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<ul><li>The year 2020 has been an unprecedented one, but it's been a great teacher. </li><li>And as we inch closer to 2021, we at Ad and Media Insider, want to enter it with a few learnings from 2020 that will help us navigate 2021 better.</li><li>In our latest series, we look at different industries to understand what was 2020 like for them and to crystal gaze into the upcoming year, and identify some of the trends that will set the tone for 2021. </li><li>In our first story, we discuss how Public Relation firms are helping Indian companies navigate the coronavirus pandemic and some of the trends that would take the centre stage in 2021. </li></ul>2020 is coming to a close and what a year it has been! It’s been a year full of ups and downs, triumphs and defeats, good and bad PR stunts. As brands stepped back from overt selling and their communication focused on making consumers feel more comfortable with the changing environment due to COVID-19, they finally started understanding the importance of Public Relations. The industry has finally taken on newfound importance and is in a position to spearhead brand creativity rather than being consigned a supporting role. During the COVID-induced lockdown, CEOs of all companies were scrambling as they tried to manage internal damages and address their stakeholders’ concerns. However, 2020 has given brands an opportunity to prove that they are doing good by their employees and society. Marketing campaigns had to be done with genuine sincerity, compassion and humanity but treading that line between genuine and opportunistic has been a difficult task and many brands turned to their Public Relations firms to navigate the challenges. Throughout 2020, the headlines were dominated with COVID-19 coverage and the media industry was hungry for positive stories. Brands that managed to offer a light-hearted story that felt genuine, were recognised in the industry and won their consumer trust by being in the news, which is where public relations came into play. At a time when how companies treat their employees could affect their ability to attract and retain stakeholders and a slightest miscommunication could damage their public image for years, PR will play a key role in 2021. So, while 2020 was PR’s year to shine and 2021, as experts predict, will be when PR flourishes. We reached out to experts to understand what kind of role will PR play in 2021. Here is what they said: <keyword id="2606" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Dilip-Cherian">Dilip Cherian</keyword>, Consulting Partner and Founder, Perfect Relations: <div type="image" title="Dilip-Cherian1" msid="79956585" hostid="261"></div> Among the many big changes expected in the world of Corporates in the coming year, is the new recognition of the power of dynamic messaging. This is a complex business but simply put, it's the ability to listen and respond on multiple platforms simultaneously. Static messaging will gradually wither away and more dynamic messaging will instead dominate. Voice may be the new surprise entrant. Modulated, translated and if needed enhanced, watch for how this changes, communication techniques this next year. <keyword id="644283" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Archana-Jain">Archana Jain</keyword>, Managing Director, PR Pundit: <div type="image" title="Archana Jain - Horizontal" msid="79956641" hostid="261"></div> No one knows what a post-Covid-19 world might look like, but what companies, brands and institutions have done to support jobs, communities and societies in rebounding successfully, will be with us for quite some time. The time has come to make capitalism better. Companies, brands and institutions of all kinds must connect with their communities through truthful, authentic human acts. PR in 2021 will have to guide organisations to exhibit authenticity, help articulate and manifest the purpose of the organisations as an extension of their values, and then communicate this to both internal and external audiences. Purpose-driven customer playbook has to be adopted to demonstrate true purpose. Brands are going to be left behind if they don’t have purpose. Thus we have to broaden our definition of what makes the world better. We have to put a human face on campaigns that leverage cultural flashpoints to form an emotional connection with consumers. It is an opportunity for companies to take action that matters — to help solve real societal challenges." Ameer Ismail, President, Lintas Live, MullenLowe Lintas Group: <div type="image" title="Ameer Ismail" msid="79956668" hostid="261"></div> REIMAGINE AND COLLABORATE The PR agency ecosystem has been in need of a significant evolution for some time in order to keep up with rapidly changing realities. There has been a complete shift in the media landscape and the pandemic has further accelerated this change, especially the move to everything digital. More consumers are searching for information and sharing opinions online than ever before. Shifts we had imagined happening over a period of years have panned out over months! Even though the ecosystem has known about these big changes, this sudden shift in momentum has caught many