Karma

This summer has seen its share of communication blunders and, as we head into August, we are starting to see the consequences. Tony Hayward has been removed as CEO in light of his poor handling of the oil spill. Maybe that yacht race at the height of the crisis wasn't such a good idea? Apple said it would provide iPhone 4 customers with free cases to improve reception issues that happen when the phone is held in a certain way. General Stanley McChrystal is retiring from the US Army after he was relieved of command of NATO forces in Afghanistan by President Obama, following blatantly disrespectful comments made to Rolling Stone magazine. Laurent Blanc, the new coach of the French national soccer team, announced that none of the players who went on strike at the World Cup in South Africa would play in the next match and that future selections would be based not only on talent but on a strong sense of teamwork, as well. The lesson in all of this is that what you say and do and how it is portrayed in the media and online has a tremendous impact on companies and careers. Tony Hayward didn't cause the oil spill but the problem was his to solve. Instead of showing leadership and providing clear, regular and honest communication, he was portrayed as not wanting to deal with the problem by saying he wanted his life back, minimizing the problem by not providing accurate information on the size of the disaster and not caring by going to yacht race at the height of the crisis. Likewise, Steve Jobs probably didn't design the finicky antenna for the iPhone 4 but he did tout its engineering at the launch press conference. Instead of blaming customers for holding the iPhone the wrong way he should have said right off the bat that the iPhone 4 didn't live up to Apple's high quality standards and that they would find a solution. Instead of a story that persisted for a period of time and tarnished Apple's otherwise sterling reputation, it would have been a one day story that might have actually strengthened their image as a company that can do no wrong. General McChystal should have had media training and a thorough briefing prior to letting a Rolling Stone reporter follow his entourage for a month. If he had done so, he would not have made such rookie mistakes. The problem is that most CEOs or, for that matter, Generals and professional athletes, don't understand the importance of communication and, as a result, don't solicit much input from their communications department or agency. If they had, they would have probably reacted differently.

Cluelessness Volume III

I can't swing a dead cat without finding an example of bad communication. This time it is France that takes this week's prize. On July 14, Bastille Day, the French government launched france.fr which was to be a global and multi-lingual portal for all things French -- tourism, investment etc. The problem was that the same day that the site went up it then came back down and has not come back to life since. Visitors to the site receive the following message, "France.fr, a complete and complex site, is temporarily unavailable. We are in the final phase of our audit to find out the causes of the technical failures which led to us closing the site, and are close to finding a solution. We would like to thank all the web users who helped us spot the bugs. We aim to have the site fully operational again in the second half of August, and can confirm that a version with a participatory dimension will be released in November. Thank you for your patience." At least the SIG, France's government information service, bit the bullet and re-set expectations with a new availability date. What I don't understand is how they got themselves into this mess in the first place. I mean this is cyberspace not outer space and creating a website -- even a complex one -- is not like sending astronauts to Mars. This has been an embarrassment for the French government. Maybe it is because the web is inherently a bottom up environment and not top down. The most visited websites -- Google, Facebook, eBay -- were bottom up / entrepreneurial ventures. Maybe this is why Microsoft has struggled with Bing and Live. At this point the damage has been done and my advice to the SIG would be to ensure that when the site launches it works flawlessly -- even it it means delaying the launch past the late August date. The last thing the SIG needs is to make the headlines again with a buggy site.

What Really Matters in Business

Sep/21/09 08:50 While the promise of social media continues to create a frenzy, a growing number of industry thought leaders are sorting out the proper place in the marketing food chain for this exciting new form of communications. There is no doubt social media represents new and varied opportunities for brands to engage their customers. Those among us with a bit of gray in our hair recall that it isn’t the media itself that makes the story. Our friend Ted Simon posits that this discussion is too tactical in nature as media, social or traditional, are merely channels, and that the real discussion and value is in defining the message or story and ensuring it drives business objectives. Communications is best when it tells a story and that story reflects a brand’s true attributes and supports its business objectives as opposed to frivolous, ad hoc messages haphazardly distributed with the hope that they reach a friendly ear. The executive suite still assesses business not by the number of followers the company has, but by valuation, sales, revenue and operating income. It is crucial that communications support these metrics. Measuring by followers, media clips, impressions and press releases falls far short since they are all calculations of activity not bottom line impact. It is important to take an agnostic approach to media, evaluating the merits of all media channels and tools based on their ability to deliver the right message to the right audiences in the right context to achieve business goals. Social and traditional media intersect and interact, each contributing to the other. Marketers are wise to recognize this interdependence and embrace both, evaluating the efficacy of specific channels of communication as it relates to the business needs of the brand.