Swords & Stars

Swords and Stars is a Humber PR tradition that lives on through alumni.. It is an analysis of a news item based not on the operational decision, but the PR move.  An operational disaster (i.e. Maple Leaf Foods recall) could still get a star for being well handled. 

Do you agree? Leave a comment.  Would you like to contribute to this page? email me Bianca@BiancaFreedman.com

PR Sword: United Airlines Responds to Twitter Customer Complaint

Thanks to @RaganCEO for sharing this story

The complaint:

They remained silent on the issue until @dollarshort complained about the entertainment on flight the next day.

THEN, they responded with this:

@dollarshort : “”…I hear the blues a-callin’, Tossed salad and scrambled eggs…”
And then I guess realized that was a bad idea, so posted this instead:

I have no words.  This is a PR sword. 

PR Star: Red Cross Responds to Tweet Mishap with Tact

The thing about twitter is mistakes will happen.  We are humans and these platforms are instantaneous and mobile. The key is to be timely and tactful in the response. 

Red Cross did a great job. Read the full story here:

Here’s how it went down: WHOOPS! Employee accidently tweeted personal tweet from @RedCross account:

@RedCross responded immediately with a mild sense of humour but maintaining integrity by telling the audience what they were “doing about” the tweet:

@DogFishBeer steps up, uses this as a CSR opportunity and turns something bad into something good… $$$!

@RedCross responded officially & explains what happened on blog

  ”While we’re a 130-year-old humanitarian organization, we’re also made of up human beings. Thanks for not only getting that but for turning our faux pas into something good.”

Awesome job Red Cross.

PR Star: Carnival responds to “nightmare cruise”

Carnival experienced an operational & PR nightmare last week (Nov.16) when their Splendor ship lost power mid-excursion.  Guests reported eating cans of soup for dinner in darkness.  The trip was dubbed “the nightmare cruise” by passengers and naturally, the media

From CTV.ca (Calgary)

In their official statement, Carnival did everything right. 

• They shared the facts: clarified what happened
• They took ownership for the issue & apologized
• They shared what they were doing about the operational issue
• They communicted how passengers would be reimbursed

The CEO’s quote added value to the statement beyond the facts – expressing empathy, sympathy:

“We realize how much guests look forward to their vacations and know that they are very disappointed by this news.  We too are disheartened that we are not able to fulfill the dreams of those who have entrusted us with their important vacation plans. We sincerely apologize to everyone who was scheduled to sail on these cancelled voyages and look forward to welcoming them aboard in the future.  Now that we have a full technical team engaged in the assessment, we wanted to provide this information as quickly as possible,” said Gerry Cahill, Carnival president and CEO.

A Canadian family was quoted in a CTV Calgary newspiece (pictured above) saying “we were disappointed, but we don’t blame Carnival.”  This confirms a job well done. 

To add more sheen to their star, Carnival issued a press release the day after the incident (Nov 17) sharing some good news: Carnival Cruise Lines Wins Six Porthole Readers Choices Awards, Including Best Value, Best Entertainment .

Smart cookies at Carnival!

PR STAR: Starbucks won’t hike prices despite rising coffee costs

 Ah- huh! This is not a coincidence my friends.  This was not the act of a journalist calling Starbucks for comment.  This was a calculated PR move.  The brainiacs at Starbucks corporate communications are watching the stock market and put out a press release only to have this message hit most major media in the US and Canada.  Star goes to Starbucks PR.  This is proactive reputation management. PR at its best.