in the PR agency off guard. All this has made the need for reimagining PR agency models even more critical. There have been so many attempts to get this right for PR firms but this year was the first time many management teams and leaders in the industry have had a chance to actually think this through and some have taken bold action. This is giving rise to innovations that weren’t even imagined before. We already are seeing such wonderful hybrid work models emerge as completely new opportunities for employees; this is just the beginning. The next big issue is the scramble of PR agencies to be everything, and to expand offering with allied competencies like creative, experiential and social media capabilities. Agencies can be good at what they do, not at everything they would like to do! Therefore, in my view, new collaborative models will emerge fueling a more consolidated agency ecosystem of partnerships that will be centered around client needs and consumer truths. <keyword id="3573569" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Akshaara-Lalwani">Akshaara Lalwani</keyword>, CEO &amp; Founder, Communicate India: <div type="image" title="Akshaara Lalwani, Founder, Communicate India pic 1" msid="79956676" hostid="261"></div> “In the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity,” said Albert Einstein and this year has taught us just that if nothing else. As the world went through rapid modifications, we identified the need to better understand the evolving milieu of clients and markets across sectors. Throughout history, the crisis has caused paradigm shifts and galvanized new innovations to suit the new order. In such situations, it is critical to have a young and proactive workforce that is agile, talented and willing to go the extra mile. With a strong understanding of traditional media one also needs to adapt to new age media and strategy to deal with the constantly changing competitor landscape. Market intelligence is imperative to build and sustain client relations especially in a world where one needs to navigate uncharted waters like social distancing and remote working. Tarunjeet Rattan- Managing Partner, Nucleus PR: <div type="image" title="Tarunjeet Pr" msid="79956683" hostid="261"></div> The PESO (Paid-Earned-Shared-Owned) model has been whispered about in the shadows for the last couple of years. With the current state of the media industry, this work and business model of working will come out of the fringes and take prominence. PR professionals will have to upskill and evolve with the model if they don’t want to finish familiar. Sonam Shah, Founder and CEO, Treize Communications: <div type="image" title="Sonam Shah - horizontal" msid="79956698" hostid="261"></div> The year 2020 has surely seen an upward trend in the demand for PR services and clients too have started realizing the value of earned media and the long-term benefits of having a sustainable PR strategy in place. This demand is definitely going to continue in 2021 and one of the key trends I foresee is the importance of Focused PR. With the media landscape evolving drastically, and the consumption patterns of news changing rapidly, agencies will have to come up with a Focused PR approach to provide value of money to clients. Since ROI is not easily measured in Public Relations services, and budgets are stringent, following a Focused PR strategy will be a win-win for both sides. Having a Focused PR strategy implies two things: Concentrating on building thought-leadership and expertise in the respective field and/or concentrating on any campaign and getting media coverage around it. Transparency and clarity will be very important and PR agencies will have to come up with time-bound solutions, with a focus on long-term strategy.

Public Relation trends to look out for in 2021

<ul><li>With calls to boycott Chinese products seeing an everyday increase, we reached out to PR experts to understand how to deal with the hatred if your clients have a Chinese origin. </li><li>They shared how PR, if used tactfully, can bring back any business in the game. </li></ul>There is a storm of anger on social media as a reaction to the Indo-China border dispute. People are calling a ban on all Chinese products and uninstalling Chinese or Chinese-funded apps. Due to the on-going tension, BCCI is going to review its sponsorship deal for IPL with Chinese smartphone maker Vivo this week. Indian start-ups with Chinese-funds like Dream11, Swiggy, Paytm can also bear the brunt as BCCI reconsiders its sponsorship partnerships. The dispute has also made Indian brands put their advertising monnies away from TikTok and other Chinese platforms. So, as a Public Relations professional, how do you deal with this cloud of resentment coming in your client’s way on social media? Dilip Cherian, Consulting Partner, Perfect Relations advised to observe silence for a while. He said, “Deal with it SENSITIVELY...which just means not raising visibility or in other words hackles, for a while. Even if this means an unduly lower profile than the Marketing folks may want, it's the PR managers job to push back. Getting your brand in the line of fire is a real danger just now. Losing share of voice you can address later, I am quite