We’ve seen it many times. CEOs speaking out about political or social issues and creating global waves of support and disdain, meanwhile, their company communications teams work quickly and strategically to respond to the staff, media and public reaction. For these company stewards, it is truly a test of their mettle, and whether the professional works for a public or private company, when their senior leadership steps into hot bed issues, both internal and external reputation management takes on an entirely new level of engagement.

Certainly, CEOs asserting their personal and business views is not a new phenomenon. However, add social media to the 24-hour news cycle, and it ups the ante on crisis communications messaging. In this two part discussion, let’s first take a look at a few examples:

• Starbucks – Company CEO, Howard Shultz, has been waging a few battles. From calling on his fellow business leaders to withdraw political campaign support in an attempt to halt Washington gridlock on reducing the deficit, to most recently challenging a Starbucks shareholder to sell their stock if they didn’t support the company position on gay marriage rights, Shultz is direct and authentic in sharing his views.
• Chick-fil-A – Last year’s Chick-fil-A boycott due to company president Dan Cathy’s remarks on unapologetically contributing to anti-gay marriage organizations is one for the history books. The outrage on both sides of the issue was fervent, and to make it worse, the vice president of public relations (a 29-year company veteran) passed away due to a heart attack during the crisis. The company is still declaring its position (January 28, 2013 news release) on its Christian principles, long history of charitable giving and its wish to not “support political or social agendas” in these decisions.
• Westgate Resorts – Timeshare company owner, David Siegel, sent an email to his employees during the 2012 elections, “If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, as our current president (Obama) plans, I will have no choice but to reduce the size of this company,” he wrote. “Rather than grow this company, I will be forced to cut back. This means fewer jobs, less benefits and certainly less opportunity for everyone.” Though bear in mind, this not the first time Siegel has sent communications to this staff along this similar vein. This is his leadership style.

It’s also important to point out CEOs speaking out is not always received negatively. These executives are pillars of industry and their influence can help forge change for both Wall Street and Main Street. For instance, in 2009, J.W. “Bill” Marriott Jr. defended the tourism industry in a Washington Post op-ed calling for an end to the “toxic rhetoric” by Washington politicians who were piling scorn on travel and corporate meetings after executives of bailed-out AIG were discovered staying at a luxury hotel for company business. The industry cheered, thanking Marriott for his bold voice. The lodging industry was not the enemy, nor were the companies that cancelled their seminars and incentive meetings in fear of public outcry.

So, what is a communications professional to do? Please watch for part two of this topic.

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•    1968 Firebird Ridgefield High – Art Fitzpatrick

•    1969 Pontiac GTO, Cortina D’Ampezzo – Art Fitzpatrick

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•    Hookin Hard – Tom Fritz

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•    Shell 23 Ferrari – Nicola Wood

•    1950’s Era Ferrari Formula 1 – Tony Sikorski

•    1930’s Duesenberg – Tony Sikorski

•    The New Dodge Viper – Harold Cleworth

•    Indian Motorcycle – Harold Cleworth

•    Classic Chevy – Harold Cleworth

Social media is sometimes overlooked by companies as “irrelevant” or an “unprofessional” means of communication, but websites like Facebook and Twitter have more influence over people than one might expect. On April 24^th, 2013, a tweet from the Associated Press stated that there had been two explosions at the White House, and that President Barack Obama had been injured in the blasts. Almost instantly, the stock market responded and the DOW fell 143 points – an amount worth an estimated $200 billion.

Almost as quickly as the panic had set in, the Associated Press announced that its Twitter account had been hacked and that the tweet was fake. The stock market quickly recovered, but the incident provides an interesting look into the current landscape of social media. There are several great takeaways from a situation like this.

1. People are listening – Often times, when companies invest large amounts of time into social media, it can feel like the impact isn’t worth the time. Sending off a tweet or firing off a status update seems a bit innocuous, but regardless of the size of a brand’s following, it is out there for the world to see. Whether you’re one of the largest press syndicates in the world, or a mom-and-pop operation, people are listening.

1. People are acting – The stock market’s response to the tweet shows that not only are people listening, but they are acting on relevant information as well. When people are connected to important, applicable information, regardless of whether it’s in a news release or a tweet, they’re going to act upon it.

