Infographics 101

By Lindsay Higgins

This past week challenged me in our Journalism 4460:Public Relations Communications class.  No, it wasn’t writing a press release or learning about online newsrooms.  Surprisingly, it was another “beast” entirely.  One of our assignments was to create an info graphic and man that stumped me. 

            So if you are like me, you immediately asked yourself: what in the world even is an info graphic? The nextweb.com defines an info graphic as “a visual representation of data that is intended to present complex information quickly and clearly.” (Source: NextWeb.com). 

            In layman’s terms, info graphics are basically a colorful, engaging way to order information and attract your viewers.  They’re a simplified way to get your point across, along with your data in a way that people will actually like and understand within minutes.  Say you have a bunch of data on Twitter like the number of users, content that is trending and the age range of the average Twitter tweeter.  Instead of a long summary chalked full of numbers, you can arrange it in a much more interesting way.  

Growth Of Twitter

            Now isn’t that info graphic much more stimulating than reading a paragraph full of boring statistics that seem to drone on and on?  That’s what I thought.  It turns out that making your own info graphic is much more achievable than you would believe.  For example, there are websites that help generate your information for you.

            One of those awesome websites is called Canva.com.  For a non design, anti technology student, this is a life saver.  It makes it incredibly easy to create a cohesive and interesting info graphic.  The best part? It is free!  For anyone, student or professional, in need of a step up of technological proportion, Canva is your saving grace!

            So to sum it all up, info graphics can take your blog, article, tweet, and basically your life to the next level.  It’s informative, visually stimulating and lets your reader understand your data at a new speed.  It’s a brand new thing I just learned, and Canva made it easy for me to excel in creating one!

Bibliography:

@. (2014). 10 Ways to Use Infographics. Retrieved September 29, 2016, from http://thenextweb.com/dd/2013/10/16/10-ways-use-infographics/#gref

Free Online Infographic Maker by Canva. (n.d.). Retrieved September 29, 2016, from https://www.canva.com/create/infographics/

O. (n.d.). We are an award winning creative agency specialising in content development, creation and marketing. Get in touch with us on 01432 839 461 or visit our infographic design page. Retrieved September 29, 2016, from http://www.designbysoap.co.uk/the-growth-of-twitter-infographic/

Lochte Leaves Something to be Desired

By Lindsay Higgins

While in class today we discussed the blunders of Ryan Lochte, the famous Olympic swimmer who was in this year’s scandal.  In case you weren’t aware of what Lochte did wrong, let me fill you in.  He and three other swimmers falsely claimed to be robbed at gunpoint in Rio this summer.

After the claim, video footage surfaced showing the true actions that took place that night.  Lochte was able to make it out of Rio, but his “partners in crime” were not so fortunate.  As a punishment for his fibs, Lochte has agreed to a 10-month suspension and to be ineligible for the 2017 world championship meet.  He also has agreed to forfeit all his funding and paychecks from the gold medal he earned. 

Other consequences include limited access to training facilities, loss of financial stipends and 20 hours of community service.  So what happens next? Well in all crisis communications, it is important for an individual or company to make a formal apology. 

As of August 20, Ryan Lochte began an “apology tour”.  He spoke to NBC’s Matt Lauer and claimed full responsibility for the Rio incident.  Lochte issued a formal apology and claimed to be embarrassed of the whole ordeal.  To watch the full interview, just click Here.  Lochte also met with Felipe Santana of Globo, a television network well known in Brazil. 

However, recently there has been some flack generated by the public for his apology communications and some are saying that his apology leaves something to be desired.  Apparently his attempt to exonerate himself comes across as insincere and even not honest.  Instead of trying to correct his public image and show that he has learned from his mistake, and he will not repeat it. 

 When PR News Online posted a question to Twitter asking for thoughts on how Lochte is handling his PR crisis, individuals Tweeted back saying it wasn’t looking too good.

PR News Twitter

I sure hope Lochte steps up his apology and public image repair soon.  He is too talented to let a lapse in good judgement ruin his, and three other swimmers careers.  Hopefully he starts to take this seriously and realize that all good crisis communications stem from honesty, integrity and a true apology.

Sources:

Renfree, B. (2016). Ryan Lochte and the 3 F's of Crisis Communications. Retrieved September 22, 2016, from http://www.prnewsonline.com/ryan-lochte-crisis

Inside the gas station where Ryan Lochte says he was robbed. (n.d.). Retrieved September 22, 2016, from http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/inside-gas-station-where-ryan-lochte-says-he-was-robbed

Wells Fargo: Officially Fradulent

By Lindsay Higgins

Wells Fargo has joined the ranks of companies such as Chipotle, Exxon and Volkswagen with a recent public relations scandal.  Actually, make that two scandals.  The first was an advertising mishap that ended in a public relations triumph, but unfortunately the second was a true crisis communication problem.

