Public relations - The withdrawal from the market. Public relations case study

The withdrawal from the market. Case Study

“If a company at the centre of a crisis is seen to be unresponsive, uncaring, inconsistent, confused, inept, reluctant or unable to provide reliable information, the damage inflicted on its reputation will be lasting-and measurable against the financial bottom line.”

(Regester and Larkin, in Kitchen 1997:25)

For this subchapter I have studied the case of a small company in the north of Romania . The company, first of this type in town, had as object of activity entertainment activities, so it decided to start a business with carts, newly bought, worth 75000$. In order to develop its activity, the company rented a state-owned location. At the beginning things went well, there were many clients. But, once the carting activities began, the neighbors started complaining with the local authorities saying that the noise made by the carts was bothering them. They also brought into discussion the case of a little boy who was sick and needed silence. Measurements have been made and, surprisingly, they found out that the noise didn't outgrow the limits admitted by the law. The dissatisfied plaintiffs continued complaining at the police. In this case, the town hall proposed the solution to find another location, this time proper for carting, where the neighbors would not be disturbed. The space was found at 2 km-distance from the town.

All this time, the relationships with the media were very badly managed. The manager was never there to answer the journalists' questions; the employees didn't know what responses to give. Another mistake the manager made was to hide the problems he faced from his employees. Even if you can't fully trust your employees, they must know enough to help you.

The new location and a small number of clients didn't bring the salvation of the company. Consequently, the company had to close a few weeks later. The carts were sold cheaper and the manager couldn't cover his investment. This way, the financial loss of the company brought to its bankruptcy and the company had to withdraw from the market. Public relations case study

In my opinion, the manager's mistake consisted in his ignorance: his not testing all segments of the public and its reactions, a bad philosophy of management that didn't foresee the necessity of a PR department and of the PR specialists, no crisis communication planning. The issue that suddenly came up found the management totally unprepared. They didn't think, they didn't anticipate the worse.

Another proof of the lack of experience in public relations was that the company was not being alert at the needs of all interested parties. They didn't take seriously the problem with the neighbors and they carried out a defensive policy towards them. The company did not care to look after their concerns and interests.

The way the company management dealt with the media was also improper and unprofessional, the company was not liable and this harmed its reputation. The company did not establish any rapports at all with the media before the crisis situation. The manager must have relied on the novelty that this type of activity brought to the town and that it would be without any doubt a success.

We have seen what means the lack of a PR department within a company or no relationship at all with a PR consultant in a crisis situation even for a small company. The ignorance of not knowing what a PR specialist can do and how he can save a company that finds itself in a situation like the one described above made me decide to find out more about public relations and PR practitioner's roles. Public relations case study Looking at theory models and specific case studies, I have tried to understand how PR practitioners handle emergencies and situations that occur in every organization's activity.

After a careful study of the PR strategies and tactics and the role of the practitioner, I came up with a practical solution in order to save the reputation and the money of the company. What I propose is a recovery campaign.

Taking into consideration this type of campaign, its objective would have been to regain public confidence and attract the clients to the new location. In this respect, I would have chosen the appropriate strategies and tactics for a recovery campaign. I would have started with public information by means of an aggressive advertising using the right channels of written, spoken and visual communication. I would have appealed to the local media: radio and television, I would have sent press releases to the local newspapers, set panels and posters all over the town and offered flyers announcing the new grand opening of the company.

A research on the publics shouldn't have been omitted. The target public was represented by children and young people, but other segments like parents or neighbors (who complained in the first place) shouldn't have been neglected For this reason, a good relationship with these publics would have been essential for the well-going of the activity. As part of my tactics, I would have tried to convince the parents that it had been preferable for their children to spend their time at carting where surveillance would have been provided. The new location would have been safe, there would have been no risk of accidents and however, in case of accidents a doctor would have been available. In addition, people would have been notified that the carts were periodically checked.

What I would have also taken into consideration would have been the relationship with the local media. A good rapport and credibility should have been established from the very beginning. In order to achieve the objective, I would have invited them at the reopening and I would have held a press conference to draw the attention. A significant element would have been the presence of the manager at the conference, so I would have made sure that he would have been there.

A strategy would have been to underline the fact that the company would have donated 10% of their monthly earnings to support a public interest cause like, for instance, fight against drugs or abuse of children in the family. This way the company would have gained local community support.

As the company suffered a financial loss, I would have tried to look for sponsors for this activity, maybe a beverage company to ensure the refreshments at the new opening. I would have also asked a well-known national race driver to be present at the event. Publicity would have been ensured by a local band that could have held a concert to attract the public. Thus, through the eyes of the media people would have associated afterwards the event with the name of a VIP.

I would have offered facilities: shuttle buses to ensure the transport from the centre of the city to the new location of entertainment. In order to maintain a regular clientele, I would have organized contests with prizes and I would have offered free refreshments every Saturday. Public relations case study A fast-food with sandwiches and drinks in the precincts would have been a good idea too.

The company's management should have been restructured. Taking into account that we are talking about a small company, my option wouldn't have been an in-house department to deal with PR. In exchange, I would have chosen to maintain the relationship with an independent counselor for his counseling and advice in PR.

Last but not least, after things would have returned to normal, I would have turned my attention to the longer perspective. I would have built up a crisis communication plan for critical situations that might occur in the future; I would have tried to rebuild the relationships that had been harmed and maintain the new built relationships made with the media, the investors, the customers and other interested parties.

This is what I would have done if I had been collaborating with the company as an independent counselor. I think that a recovery campaign would have saved the company's reputation and more than that it would have been a success. The event would have been clearly associated with the name of the VIP present there; strong relationships would have been created between the company and the local media and authorities by sustaining public interest causes.

Moreover, entertainment possibilities would have been broadened having a great impact on the company's benefits as the company had the monopoly on the market. Further on, the reputation of the company would have been regained as the existence of a PR department and specialists in the domain within its top management would have provided credibility.

In fact, the presence of a PR practitioner in the company would have been the key-element that could have saved the situation. It has been actually said that helping things get better is half the job of a PR practitioner. I think that the successful management of the public relations aspects of emerging issues and actual crises represents the most valuable role which public relations practitioners can perform on behalf of their employers and/or clients. Communicating effectively during times of difficulty can save organizations millions of dollars and may save the business altogether.

The time and costs of the training and preparatory work of helping an organization to survive the worst of all possible circumstances is infinitesimal when compared to the cost of being unprepared. Public relations case study

To conclude this chapter, PR practitioners employ many strategies and tactics in the activities they undertake within their work. A strategy used by the PR specialists is the PR campaign, elaborated in order to correct or improve a situation, to solve a problem. The way in which a company deals with a crisis can be another strategy used by the practitioner. The case studies that I have chosen for this chapter illustrate a successful campaign and a wrong way of dealing with a crisis. What I have tried to underline was the significance of choosing a good strategy and the appropriate tactics when dealing with a crisis situation and the fact that if you are not a specialist in the domain the repercussions of the choices made may be fatal for the company's reputation.

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