It is no secret that every person, team, organization or company will face a crisis at some point. How they respond to that crisis is critically important as it sets the stage for how effectively they manage through the process of recovery.
Every week we see people and organizations struggle or shine in the wake of crisis and scandal. For those that shine, the issues tend to subside more quickly, in large part because they have handled the adversity in the best manner possible. That usually involves a sound and strategic communications strategy. For those that struggle, the negative effects of their actions hang over them like a very smoggy California day, nothing is clear.
If you’ve been following “The Sports Commentary” you are aware that managing our clients through crisis is just one of several of our firm’s core capabilities and one we take very seriously. And you don’t have to be a sports enthusiast to understand or relate to the topics we cover. Our objective is not to pass judgment on an individual’s or organization’s actions, but to provide insight as to how they can recover from catastrophe, rebuild their reputation, regain public trust, and achieve balanced media coverage in the process.
This week, Toyota and Sea World have found themselves under intense media and public (and in Toyota’s case, congressional) scrutiny, quickly going from the object of their consumers desire to the object of their ire.
Both Toyota and Sea World are in turmoil for different reasons, and both have a few common issues confronting them. The loss of life due to product failure in Toyota’s case and in Sea World’s, the very public death of an employee killed while on the job by one of the company’s killer whales. They have very different roads ahead of them in their quest to rebuild confidence in the hearts and minds of their constituents. What will be interesting to see is how they approach and handle the challenges ahead.
By now, we’re all familiar with Toyota’s situation. Their top execs flew in from Japan and were on Capitol Hill this week, their public relations campaign implemented to regain consumer confidence is underway, and their efforts across the board to restore faith in their brand are running full steam ahead. They are in the process of doing what’s necessary to rebuild.
But Sea World’s dilemma is quite different. Their story is dominating the news cycle right now and their response to the death of their top animal trainer, Dawn Brancheau, has quite frankly been vague and in words of CNN’s Rick Sanchez (when describing today’s press conference) “rather opaque.” Dawn was killed by one of Sea World’s killer whales, the largest and apparently most aggressive one, Tilikum, one that has allegedly killed two other trainers. This incident marks the third death.
In the hours immediately following Broncheau’s death, the story took on a life of its own. Media outlets covering the story began airing eye witness accounts, showing footage of the killer whales in action at Sea World, and booking guest panelists, including everyone from the world famous Jack Hanna (Director Emeritus, Columbus Zoo), Bob Barker (yeah, that Bob Barker, WHO KNEW?!?), and Ingrid Newkirk (President of PETA) to everyday people off the street to comment and analyze the situation. Facebook and Twitter and other social media networks were abuzz with the story and everyone who had an opinion was weighing in.
Everyone was commenting, except for the key spokespersons from Sea World. Until today.
Initially, Sea World’s Curator, Chuck Tompkins was out there talking about it and to his credit he has done a decent job.
But his initial response seemed somewhat defensive and he wasn’t in a position where he could really answer specific questions regarding what Sea World was going to do, leaving plenty of room for speculation about what went wrong.
At their press conference today, Sea World’s PR person did a good job opening the press conference and framing the discussion and the rules of engagement. He then turned it over to Jim Atchison, President of Sea World Parks and Entertainment, who began to address the subject (well at least most of it) and deal with several hostile questions. After he expressed the company’s sincere grief and sadness over the loss of Brancheau, Atchison proceeded to outline what Sea World is doing to move through this and move forward.
Atchison opened and moved through the impact the loss of Brancheau has had on the Sea World family, the creation of the Dawn Brancheau Memorial Foundation, the family statement, their ongoing investigation of the situation, how they are reviewing the safety protocols in place, and that all direct trainer interactions with the killer whales have been suspended.
Atchison remained composed and poised, answered questions directly, didn’t duck and dodge, appeared honest, straightforward, prepared, and addressed the issues head on. He referred to the Sea World trainers and staff as “family” and said the trainers are dealing with the loss of a loved one.
Then the presser took a turn towards “the show must go on,” “business as usual” tone. Interestingly enough, the responses seemed non-emotional (if you will), very corporate, very “business as usual,” and somewhat combative when confronted with hostile questions, all in front of a backdrop of the park’s killer whales. Note: Not sure having the whales in the backdrop provided a show of support and Sea World unity, but not sure it was the best idea today given the situation.
When the tough questions came, Atchison started to become a bit agitated and unraveled slightly when asked about three of the most important questions every media person in the room needed to know:
- The number of deaths associated with Tilikum.
- Why he would not address the rules of trainer engagement with the killer whales.
- Whether or not Brancheau made a fatal mistake when dealing with Tilikum.
Even his word choice was too corporate given this tragedy (e.g., “this altercation,” “this event,” “the outcome of this event,” “terrible incident,” etc).
But to his credit, he regained his composure after a somewhat heated exchange, but at this point the environment was quite contentious.
I am not making light of the situation and I have nothing but the utmost respect for Dawn Brancheau. But there are inherent risks with careers that could ultimately cost you your life. Whether you are a police officer, fire fighter, NASCAR driver, professional bull rider, stuntman, animal trainer, or extreme sport athlete like the Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili, who died two weeks ago on the eve of this year’s Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver; you know the risks involved. But that is not an excuse for an organization, entity or public to “blame the victim.” Yes, there is without question the need to address the issues surrounding it (in this case, is it right or wrong to keep “killer” whales and other wild animals in captivity…).
Overall, the Sea World team did the right thing in addressing the tragedy today and facing the cameras and questions. Yes, the show must go on and business is business, but the big miss here was not taking a bigger step back and showing a bit more empathy towards the loss of life using a more sensitive approach.
In the days and weeks to come there will be a lot of pressure on Sea World to “do the right thing” in the wake of yet another tragic loss. But what is “the right thing” in this instance?
I understand fully that there are pros and cons to the argument of whether or not should animals be held in captivity for research, human enjoyment and let’s be honest, running profitable businesses. But ultimately, it’s a moot point. Why? Because every time these issues of animals in zoo-type environments (think Tiger escaping grotto at SF Zoo, Siegfried and Roy and the Tiger attack) or people keeping wild animals as pets surfaces (remember the Connecticut chimp that mauled its owner’s friend?), we’re going to have these philosophical conversations all over again.
Until then, the debate will continue. Your thoughts?
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