Before July 1st, 2010, LeBron James was the biggest prize of the NBA 2010 free-agency class. On July 8th, 2010, he became the biggest loser. Not because he won a 13-episode marathon of hour-long weight loss infomercials. Rather, he lost the respect of many NBA fans, and brought negative attention to families across America who never followed the sport to begin with.
Perhaps I should clarify the word “loser.” LeBron James, still the first and only player to have ESPN televise his high school game – and to enormous ratings – appointed himself with the nickname “King” James at the age of 18. That name that has stuck throughout his career. And in bolting his hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, for the Miami Heat, James signed a lucrative 6-year, $110M deal on July 9th, 2010. With that transition comes the additional NBA superstar talents of Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade; two players who, along with James, make the Heat immediate contenders to win a NBA Championship. Not to mention the opportunity to change locales from blue-collar Cleveland, OH, to sultry and festive Miami, FL. So the list reads: royalty. Check. High-priced contract. Check. Contending team. Check. Warm weather and great nightlife. Check. Sounds like a winner to me.
Except, on his way to those riches, he burned all the image capital that he had invested in Cleveland, to the point where he’s no longer welcomed in his own hometown. He laid waste to other major cities including New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, who were all left at the altar unceremoniously during his weeklong courting. Adding injury to insult, he made the questionable decision to air his intentions live on ESPN in a 60-minute special called…well, “The Decision.”
And as ESPN, the near-monopolistic television sports network, has been known to do with other programming, they over-hyped the event. Frequent radio and TV commercials, Twitter reminders, text message alerts – anything you can think of. All for the sake of ratings, and caressing the ego of the “King.”
The entire affair was seen as a fiasco…an hour-long debacle to make a proclamation that takes mere seconds to utter. Covered, cunningly, in the shroud of charity, with all proceeds from the commercial sponsorship going to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. But the ratings that ESPN drew were enormous. And that’s what they expected. The “King” delivered…again.
In the last couple of weeks, with other sports to cover, ESPN moved on. With a summer to enjoy and preparations for next season with his new team, James moved on. Until this past Saturday, July 24th, “King” James visited America’s most sinful castle, Las Vegas. ESPN sent a reporter to cover him. The story that the reporter brought back was not a positive one. It was about a child trapped in a man’s body. With all the money and power, but none of the modesty and maturity. A compelling piece, showing the egotistical side of James; the side that could spawn such a concept as “The Decision.” The reporter ran with story. Hours after posting it, ESPN brass had it removed immediately. However, numerous forums and blogs had already previewed the link and posted the content on their respective sites. The message got out anyway. And now, in the last several hours, ESPN has been trying desperately to convince its visitors that they had every intention on re-posting the story. But forgive us, if for once, ESPN does not draw high ratings with this “King” James coverage. America has already witnessed it on other web pages. And now the King’s popularity is going further into exile, everywhere but Miami, of course. So ESPN must stand by him, as they have always done. Through all the negative criticism. Through all the bad press. And ‘til death do they part.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5360533
http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/espn-lebron-story-inadvertently-posted-online-28751
“… Mr. Hayward turned into a day-after-day reminder of BP’s public relations missteps in responding to the crisis.” (New York Times, July 29, 2010)
It has been a little more than 100 days since the BP oil rig exploded in the Gulf killing 11 and creating the biggest oil disaster in history. During the first 100 days, Hayward managed to stick his foot in his mouth at least a half dozen times, he frustrated numerous lawmakers and made countless people create a dart board sporting his face. Although Hayward’s last 100 days on the job have been trying and he recently lost his job, he is walking away with an $18 million compensation package and a new job. Not too shabby for being a public relations nightmare of a CEO.
In lieu of reviewing these cringe-worthy statements, let’s investigate how BP and Mr. Hayward could have handled this tragedy with a bit more grace.
Step 1: Arm Hayward, a geologist by trade, with statements that leverage mortification and corrective action. Communicate to the media that BP is gathering data to try and determine the cause of the explosion. Most importantly, communicate BP will do everything it can to stop the spill and try and repair the Gulf.
Step 2: Gather evidence and data points around the safety of the rig. If there were problems, acknowledge them. Don’t make excuses. Instead, communicate that all your other rigs are being looked at to ensure they don’t have the same problem.
Step 3: Eliminate minimization or denial from any/all image management strategies. Own up to the tragedy and describe it as such using mortification and corrective action in each and every statement.
Step 4: Immediately launch a public relations campaign that includes television commercials communicating BP will do everything to try and make it right. Tell the public how they can help. Perhaps BP could encourage individuals to donate money to wildlife organizations, etc. A “let’s all work together to fix this tragedy” strategy may help BP direct some of the attention to clean up versus BP’s downfalls.
Step 5: Communicate what data points BP’s team has gathered about the explosion and the different tactics they are using to stop the spill. BP’s Web site offers solid information about the clean up efforts. However, BP has failed to leverage the site. Direct the public to the site as much as possible giving the company an opportunity to frame the story.
Step 6: If Hayward proves he can’t make an intelligent statement, remove him from CEO or at least put an alternative talking head in front of the press. Give him one chance before you pull the plug on his days of being a spokesperson. After all, he is a geologist. In addition to coaching Hayward’s statements, ensure any/all public appearances featuring Hayward have something to do with dealing with the crisis. That means no yacht races or fancy dinners with the family until the spill is fixed and clean up is well on its way.
Clearly BP’s team doesn’t have, or failed to use, a crisis management plan in response to this tragedy. Considering BP’s history has been littered with a handful of tragedies, it is clear BP leadership needs to make a crisis management plan a company priority. Perhaps a graduate from this course can right the ship.
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Posted in BP's Oil Disaster, Breaking News - Crisis Commentaries