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Module 6: Media Relations and

Crisis Communications

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Emails you don’t want to receive

Dear Maybank Customer,Serious security treat in your account. Follow below reference to reactivate now.http://www.maybank2u.com.my/active.asp.html

Yahoo! Mail gives members random cash prizes. Today, your account is randomly selected as one of 5 top winners

I AM PRINCE DESMOND OKOTIEBOR ETETE. THE NEXT HEIR TO THE THRONE OF THE OIL RICH KINGDOM OF THE OGONI COMMUNITY. I HAVE A HUGE AMOUNT OF MONEY PRESENTLY IN THE PALACE.THE FUNDS WERE REALISED FROM OIL ROYALTIES THAT WAS PAID TO MY LATE FATHER. I NEED YOUR URGENT ASSISTANCE IN TRANSFERRING THE SUM OF US$330 MILLION IMMEDIATELY TO YOUR ACCOUNT.

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Verifying email

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Hoax: Ericsson free phone offer

• An email promising a free handphone from Swedish telco giant Ericsson

• Those who forwarded the email to 8 friends would receive a free Ericsson T18 handphone within two weeks. If forwarded to 20 friends, senders were promised "a brand new Ericsson R320 WAP phone."

• Reminded the recipient to send a copy to Anna.Swelund@ericsson.com of Ericsson Marketing.

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• Contacted Peter Bodor, PR manager of Ericsson Mobile Communications who confirmed the chain mail is hoax. No person named Anna Swelund in company.

• The company has received about 1,000 emails, mainly from Europe, and also from the US and Asia. Did not crash its server.

• This was not the first time Ericsson was hit by such chain letters, and that other companies like Nokia, Microsoft and Disney were similarly affected.

• Ericsson posted a notice on its website advising people to discontinue forwarding the email and apologized for the inconvenience.

• Link: http://www.trinetizen.com/archive/?p=113

How to kill a hoax

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Tommy Hilfiger – a racist?

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Problems with Internet rumours

• Difficult to identify source.

• Can’t tell how widespread.

• If you choose to ignore, it may go viral.

• If you choose to fight it, it may attract more attention.

• If partly true – “where there is smoke there is fire” – a denial may seem insincere and fan the flames.

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Samsung phone easily broken?

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YouTube video taken down

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Fighting rumours, Obama-style

• Not born in America

• He’s a Muslim

• He swore on the Quran when he took oath as senator

• Funded by foreigners

• “Palling around with terrorists”

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Michelle Obama Rumour• Ordered expensive room service

lunch at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York

• Consisted of lobsters, imported caviar from Iran and champagne racking up to a total cost of $447.39.  

• New York Post published rumour on October 17, 2008. 

• Four days later, retracted story: "The source must have been under the influence of a mind-altering drug."

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Politifact.com and Truth-o-meter

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Fightthesmears.com

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Fightthesmears.com

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Coca-Cola fights myths online

http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/contactus/myths_rumors/

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Case study: AirAsia

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“Now everyone can fly, except the disabled”

NST, July 16, 2007

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Initial crisis response

“We have to change the whole configuration of their planes to accommodate totally paralysed passengers….it was not feasible,” said AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes. (NST, July 17, 2007)

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AirAsia buys two ambulifts – August 4, 2007

“Despite assurances by AirAsia CEO Datuk Tony Fernandes on July 20 and again on August 4 this year that disabled passengers will be treated with dignity, the airlines is still subjecting disabled passengers to discriminatory policies,” writes Peter Tan from The Digital Awakening, after he was required to sign an indemnity releasing AirAsia from all liabilities – Wikipedia entry and on http://www.petertan.com/blog

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Dell laptop explodes at Japanese conference

By INQUIRER.net newsdesk: Wednesday 21 June 2006

An Inquirer reader attending a conference in Japan sat just feet away from a laptop computer that suddenly exploded into flames, in what could have been a deadly accident.

Gaston, our astonished reader reports: "The damn thing was on fire and produced several explosions for more than five minutes"…

For the record, this is a Dell machine," notes Gaston. "It is only a matter of time until such an incident breaks out on a plane," he suggests.

Our witness managed to catch all the action in these amazing pictures….

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Good news, get it out fast

Bad news, get it out faster!

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Dell to recall 4 million laptop batteries

CNET News.com,August 14, 2006

Dell and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission plan to recall 4.1 million notebook batteries on Tuesday, a company representative confirmed.