sure. If your brand is the target of attack because of PR adventurism, then the Agency bears the blame, rightfully.” According to Mayank Sen, Co-founder, Moe's Art, "The best way to deal with the ongoing crisis is to have a subtle communication approach and avoid having any celebratory communication across owned and earned media platforms. This is not the first time Indian consumers have threatened to boycott Chinese products. In the past also, brands have faced similar issues whenever India and China relations have strained.” He adds, “Companies and their representatives should also use digital platforms tactfully, as direct confrontations with consumers will attract sharp and negative reactions. The current public sentiment might stretch if the issue doesn't get resolved through diplomatic process and Government relations. Sometimes lesser communication helps yield better results from a long-term perspective. These are momentary challenges and will ease over a period of time." Sonam Shah, Founder and CEO, Treize Communications says PR has immense potential to bring any business back in game, if used tactfully. “We do not have a ‘swim lane’ or a ‘silo’ that confines our professional capabilities in times of crisis. What makes PR a valuable tool during any crisis is the ability to bring any business back in the game. Ups and downs are bound to happen if a brand is in the public eye, and there is no running away from it. Rather one should go and revisit their core positioning and offering and focus on it,” explains Shah. Highlighting how the role of PR has expanded with time, Shah said,“Public Relations is all about building and maintaining a constantly evolving image within the end consumers and stakeholders. PR is no more confined to article placements. Today, Public Relations is an amalgamation of consumer psychology, news consumption patterns, strategy, and execution, which needs to be synced with the company's core proposition.” So, she recommended going back to the basics. “Regarding the <keyword id="3763841" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="boycott-china">Boycott China</keyword> sentiment going around, one can only expect PR firms to meet such a challenge with something new and different that would bring in behavioural and perception shifts. I think any PR handling such a sensitive situation, should go back to basics and concentrate on it. Emphasis on highlighting the key features of the brand, map out key media outlets and chart a focussed PR strategy. Build a clear purpose behind doing PR. Crisis Management for PR professionals is an opportunity where the team gets to showcase its A-game. Get the team excited about it rather than making it sound heavy, that helps a lot. It is in moments like these that PR firms get an opportunity to build trust and faith for its client/brand within its audiences and they should focus on that,” said Shah.

PR Professionals advise their Chinese clients to maintain a low profile to cushion the blow

<ul><li><keyword id="6398864" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mondelez">Mondelez</keyword> India found itself in a soup on Sunday after a few screenshots surfaced on Twitter suggesting that its Cadbury Dairy Milk may contain gelatine derived from beef.</li><li>Cadbury was quick to respond to its row over beef in chocolates clarifying that the screenshots circulated on social media were of the company’s international products and all its Indian products are vegetarian.</li><li>We speak to brand and PR experts to discuss Cadbury’s crisis management strategy and what else should the brand do to win back consumer trust.</li></ul>After screenshots suggesting that Mondelez's Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolates may contain gelatine derived from beef surfaced on social media platforms in India on Sunday, Mondelez India took to Twitter to clarify that its products in India are all vegetarian. It said that the screenshots circulated were of the company’s products sold overseas. Trolls were quick to call for a boycott on all Mondelez products but some users even pointed out that the screenshot being shared is that of Cadbury Australia’s website. <div type="twitter" handle="DairyMilkIn" handlename="Cadbury Dairy Milk" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1327255370444668928/1NjkNhJE_normal.jpg" favoritecount="868" retweetcount="230" status="https://t.co/798qgPozsF" createdat="1626616484000" id="1416758336909840387"></div> After issuing a public statement to soften the uproar, Mondelez decided to respond to all tweets with its official statement mentioning that the green dot on its wrapper signifies that it is 100% vegetarian. However, instead of engaging with the internet users one-on-one and addressing their queries, Cadbury decided to use its templatized statement everywhere. Sharing the best ways to tackle such crisis, particularly when the brand may not be at fault, or ‘has a plausible and believable counter-point to quell the crux of the crisis,’ Social Media Expert and Independent Communications Consultant, Karthik Srinivasan said, “Do not use stock statements and plaster it as a reply to anyone and everyone. Prioritise a few top voices who are causing maximum damage and