nutrition experts say it was the right idea, but the wrong execution.

Starbucks’ good intentions have left them with a completely unintended public relations problem.

Groupon: Accounting principles up to 50 percent off

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Wellons team

Ok, so maybe the headline of this is tad unfair and technically incorrect. However, there is no denying that Groupon’s reputation has stung in recent days because the popular Chicago-based online coupon company overstated its financial position in its first quarter as a public company.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Groupon’s auditors discovered that the coupon company suffered a “material weakness in its internal controls” and did not set aside enough money for customer refunds. The size of this oops-worthy mistake was more than $14 million, the newspaper reported.

For companies that are trying to polish their accounting numbers to make them look as good as possible, there is a deep downside – bad PR that travels quickly. Reputations are hard to earn and quickly lost.

The numbers might have frustrated Google’s investors if the company had recorded their financials right the first time; however, it would also not be shown in a negative light at the front page of the leading financial newspaper.

Groupon should leave the deep discounting to specials. Deep discounting on accounting practices will lead to negative publicity that will last longer than the daily deal.

A call to marketers: do not discredit the new dad

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Wellons team

Recent findings have revealed that marketers should not be so quick to disregard dads as a target audience when it comes to advertising. New data from a study conducted by The Parenting Group and Edelman reveals that dads believe they are playing a bigger role than ever before helping out with household activities. When asked how often they are responsible for various tasks like grocery shopping, diaper changing and disciplining children, dads said the responsibilities were evenly split. What’s more, a staggering 82 percent of men whose oldest child is less than 2 years old believe an anti-dad societal bias exists. So not only do dads feel that they are equally contributing to the household, but also that they are being denigrated by society for it.

So what gives? Well, this concept is definitely not new to us. We can see why dads feel ignored when it comes to acknowledging their presence in the household. How often do you see commercials with men using Swiffers? Or doing the laundry? Even television sitcoms have helped to perpetuate negative portrayals of fatherly figures. Just look at Ray in “Everybody Loves Raymond,” or Hal on “Malcolm in the Middle,” or better yet everybody’s favorite animated father, Homer Simpson. Time and time again, these dads have been stereotyped as dopey, inept father figures.

The best way to fight this stale archetype is for marketers to embrace the new role of dads in society, as highlighted by research from The Parenting Group. Advertisers need to stop marketing solely to women and flippantly ignoring the growing population of males making household purchases. Just ask Huggies, who recently pulled a video from its Facebook after sparking outrage from disgruntled dads. The video poked fun at fathers by evaluating the strength of a diaper after a baby’s been alone with a dad for five days. It wasn’t long before a backlash of negative comments erupted and Huggies issued a formal apology on their Facebook recognizing that “a fact of real life is that dads care for their kids just as much as moms do” and should have an opinion on product performance too.

Well, at least someone gets it now.

The Role of PR in the Susan G. Komen Foundation vs. Planned Parenthood Debate

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Wellons team

Recently, the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer research has come under attack for their decision to revoke funds allotted to Planned Parenthood for breast-health services. After a public attack on the Komen Foundation, leaders quickly revoked their previous decision to discontinue funding for Planned Parenthood (which totaled $680,000 just last year).

The controversy surrounding this debate is a great lesson in crisis communication.

The quick reversal of statements made by the Komen Foundation after considerable backlash implies that the decision to make the statements in the first place was not fully thought through. If a corporation publically announces any intentions, the intent behind the announcement and the reaction the announcement will generate should be thoroughly considered. Good PR means that a corporation can communication effectively and without reservation.

On the other hand, the Komen Foundation’s realization that the brand has been tarnished by this decision indicates that the foundation understands the importance of maintaining a brand image. The role of PR is pointless if a corporation’s brand does not correlate with its audience. Angering or displeasing your following can be the downfall for any organization.

PR is more than just the free flow of information between business and client. It is the direct reflection of a business as a whole, and communicating the values and beliefs of that business is an essential to success. As the Susan G. Komen Foundation has demonstrated, sending out the right message the right way is the key to good PR.

What do the media and hurricanes have in common?

Posted on August 30, 2011 by Wellons team

Unpredictability is the rule of the game when it comes to hurricanes…..and the media.

This past weekend, the media rushed to call Hurricane Irene a once-in-a life time storm – a major hurricane that would race up the eastern seaboard and wreck havoc on all along its path.

In many ways, Irene lived up to its billing. Just ask the millions of people still without power or the good citizens of Vermont who are still sopping up the damage from massive flooding.

