1. GENERAL MOTOR IGNITION SWITCH RECALL A Lesson in Crisis Communication Danielle Hulen

2. TIMELINE 2001 – First Sign of Defective Switches 2007 – GM Notified of 10 Deadly Crashes 2/7/2014 – Recalls Begin at 800,000 Vehicles 3/12/2014 – Justice Department Launches Criminal Investigation 3/28/2014 – Recall Reaches 2.6 Million Vehicles 5/16/2014 – GM Settles Investigation, $35M Fine

3. WHAT HAPPENED? Flawed Communication: Crisis Blamed on Label: “Customer Convenience” Death Toll Reaches 13* Estimated Cost of Recall: $1.3 Billion 15 Employees Fired, 5 Disciplined

4. HOW WAS THE CRISIS HANDLED? CEO Mary Barra: Public Leader Public Apology Meeting With Families of Victims Hiring of Professionals Kenneth Feinberg, Jeff Eller, Anton Valukas Harnessing Multiple Forms of Media

5. COOMBS CONNECTION Best Practices for Crisis Communication Channels Website – www.gmignitionupdate.comwww.gmignitionupdate.com Internal Communication – Company-wide Email Mass-Notification System – Social Media Reputation Repair Apology, Compensation, Reminder

6. CRISIS WEBSITE

7. IN CONCLUSION: Flawed Communication Can Be Costly Open Communication During Crisis is Key GM Looks to Learn from Crisis

8. WORKS CITED www.gmignitionupdate.com (2014, June 10) Crisis Communication 2.0: Mary Barra Strong In Adversity. Forbes Magazine. Retrieved from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/85broads/2014/06/10/crisis-communication-2-0-mary-barra-strong-in-adversity/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/85broads/2014/06/10/crisis-communication-2-0-mary-barra-strong-in-adversity/ Feeney, Nolan. (2014, June 3). Time Magazine. Retrieved from: http://time.com/2819690/gm-recall-deaths-ignition- switch/http://time.com/2819690/gm-recall-deaths-ignition- switch/ Gallo, Carmine. (2014, June 9). Forbes Magazine. Retrieved from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/carminegallo/2014/06/09/two-misleading-words-triggered-gms-catastrophic- communication-breakdown/ Gallo, Carmine. (2014, June 9). Forbes Magazine. Retrieved from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/carminegallo/2014/06/09/two-misleading-words-triggered-gms-catastrophic- communication-breakdown/ Maynard, Micheline. (2014, April 11) The Smoking Gun Memo in the GM Recall Crisis. Forbes Magazine. Retrieved from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/michelinemaynard/2014/04/11/the-smoking-gun-memo-in-the-gm-recall-crisis/ Maynard, Micheline. (2014, April 11) The Smoking Gun Memo in the GM Recall Crisis. Forbes Magazine. Retrieved from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/michelinemaynard/2014/04/11/the-smoking-gun-memo-in-the-gm-recall-crisis/ Muller, Joann.(2014, May 29). Exclusive Q&A: GM CEO Mary Barra On Crisis Management, Culture Change And The Future of GM. Forbes Magazine. Retrieved from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/joannmuller/2014/05/29/exclusive-qa-gm- ceo-mary-barra-on-crisis-management-culture-change-and-the-future-of-gm/?partner=yahootixhttp://www.forbes.com/sites/joannmuller/2014/05/29/exclusive-qa-gm- ceo-mary-barra-on-crisis-management-culture-change-and-the-future-of-gm/?partner=yahootix Pridle, Alisa. (2014, April 3) GM hires Clinton-era crisis communications expert amid ignition switch recall. Detroit Free Press. Retrieved from: http://archive.freep.com/article/20140403/BUSINESS0101/304030098/GM-recall-General-Motors-Mary- Barra-Jeff-Eller-auto-crisis Pridle, Alisa. (2014, April 3) http://archive.freep.com/article/20140403/BUSINESS0101/304030098/GM-recall-General-Motors-Mary- Barra-Jeff-Eller-auto-crisis Valdes-Dapena, Peter, Tal Yellin.GM: Steps to a recall nightmare. CNN Money. Retrieved from: http://money.cnn.com/infographic/pf/autos/gm-recall-timeline/ Valdes-Dapena, Peter, Tal Yellin.GM: Steps to a recall nightmare. CNN Money. Retrieved from: http://money.cnn.com/infographic/pf/autos/gm-recall-timeline/