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.
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 25th 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.
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