Top 10 PR Blunders of 2016

10 Worst
PR Blunders
of 2016
Wilbert Group
The
October 2016

#10
Delta’s Never-Ending Outage and Outrage
By most accounts, Delta Air Lines’ PR response to its days-long
computer outage was strong. But there were enough missteps
and missed opportunities to land them in our Top 10.

...blame the wrong guy
for starting the problem.
Delta intially blamed a
Georgia Power outage. Truth
was that a Delta power control
module failed.

...get cheap while
fixing the crisis.
$200 travel vouchers instead
of full refunds? And please no
more photos of people sleeping
in the airport. Round them up
and buy them hotel rooms.

...forget to put your
heart into it.
A similar outage at Southwest
was met with a more heartfelt
response. Delta put out a
barrage of information, but
fell short of feeling the pain
of passengers who missed
important events.

When Animals Attacked...at Disney and the Zoo
A 3-year-old boy climbs into a gorilla enclosure. An alligator
snatches a 2-year-old from a beach. The worst kind of crises
mitigated by generally good PR responses – but for a few
critical glitches.
#9

...fan the flames of your
crisis when it is finally
starting to fade.
When Harambe the gorilla
became a viral meme, Zoo
Director Thane Maynard
complained loudly – causing
an internet tremor that forced
the zoo to shut down its social
media accounts.

...forget your website and
SM when responding
to a crisis.
Disney’s otherwise prompt
response was missing from
Disney.com and key social
media channels.

...forget to convince
the public your attraction
is safe and you’re
taking safeguards to
protect them.
Both Disney and the
Cincinnati Zoo were
slow in this regard.

That Smirk on Martin Shkreli’s Face
When you raise the price of a life-saving drug by 5,500
percent, you are inviting media, regulatory and Congressional
scrutiny. But when you thumb your nose at the world, you’re
creating a PR crisis – and more.
#8

...appear to have callous
disregard for your critics
and customers.
Shkreli smirked at Congress, then
took to social media to rub it in.

...forget that today’s
taunting may lead folks to
take a deeper look.
In his case, he now faces
numerous federal charges
of securities fraud and
conspiracy.

...prep for your
Congressional testimony
by paying $2 million for
the only copy of a new
Wu Tang Clan album.
Or set up a web cam of yourself
at work. This just infuriates your
critics more.

...attempt to recover
your reputation
by raffling off the opportunity
for someone to punch you
in the face.

Deep Wounds to the Wounded Warrior Project
Using a high-minded, big-hearted charity like Wounded
Warrior as your piggy bank for lavish business trips and
oversized salaries: Outlandish! Spending even more on bad PR
advice and lobbyists: Welcome to our Top 10!
#7

...delay eliminating the
source of your crisis.
CEO Steven Nardizzi and
COO Al Giordano created
a questionable culture, but
it took months for the board
to fire them.

...use a Facebook
retraction letter as your
primary response.
Public comments, and WWP’s
defensive response to them, are
more painful than the demand
for a retraction by CBS.

...miss your chance to
comment on the next
bad news.
Before Charity Navigator, an
independent charity oversight
group, placed WWP on its
Watch List, it gave WWP two
days to respond, but never
heard from the organization.

Yahoo’s Hacker Response Hacks Off Customers
Data breaches have become so commonplace that we’re
more likely today to give the latest victim the benefit of the
doubt. So why would the latest victim – Yahoo – use a PR
strategy that might make consumers think otherwise?
#6

...point fingers at
someone else until you’re
certain of the facts.
Yahoo initially blamed a “state-
sponsored actor” for the attack
– but that now is in doubt.

...wait too long to alert
customers, investors and
investigators.
The breach took place in
2014 and Yahoo knew of it at
least by this July. But the first
announcement did not come
until September 22. Not exactly
confidence-inspiring.

...make your customers
do all the work.
Instead of resetting customer
passwords after the hack was
confirmed, Yahoo encouraged
users to reset their passwords
themselves.

Mylan’s Shock-Inducing Price Increase on EpiPen
First you jack up the price of your life-saving product six-
fold. Then you flame the fire you started by giving out bad
information, bad media interviews and bad Congressional
testimony. That’s bad PR.
#5

...blame others for your
problems.
Nothing comes across so
unbelievable as “it’s the other
guy’s fault.” Or Mylan CEO
Heather Bresch blaming a
broken healthcare system.

...make yourself a victim.
Bresch told CNBC “no one is
more frustrated than me” about
the crisis she caused.

...change key facts
along the way.
The numbers Mylan released
on EpiPen profits and tax rates
changed as fast as prices on
EpiPen. Nothing hurts already
sagging credibility than putting
out bad numbers.

...do anything to remind
us of Martin Shkreli
(see No. 8).
At least Bresch didn’t smirk.

Ryan Lochte’s Swim Into PR Purgatory
The Olympic swimmer’s drunken Brazilian odyssey is a textbook
example of how one bad decision is magnified by fabricating
the facts of what happened. His slow and uncertain PR
response only tarnished his medals more.
#4

...forget to get your story
and facts straight
before giving media interviews.

...wait five days into
your PR crisis to hire a
crisis expert;
get counsel as early
as possible.

...apologize if you can’t
appear sincere about it.
Lochte’s apologies came late
and without much emotion.

...use a lame event or
media vehicle –
such as a
dancing competition –
to rebuild your
reputation.

North Carolina’s Untidy Bathroom Legislation
It’s one thing to pass a misguided state law that clearly
discriminates against one group of people. Failing to correct
it even in the face of boycotts, lost revenue and national
embarrassment transforms it into a PR nightmare.
#3

...make a business
or political decision
without first examining
the possible negative
repercussions.

...be caught off guard
when those repercussions begin,
such as the NCAA pulling seven
tournaments, the ACC moving
its football championship,
and celebrities cancelling
performances.

...allow yourself, as CEO
(or Governor), to let the
actions of others reinforce
the idea that you allowed
the situation to get
out of control.

...place blame
on those who are simply
responding to the situation – like
the NBA pulling its All-Star game
– by saying, for example, it’s
“an insult to our state.”

Donald & Hillary
She thought she could keep secret her private email server,
her foundation conflicts and a bout with pneumonia. He
thought it was prudent to attack Mexicans, women, Muslims,
and the families of war heroes. Some things even good
PR can’t fix.
#2

...base a campaign on
lies, innuendo and
name-calling
(although Nov. 8 could prove
this actually works)

...go into a big media
interview unprepared
to discuss a crisis months in the
making, like, say, the FBI has
been investigating your emails.

...counter a former
employee’s allegations
of fat-shaming by telling the
media you did the right thing
and “saved her job.”

...keep hushed important
details about yourself
that are of intense interest to
your competitors, the media
and the public (such as your
health, your tax filings).

Wells Fargo’s Cross-Selling Catastrophe
It’s never a good idea for your employees to open 2 million
bogus accounts without your customers’ consent. Performing
bad PR afterward just makes it a bigger boondoggle.
#1

...put out a bland,
sterile statement
after announcing that your
entire corporate and sales
culture has been hijacked by an
incentive program gone crazy.

...forget to take
responsibility.
Wells Fargo has largely blamed
its sales practices and 5,300
employees who engaged in this
practice, but the buck should
stop with CEO John Stumpf.

...appear to be surprised
by a crisis
that was years in the making.

...show up to testify
in Congress
looking like you’ve been fighting
off your PR demons.

but we’ve
still got
3 months
to go!

Top 10 PR Blunders of 2016

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