UNIVERSITÀ DEGLI STUDI DI PAVIA FACOLTÀ DI ECONOMIA, GIURISPRUDENZA, INGEGNERIA, LETTERE E FILOSOFIA, SCIENZE POLITICHE. Relatore: Chiar.mo Prof. Giampaolo Azzoni Correlatore: Chiar.mo Prof. Andrea Fontana Corso di Laurea Interfacoltà in Comunicazione Professionale e Multimediale. Tesi di Isabel Zielo CRISIS COMMUNICATION 2.0

CRISIS: an unexpected event or situation that could threaten or is threatening to harm people or property, seriously interrupt business, damage reputation and/or negatively impact the bottom line. J. Bernstein

Crisis management is the process by which an organization deals with a major event that threatens to harm the organization, its stakeholders, or the general public.

It is a discipline that involves dealing with threats before, during, and after they have occurred: this steps are called "3 R": research, response and recovery.

Crisis communication is a sub-specialty of the public relation profession and a crisis management function. Crisis communication aims to protect and defend a company reputation.

REPUTATION Reputation has become a key factor for companies: it involves many parts of a corporate business

REPUTATION - strictly connected with trust - lost of trust can damage reputation and consequently business reputation risk

THE WEB EVOLUTION

Web 2.0 refers to cumulative changes in the way web pages are made and used - The User generated content Web - The Web of collaboration and sharing: - Anyone can share anything with anyone across the Globe

WEB 2.0 AFFECTS THE WAY TO HANDLE A CRISIS - New threatens - Citizen journalism - Social media - Social network - Everything is amplified - Communication process more complex, more difficult to control and less forgiving

CASES HISTORY -COSTA CONCORDIA -BP -ABERCROMBIE & FITCH -TACO BELL -DOMINO'S PIZZA

COSTA CONCORDIA

- Standardization of all communications: - official web site not specifically dedicated to the tragedy: only links to the updates + technical problems -impersonal use of Facebook -improper use of the hashtags on Twitter: #concordia vs #costaconcordia ( that was used by users) - no emergency telephone number - Costa Crociere no as an authoritative news source MAIN MISTAKES

BP: GOOD EXAMPLE OF “CRISIS WEB SITE”

Bp Global Case shows a good way to implement the official business web site during a crisis: - Gulf of Mexico Response: web space specifically dedicated to the tragedy - fast updates with pictures, videos, details, news - emergency telephone numbers

ABERCROMBIE & FITCH: WHEN A CRISIS STARTS ON THE WEB. The power of the Web → CEO Mike Jeffries interview caused a big reputational damage after 7 years → lots of protests → negatives comments on Facebook and Twitter → people started to boycott the company (#FitchTheHomeless, Fat&Attractive)

- Mike Jeffries' statement on Facebook did not sound as an apology - Abercrombie & Fitch apologized again - The Company announced an anti bullying campaign → “not enough, Away from the requests of Benjamin O'Keef's petition – → These actions did not stop the protests – → A&F image and sales started to drop

TACO BELL & DOMINO'S PIZZA: 2 SIMILAR CASES, 2 DIFFERENT WAYS TO HANDLE A CRISIS Taco Bell's employee Domino's Pizza's employee

- 2009: 2 Domino's Pizza's employees published a video on YouTube, The video showed them acting in an improper and unhygienic way In the restaurant kitchen; : Taco Bell's employee posted on Facebook a picture showing Him licking taco shells. Domino's Pizza: → published a video showing CEO Patrick Doyle apologizing on YouTube → Twitter account specifically dedicated to the case → statement of apology on the official web site

Taco Bell: statements and updates with the right content but in the wrong place! The Company published its statement only on its official website and ignored Facebook, the place where the crisis started and the only one used by customers to get news.

- use the place where the crisis started to communicate - readiness - directness - a company has to know how Web 2.0 Works - build an online presence and reputation - BEING ONLINE vs GOING ONLINE: Be PROACTIVE! CONCLUSIONS Crisis Communication 2.0

GRAZIE PER L'ATTENZIONE