Yet the same media that staked out weather teams ready for wall-to-wall coverage did not appear satisfied with the multi-billion dollars of destruction. As soon as the storm cleared the U.S. border, many news organizations switched quickly from forecasters predicting gloom to news writers asking why the gloom and doom didn’t meet the forecast.

Only the media could create so much noise and then turnaround and complain that the noise was too loud for the result.

Hurricanes have been – and always will be – unpredictable. You never know what path they will take or how hard they might hit their target. Unfortunately, the same can be said for many members of the media.

The take away: Prepare as best you can. Whether with hurricanes or media relations, it is best to have a firm plan in place for when the storm hits your business.

U.S. in a PR nightmare with no end in sight

Posted on August 8, 2011 by Wellons team

Posturing with no results behind it will lead to very bad PR – just ask the federal government.

For most of the past month, consumers, big businesses and small businesses held their breath while our so-called leaders debated raising the national debt ceiling. Some in Congress saw this debt ceiling debate as an opportunity to take a stand, make points and play politics with the stability of the U.S. economy.

Payback time has arrived. Our leaders are awash in bad PR. One of the leading rating agencies – Standard & Poor’s – has trimmed the U.S. gold standard AAA credit rating. Financial markets across the globe are taking a beating.

A credit rating is just an opinion, but perception is reality. The new reality for the U.S. is that our leaders can’t be trusted to make financial decisions in a timely and prudent manner. So we all suffer.

The communications lessons are many. Words and boastful stands without actions and results to back them up can be damaging. Sometimes empty promises damage brands, and sometimes empty promises damage entire economies.

What can marketers learn from Oprah?

Posted on June 14, 2011 by Wellons team

oprah-goodbye2 After a 25-year reign on daytime television, Oprah said goodbye in May. Even if she’s off the small screen, Oprah’s influence leaves a lasting impression.

As we reminisce about freebies and star-studded specials it’s important to consider the lessons we’ve learned from the queen of talk.

Communication – After 25 years, and countless awards and nominations, Oprah knows how to connect with her guests and audience through the art of communication. Her ability to make people laugh, or bring them to tears is a testament to her ability to connect and appeal to millions.

Be transparent – Honesty was key with Oprah, not only for herself, but for her guests as well. She made sure anyone appearing on her show played by that rule or she would call them out without a second thought. Through her transparency she became more relatable and trusted.

Be personable – Oprah was constantly opening up her life to her audience. Whether it was about her hair, weight or her troublesome upbringing, her ability to share details about herself engaged her audience even more.

Suspense is everything – The word Oprah just stirs up a buzz. Down to her “Secret Show” finale Oprah knew how to generate attention and intrigue.

The power of a review – Oprah was famous for showering her audiences with extravagant, red-carpet gifts. If she happened to mention one of your products, that product would soon fly off store shelves. On the flip side, if she happened to criticize your product, hold on for a heck of a dry spell.

PR Job – put a new Sheen on this one

Posted on February 4, 2011 by Wellons team

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By Cori Pope

By now everyone’s heard of the self destructive, downward spiral of beloved Two and a Half Men star and Golden Globe winner, Charlie Sheen.

Just in the past month Sheen’s reputation has gone from notorious bad boy to infamous binge drinking, coke smoking, ever in the presence of porn stars partier. To put the icing on the cake, all this comes as he’s still on probation for his domestic violence spat with ex-wife Brooke Mueller.

Recently, a video surfaced of Sheen dancing, with three scantily clad women at the inception of his 36-hour cocaine fueled party binge last week. Of course, this marathon resulted in a trip to the hospital and rehab.

Now, Charlie’s speaking up about the rumors saying, “All crap. Believe nothing. I will never speak about any of this as long as I’m alive. You’re all gonna have to keep towing the same redundant line, guessing wrong.”

Later his rep spoke on Sheen’s behalf of his remorse and new work ethic.

“I have a lot of work to do to be able to return the support I have received from so many people. I want to say thank you to my fellow cast members, the crew of Two and a Half Men and everyone at CBS and Warner Bros., especially [CBS CEO] Les Moonves and [Warner Bros. TV President] Bruce Rosenblum for their concern and support. And to my fans, your good wishes have touched me very much. Like Errol Flynn, who had to put down his sword on occasion, I just want to say thank you.”

Right now his reps need to put on their best public relations hats to turn his reputation around, which will not be an easy fix.

But here’s a little encouragement, look at Robert Downey, Jr., Ben Affleck, Drew Barrymore, Brittany Spears and Whitney Houston.