1. Social media is not unprofessional – There a several schools of thought on this matter, but the fact remains that there are few better ways to get information out quickly and efficiently than to post something via a social media platform. It is now totally acceptable to keep fans, friends and clients updated in this manner. During the hunt for Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, many news stations took to Twitter to provide short updates when an entire story wasn’t warranted. This model is not only becoming more prevalent, but it is also becoming a first-stop for many folks when they want information on a brand, a news story or a new restaurant. Lengthy, well-written and informative articles will always have their place, but tweeting or posting to Facebook is certainly effective as well.

Line outside of Chick-Fil-A

A recent story by USA Today over the Chick-fil-A “anti-gay” controversy symbolizes the deep misunderstanding of public relations.  In the piece, the writer said that the fast food company thrived “despite poor PR.”  It seems he, like many others, miss the point of PR.

According to the Public Relations Society of America:

“Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.”

The key words are “their publics.”  Chick-fil-A’s largest concentration of stores is across the south and Midwestern American states.  While there are many in states like California, the majority are in the traditional, “Bible Belt” areas.  Thus, their largest customer base, or “publics” as PRSA likes to call them, share the values espoused by the company’s President Dan Cathy when he said his company supported the biblical definition of the family unit.

The enormous national backlash has been well documented by the press.  But as the USA Today article indicates, the result was not what the media or special interest groups opposing the stance expected: sales went up.

Was this a savvy, pre-mediated PR stunt?  No, it seems like a candid, personal statement of values made off the cuff by a corporate executive.  As the Chick-fil-A PR team scrambled to respond to a landslide of media requests, they seemed surprised by the comments.

Most likely Chick-fil-A wishes that the negative stories were never printed.  But as things settled down, the media storm wasn’t nearly as devastating to the company as many had predicted.  Why?  Because this key constituency felt that the media was attacking not just Chick-fil-A, but also them.  Instead of losing, Chick-fil-A was able to strengthen its bond with its core audience through the adversity.  Now that is good PR.

With the NFL season well underway, teams across the league are furiously trying to copy the New England Patriots’ formula for last year’s Super Bowl run. While Bill Belichick’s team didn’t win the championship, New England’s ability to stay one step ahead of rivals opened eyes to the importance of utility players.

The Patriots re-invented the tight end position in the 2011-2012 season. Instead of having players who could only catch passes or block, the team used hybrid “utility” tight ends who could be moved into a variety of spots and do much more. The result? They outsmarted the competition all the way to the championship game.

How does that lesson apply to business? Let’s answer that with a question of our own: Is your marketing team made up of utility players who can do many things?

Over the past few years, traditional PR and marketing roles have merged. Savvy companies retain firms with teams who can write, pitch, conceptualize and do on-line media.

Gone are the days when an account executive interacted with a client, relayed the information to a specialized writer, media relations person or creative person for execution. Now an account executive can do it all. They tap expertise within the organization to help them “move the ball”, but their versatility gives them the ability to score faster and move nimbly.

Social media, events, TV ads, online videos and publicity are all different skills needed to connect with customers. Telling a compelling story, regardless of the method, is the critical competency. PR/marketing firms understand that it’s the “utility player” who can help clients win today.

Video has changed our social and economic behavior in so many fundamental ways that it almost seems trite to talk about its impact.  From politics to pop culture, the use of video to convey personal magnetism can turn “common Joes” into rock stars and unknowns into presidents.

Here are two excellent current examples of this phenomenon:

1)      Barry Weiss of Storage Wars was a little known “used goods broker” until a stint on Discovery Channel’s “Storage Wars” turned this human dynamo into a wise-cracking reality TV star with people lining up for his autograph.  Personable and sarcastically hilarious, his humor is now viewed worldwide.

2)      Mitt Romney vs. Barak Obama

Obama’s rise from an unknown Illinois senator to the US presidency was a combination of savvy campaigning and good timing.  His ability to project personal charisma on TV, online and in commercials made him a landslide winner.

Romney is reportedly smart, engaging, kind and personable, but his charms do not come across on camera.  His lack of magnetism has thus far failed to energize his own party, making his bid to take the White House difficult in this video age.

Does this mean that organizations lacking a charismatic leader should just throw in the towel?  Should the Republicans give up on the presidency? Absolutely not.

Smart marketing people recognize that when executives have a shortfall in personal magnetism on camera, they go to “plan B”.  Instead of using people on screen who are stiff and wooden, incorporate a popular lieutenant or a fictional character.  Promote a personality who engages, enthralls and energizes.  “Create” your own rock star.  If not, you might be looking in from the outside.