![]() Transparency, as you mentioned, is a make-or-break facet of any company’s reaction to a crisis. Business Insider also wrote a story on nine companies that saved a scandal through transparency. General Mills just set the example on how to handle a PR nightmare and turn it into an advantage. I believe this recall could have really hurt the organization, but transparency and customer service saved its reputation. I am now more trusting of the brand because I know that the product I am getting is quality, and if it is not, the organization is going to be truthful in telling me so. The fact that it wasted no time responding and not only accepted full responsibility for the problem, but also took the time to personally communicate with individual customers says a lot about General Mills. I am actually more impressed with Cheerios after the recall and the way the company handled it than I was before the incident. I could not agree more! As a consumer you know that no corporation is perfect, but its credibility is truly tested in the face of a scandal. Especially in today’s world of fast-spreading information, the few companies that choose to be transparent will be the ones that people worldwide will look up to. Telling the truth will always work out better in your favor than when a lie breaks loose. This is a very important point that every PR professional should remember in their work and personal lives. If I had found out that a company had lied to the public about a mistake, it would be tough for me and many others to be able to trust that company again. When the public feels like they can trust what the company is telling them, they are more likely to comply with it in future business. Judging from other companies’ mistakes, I believe that ones such as General Mills offer an excellent example of what a PR company should do in a case of emergency. In order to gain trust in today’s world of rumors it is important to stay truthful even if it is something against your favor. Great post, Sally! I love the part about companies being able to own up to their faults. Saying that you have done something wrong is a sign of strength and leadership that will help a company recover more quickly. What they cannot accept is that you’re not being transparent, because that then feeds thought of willful deception and cover-ups,” he continued.Īccording to the three T’s of a great PR experience are truth, trust and transparency. “Consumers can accept that you’re not perfect. “This is an age of transparency and you have to join it,” said Grabowski. Toyota representatives did an interview on the “Today Show,” but Grabowski said they should have done the interview a week before and communicated to consumers directly. The biggest mistake that Toyota made in its recall was its poor timeliness in communicating to the consumer. Grabowski explained that with forums that create rumors, recalling isn’t as simple as the Tylenol recall in 1982. In a Newsweek article, Matthew Philips spoke with Gene Grabowski, chair of crisis and litigation practice at Levick Strategic Communications, about the Toyota recall of faulty accelerators. Successfully instilling trust in consumers, General Mills’ recall and transparency campaign should serve as a model for brands preparing a crisis communication plan. Instead of copying and pasting variations of a general response, General Mills personally replied to each comment - reassuring concerned mothers and On social media, General Mills posted a photo to Facebook that spurred a lot of comments. “As president of General Mills’ cereal business, I am embarrassed and truly sorry to announce today that we are recalling boxes of Cheerios and Honey Nut Cheerios produced on several dates at our Lodi, California facility,” stated Jim Murphy, SVP and president of General Mills’ cereal division. It posted a link to a press release on the company’s corporate home page, and a Cheerios executive penned a blog about the situation. After the recall, General Mills didn’t waste any time communicating to its consumers. General Mills can attest to that when it had to recall more than 1.8 million boxes of supposedly gluten-free Cheerios and Honey Nut Cheerios on Monday, Oct. In today’s world of open communication through personal blogs and forums, transparency is only as effective as how quickly you respond to a crisis. Ever since our first PR class, we were taught to always tell the truth - no matter what. Transparency, transparency, transparency: We’ve heard this word a thousand times because it’s the first public relations lesson in the book.
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