Oops - PR nightmares Published October - November 2006 Starbucks find email communication doesn’t always work Starbucks in Atlanta got into a spot of bother when it sent email coupons as a reward for some of its employees.  What they didn’t think through was that emails can easily be forwarded to friends and families.  The result was that within a short time the coupons were all over the web.  In an apparent panic reaction Starbucks denied the use of all coupons a month before the expiration date, indirectly impacting those they were intended for - and causing a pr nightmare and bad publicity.  Critics argued that instead Starbucks should have admitted their mistake and instead turned it into an opportunity for a promotion and wrung some good publicity out of it. McDonalds falls into a technology trap McDonalds in Japan has demonstrated how necessary it is to take care when using new technologies.  The fast food chain ran a very successful competition during which contestants got access to a code that took them to the McDonalds website, which in turn it gave them the opportunity to win an mp3 player bundled with 10 songs.  Around 10,000 lucky Japanese got to win mp3 players.  The only problem was that they discovered that there was a virus in the device that was configured to steal user passwords - the end result being that hundred’s of thousands of young Japanese were potentially impacted.  McDonalds had to resort to releasing software that removed the threat from infected computers.  There was no report as whether they also received a voucher for McDonalds’ product! Wal-Mart blogging initiative backfires Giant US retailer Wal-Mart is trying to combat fallout from a bogging initiative that has backfired.  Media reports allege that a blog, entitled “Wal-Marting Across America,” which is a daily discussion of the travels of “Laura” and “Jim,” two loyal Wal-Mart shoppers who journey across America singing the company’s praises is not genuine.  It is alleged it was created for Wal-Mart by its PR agency as a way to artificially boost the profile of the retailer which has been under attack for paying its employees low wages and inadequate health benefits.  It graphically demonstrates the pitfalls when corporations try to use blogs as part of their communication strategy in an uninformed way. Battery recall spreads from small beginning What has become known as the Sony battery crisis (but which has impacted on Dell, Apple, Lenovo, IBM, Toshiba and Fujitsu) shows how the balance of power has shifted to consumers.  The problem of ‘flaming batteries’ was highlighted by one consumer  who choose to expose the issue and ‘push it’ enough for other consumers and mainstream media to pick it up.  It started off as a Dell issue but as the saga has unfolded its greatest impact has been on Sony which has had to recall more than 8 million batteries.  A decade ago - before the advent of social media - it is doubtful whether one disgruntled consumer could have had such an impact.  It also demonstrates how a rather innocuous consumable product such as a battery could impact on Sony as a whole and its ‘front-of-shop’ high profile products. Network PR has experience with issues and crisis management please contact Network PR if you would like to discuss your needs.

PR Influences Australian Public Relations Newsletter. Article: Oops pr nightmares mistakes problems