The bank, in honor of Teen Financial Education Day, released advertisements depicting ballet dancers and actors as childhood hobbies instead of actual careers.  For example, one of the ads stated,  “A ballerina yesterday.  An engineer today.  Let’s get them ready for tomorrow.”  The advertisements sparked backlash on multiple mediums, specifically Twitter. 

CNBC Report

However, Wells Fargo responded almost at once on the same social platform that the backlash occurred on.  They issued a very sincere apology on Twitter and stated that in 2015 they actually donated $93 million to creative and education groups for young adults.  We’ll chalk that up as a win.  Crisis averted right? Wrong.

On September 8^th, federal regulators busted Wells Fargo for secretly creating millions of unauthorized bank and credit card accounts for the last 5 years. Thousands of Wells Fargo customers were affected; one customer even reported losing $250,000.  If that wasn’t enough, the executive in charge of the fraudulent division retired with an insane $124.6 million payout. 

So how did Wells Fargo public relations handle the scandal?   CEO John Stumpf has only made one statement, and that is to say he does not plan on resigning.  Wells Fargo has been fined $185 million and the company’s stock has plummeted.  Stumpf will appear before the Senate Banking Committee next week and hopefully will make more of an effort to appease the public.  For now, customers and the general public are outraged on all social media platforms only to be met with radio silence from Wells Fargo. 

Bibliography:

H. (2016). Bove: Wells Fargo will make retail banks 'rethink' how pay works. Retrieved September 14, 2016, from http://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/14/bove-wells-fargo-will-make-retail-banks-rethink-compensation.html

Glazer, E. (2016). Federal Prosecutors Investigating Wells Fargo Over Sales Tactics. Retrieved September 14, 2016, from http://www.wsj.com/articles/federal-prosecutors-investigating-wells-fargo-over-sales-tactics-1473881424

Johnson, K., & McCoy, K. (2016). Federal prosecutors examine Wells Fargo over sales practices. Retrieved September 14, 2016, from http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2016/09/14/federal-prosecutors-examine-wells-fargo-over-sales-practices/90370170/

Merle, R. (2016). Wells Fargo fired 5,300 workers for improper sales push. The executive in charge is retiring with $125 million. Retrieved September 14, 2016, from http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-wells-fargo-executive-fake-accounts-20160914-story.html

Oil Spill Sinks Exxon's Public Image

By: Lindsay Higgins

One of the most effective public relations tools that I have learned is taking bad PR and examining what went wrong.  The “nightmare” crisis communication cases can give a real life insight into what not to do as a public relations specialist.  I believe that by examining what went wrong, we can be better prepared for the future.

            The most prominent example I can think of is the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.  The oil tanker hit submerged rocks off the Bligh Reef, just off the coast of Alaska.  The tanker was ripped almost the entire length of the ship and 11 million gallons of crude oil leaked into the ocean. 

         

Huffington Post Exxon Article

           

            The result was devastating.  Unfortunately, things would go from bad to worse.  Exxon did not have a crisis plan in place or even a public relations professional employed within the company.  Chairman of Exxon, Lawrence Rawl, made the situation irrevocably worse by not making a statement in a timely manner and declining to immediately go visit the scene. 

            In fact, Rawl sent a group of low ranking executives to the scene, which caused the public to become even more outraged because he didn’t seem to be taking the situation very seriously.  Furthermore, it took Rawl three weeks to finally visit the spill site.  As for his statement about the incident, he waited six days to acknowledge the accident and even then, did not offer an apology or sense of responsibility.  When dealing with crisis communications, company officials usually have 12 to 48 hours to make a statement, unfortunately Rawl missed this golden window and Exxon paid for it with the public’s negative opinion.

            March 2014 marked the 25^th anniversary of the spill.  The damage to the environment is still evident in the sea otter and heron population.  It is even still possible to see small amounts of oil on some of the beaches of Alaska.    Oil Spill Remnants

            The important lesson to be learned is that crisis communications is literally 24 hours a day.  You have a very narrow time to make an impact with a statement or improve your image with the public.  Because of their ineffective crisis planning or communication skills, Exxon will forever have a tarnished record with the community and the public.

Bibliography:

http://www.nytimes.com/1989/04/21/business/exxon-s-public-relations-problem.html?pagewanted=all

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/24/exxon-valdez-oil-spill-photos_n_5020845.html

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/03/140301-exxon-valdez-oil-spill-alaska-beaches-ocean-science/