This document reflects relevant online activity related to the crash of Asiana Airlines 214 which occurred on the evening of July 6, 2013. It covers the initial 90 minutes of online activity with a 12-hour refresh. It is based purely on external analysis of the incident and communications activities undertaken in the public domain.

1. ASIANA Flight 214 | CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS ANALYSIS
Digital & Social Media
Brendan Hodgson, Strategy Director
H+K Strategies, Brussels
@brendanhodgson
Brendan.hodgson@hkstrategies.com 7 JULY 2013

2. Analysis:
– Initial 90 min following crash – July 6, 2013
(approx. 21:30 – 22:30 CET)
– Supplemented by 12hr refresh – 10AM CET –
July 7, 2013
– Timestamps included in this document are
estimates only.
– NOTE: this analysis is not intended as a
critique of the response efforts of any
involved party
Introduction

3. Analysis:
– This document explores the following
incident elements:
• Role of web/social properties by involved
parties – airlines, airports, emergency
responders, regulatory bodies etc.
• Role of web/social by witnesses and general
public
• Role of web/social by media
– The observations and questions raised by
this analysis are not informed by any
internal knowledge of the incident
response plans of any of the involved
parties
Introduction
10/1/2013
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4. Asiana Flight OZ 214
Departed from Seoul at 5.04pm Korean
time and touched down in San
Francisco at 11:28am PDT, according to
FlightAware. The flight lasted 10 hours
and 23 minutes
Boeing 777
291 passengers
3 confirmed fatalities | Multiple injuries
Background
10/1/2013
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5. First 60 min:
No mention of incident
across any of Asiana’s
digital platforms:
regional websites (US,
Asia etc.), FB or Twitter
Airline | Asiana
21h50 CET
22h10 CET

6. First 60 min:
Asiana Twitter feed:
No mention of incident – Potential
reputation risk due to perceived lack of
sensitivity given current tweets
Airline | Asiana
10/1/2013
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7. Airline | Asiana
Press release
uploaded to US site
2.5 hours following
crash.
Over 6 hours the
release receives
18000+ hits

8. Airline | Asiana
Potential consistency issue
as some regional sites
updated (e.g. US, Korea)
while others not (Europe)
Korean English site
European English site

9. Airline | Asiana
Within approximately 12 hours of
the crash, Asiana had published
5 tweets and updated all of its
social platforms, including FB.

10. Airline | Asiana
Interestingly, Asiana linked
one tweet to its media
statement hosted on its
Google+ account versus its
own website.

11. Airline | Asiana
From an employee
management
standpoint, issue
potential as
employees from
other airlines
comment and
speculate on
potential causes etc.

12. Airport | SFO
Within minutes, SFO website inaccessible
Remains inaccessible for the next 12 hours.
21h50 CET
22h10 CET
22h20 CET
22h35 CET

13. +12 hours
SFO website remains
inaccessible – basic
information page
updated to direct
public to either call a
number or follow their
twitter feed.
Airport | SFO
10/1/2013
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14. Active use of Twitter by SFO throughout crisis
Less active use of Facebook
Recognition that social platforms were only
available online channels to communicate
messages | actions
Airport | SFO 14
22h25 CET

15. Airport | SFO
Over the initial 12 hours
following the crash, SFO
tweeted more than 15
updates

16. Manufacturer | Boeing
Boeing | 777 manufacturer
acknowledged incident via
Twitter within first 35 min.
During that time, no mention
posted to Boeing.com

17. Potential issue for
companies with
more than one
Twitter Account
Boeing corporate
inconsistent with
Boeing Airplanes
despite equal
visibility
Issue – how should
organisations with
multiple accounts
push public to
handle specific to
crisis response?
Manufacturer | Boeing
10/1/2013
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18. Manufacturer | Boeing
Within several hours, all Twitter accounts had been updated with expression of
condolences – Re-tweeting Boeing Airplanes

19. Proactive Tweet’s by Boeing
amplified almost immediately
Picked up by mainstream media
Guardian.co.uk
Manufacturer | Boeing
10/1/2013
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20. + 1 minute
Within 60 seconds of incident, the first
image is posted to Twitter by airport
witnesses
Reporters quick to seek out
eyewitnesses | passengers etc.
Seiden/photo mentioned in more than
5000 articles
Passenger Reporting
10/1/2013
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21. Passenger Reporting
+20 min:
First passenger photos are posted to
Path | amplified through Twitter
Pick-up by mainstream media within
minutes of posting by passenger to
social platform

22. Passenger Reporting
Within first 8 hours, image had
been re-tweeted more than
30,000 times

23. Passenger Reporting
Survivors | participants became key
players in the unfolding story – with
images and regular updates bypassing
traditional media

24. Regulatory Body | NTSB
Within first 60 minutes – NTSB site was
updated multiple times

25. Regulatory Body | NTSB
Within 12 hours of crash, NTSB had added
images of the NTSB investigation team on-
site

26. General Observations
Role of social heightened through visual
proximity to incident
As media mobilized, citizen journalism drove
much of the data flow
All major social platforms at play re.
amplification – Twitter, FB, YouTube,
Instagram

27. General Observations
Heavy reliance on
mainstream media screen
grabs as source for visuals
and new information
Mainstream media
ensured social served as
a key channel during first
hours of crisis

28. General Observations
Mainstream media tweets | links
most popular re-tweets in first
hour following crash

29. General Observations
An interesting side-story: Facebook’s
Sheryl Sandberg updates FB indicating
she had been scheduled to be on
flight.
A large number of responses were
critical of her comments in light of the
situation.

30. Transparency | Availability of Data
The Asiana crash continues to
demonstrate the increasing availability of
information that can be accessed by the
public unfiltered by either the media or
government bodies.
General Observations
10/1/2013
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31. General Observations
As with virtually every
21st century crisis, the
web is quick to elevate
the history behind the
key players – even as
the crisis continues to
unfold.

32. By the Numbers: Social & Online Media
More than 44000 Tweets
referencing Asiana within first
30 minutes
More than 52000 Tweets
referencing Asiana within first
60 minutes
Global reach – driven largely
by movement of visuals |
video

33. Massive traffic spike to
Asiana’s corporate website
Reinforcement of need for
robust infrastructure and
importance of website as
primary information
resource
Asiana’s Twitter account
grew by approx 2500 during
height of the incident
By the Numbers: Asiana Platforms
10/1/2013
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34. By the Numbers: Media Coverage
Google News
22h30 CET
10h30 CET +1

35. Importance of having social platforms deployed as back-up should owned platforms
(websites) fail
Importance of consistency across all regional websites – as all major events are now global
events
For companies with multiple Twitter handles, importance of proactively identifying specific
Twitter account responsible for response
As demonstrated by earlier events (Hudson River, Costa Concordia), proximity to the
event, and the potential to capture and share compelling visuals will further drive social and
media amplification – When such a scenario exists, be prepared for significantly heightened
coverage and commentary.
During first minutes of a crisis, social media functions as more than an amplifier of news and
sentiment. During this confused period, and as media are trying to mobilize and access
information, social and digital often drives new information (particularly images and video).
Once mainstream media are in play, the role of social typically reverts to one of amplification.
Mainstream media will continue to serve as the primary content source for social amplification
Communication within the first 30-60 minutes remains a critical factor in corporate crisis
response – corporations must be careful to control all employee engagement, up to the most
senior ranks
Key Observations
10/1/2013
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36. Final Note