The recall affects certain Inspiron, Latitude and Precision mobile workstations shipped between April 2004 and July 18, 2006. Sony manufactured the batteries that are being recalled, the representative said.

This looks like the largest battery recall in the history of the electronics industry, said Roger Kay, an analyst with Endpoint Technologies Associates. "The scale of it is phenomenal."

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Sony delays response,problems deepen…

• Aug 15, 06: Dell recalls 4.1m batteries• Aug 24, 06: Apple recalls 1.8m batteries• Sept 15, 06: Virgin Atlantic, Qantas and Korean

Airban use of Dell and Apple laptops on board its planes, unless the battery removed.

• Sept 28, 06:Lenovo/IBM: 526,000 batteries• Sept 29, 06:Dell increases recall to 4.2m • Sept 29, 06:Toshiba recalls 830,000 batteries

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ThinkPad explodes in LAX airport, posting on Gizmodo.com, Sept 16

“So we're waiting for a flight in the United lounge at LAX, this guy comes running the wrong way, pushing other passengers out of the way and quickly drops his laptop on the floor. The thing immediately flares up like a giant firework for about 15 seconds, then catches fire….”

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Charred remains of IBM notebook on terminal floor

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Crisis Escalates, Spreads Like Viral Fever

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Sony finally responds…

Sept 30, 2006: Sony finally announces global recall of 9.6 million PC batteries. The recall and replacement would cost as much as 50 billion yen (about US$423 million).

…but profit plunges 94 percent for July-Sept quarter

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1. Determines cause – battery supplier, executes costly remedial action with safety in mind.2. Liaises with authority: Works with U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to announce global recall of 4.1 million laptop batteries.3. Used website: Sets up recall website for customers to check affected units.4. Assures safety: Guarantees replacement batteries are safe.

Dell’s Response Post-mortem

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'Alien' substance caused Dell notebook battery to ignite

By Julian Matthews, ZDNet Asia October 23, 2000.

KUALA LUMPUR – An 'alien' substance was mixed into the production process of the battery that caused a Dell customer's notebook to burst into flames and prompted a recall last week.

"As a result of analysis, we defined the cause of the short circuit that occurred in one cell was due to mixing of an alien substance at one production process," said Yoshiyuki Arikawa, a spokesperson of battery-supplier Soft Energy Company, a unit of Japanese consumer giant Sanyo Electric Co Ltd.

In the e-mail response to ZDNet Asia, Arikawa did not define what the 'alien' substance could be or how it entered the production process…

Arikawa added, "The defect rate should be very small since it’s a specific occasion and (went through) normal inspection process after. The defect is limited only to the 27,000-set lot to Dell."

Dell Computer recalled the 27,000 batteries with a promise to replace them free of charge….

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The Concept Of

P.E.A.R

In Crisis Communications

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SafeguardSafeguard PPeopleeople

Protect theProtect the EEnvironmentnvironment

Protect companyProtect company AAssetsssets

Protect companyProtect company RReputationeputation

Response In Crisis

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• Dell alerts customers, warns of danger, sets up website for recall & replacement

• Dell continues to work with safety authorities to monitor the situation

• Dell expresses confidence in Sony and safety of its products to customers and stakeholders

• Dell takes ownership, shows customers it cares

• P = Safeguard PEOPLE

• E = Protect ENVIRONMENT

• A = Protect ASSETS

• R = Protect REPUTATION

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Exercise: Determine Sony’s response based on material provided

• Divide into 3 groups

• Read summary of report on Sony in handout provided.

• Have a three-minute discussion with group members on order of P.E.A.R for Sony

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Slippery slope of customer adulation

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Sony execs’ bow not deep enough?

“We want to put this behind us. I take this problem seriously and I want to finish the replacement program as quickly as possible for the sake of our users and corporate customers,”Corporate Executive Officer Yutaka Nakagawa, Oct 24, 2006

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http://www.ideastorm.com

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Real-time support on Twitter

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Consider People, Environment, Assets, Reputation • Set up crisis management unit: role-play strategies for

dealing with crisis scenarios involving digital media – blogging, online video, viral emails, rogue websites.

• Act quickly, search for details, verify allegations, launch investigation

• Assess allies, call in your experts; notify affected parties, authorities and higher ups

• Openly and quickly share the facts with the public online

• Show you care, don’t over-react or take it personally

• Accept responsibility when you are at fault• Prepare a statement and stand by it; when in doubt, leave out• Tell the truth and be confident

Social Media Crisis Summary