engage with them contextually and in the form of a conversation on the medium they are active in. This requires good social media monitoring tools (to ascertain who are the top voices causing or worthy of causing most damage) and a cross-functional team consisting of PR and communications (agency and client-side) and Legal. Most importantly, this group needs to be empowered to take decisions in real-time in terms of the brand holding a conversation with its detractors online.” Dilip Cherian, Consulting Partner, Perfect Relations advised looking through the company’s Owned Media first. He said, "Responding a little late, triggers a little panic but eventually, all seems to have been well. It could also be useful for Cadburys to recognize that going forward having more details of its India-specific process and the safety factor need to be built into it. India market product specs could be emphasized on its Owned Media. This is something that we at Perfect Relations have been advocating quite strongly in recent times. With the rise of fake news and it's tremors, the most obvious place for customers or trigger happy influencers all look through the company’s Owned Media. Cadburys need to check even now whether it's India site is strong enough to tackle it's possible problems. To my mind, that's where we should start.” Many brands have become a victim of boycott culture on social media lately and a lot of them bow down and maintain a low profile to cushion the blow. Cadbury decided to address the concerns and face the situation head-on. Gone are the days where a brand could hope for this to die a natural death and wait for consumers to move on. A small trend can snowball, and a little ignorance can lead to a huge amount of audience permanently boycotting a brand. At the same time, logic dictates that brands should not get involved in arguments or low blows since it tends to feed the trolls. Suggesting the best way out of this, Tarunjeet Rattan, Managing Partner, Nucleus PR said, “A measured response is the best route. However, the mark of the measure can only be decided by the brand based on their consumer profile and industry segment.” She said that when a brand finds itself in a PR crisis such as Cadbury, it should go all out on social media. Sharing how Cadbury can further fix the damage caused, Rattan added, “Add Linkedin to the mix so that they can get Corporate Inc behind them. Engage with editorial media to help them share their side of the story with an interesting bite or two sprinkled with nuts and nuggets (no pun intended). Create a statement that goes up on their website and social media pages along with a newsletter sent out to all internal and external stakeholders. Reach out to fact-checking websites/handles and ask them to do their own checks and put it out. Add a dose of sweet humour (in true Cadbury style) by engaging reel influencers and use it as an opportunity to turn this into positive PR for them.” <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="You snooze, you lose" text="You snooze, you lose">You snooze, you lose</cmsannotation> Cherian said that a company should get back to its trolls on Twitter in less than an hour. "Companies, in today's hyper-connected world, can get trolled cancelled or boycotted swiftly, for all the right reasons. But what really constitutes a crisis, and one that strikes from the outfield is when it's totally based on wrong reasons. Cadburys has fallen victim to a classic case of this with the wildcard allegation that its chocolates manufactured in India had beef components in them. There is an element of mischief here but by those trying to create a sensation to ride out with. Speed is the most important ingredient in managing a crisis of this kind given that these issues have been dealt with multiple times before. So, there is no reason why there should be anything even close to an hour's delay in getting back on mischievous tweets that sought to cause commercial and customer confusion. The fact that the company chose to clarify directly to the person pushing the offending tweet is good. But at Perfect Relations, we'd have opted for a quicker but generic tweet. That I believe would have been even better. And the time factor needs to be taken into account. We now live in a 24x7 world and crisis can erupt anywhere at any time. There is no time to pause to ponder and prevaricate. Pushing out the right message very quickly is essential. In my view, Cadburys did manage to stem rubbish from expanding. But some hits were hurting," said Cherian. Srinivasan also said that if a crisis begins and perpetuates on social media, the conversations on Twitter need to be quick and in real-time. “Delays in reacting to specific questions could make it seem like the brand has something to hide. A brand handle on social media is just that - a brand handle, without a human voice. So when trying to add a factual counterpoint, it would be better to name a credible, verifiable (LinkedIn'able!) individual as the person behind the counter-point.” <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Personalisation" text="Personalisation">Personalisation</cmsannotation> When Fortune Oil got caught in a crisis earlier this year, after its brand ambassador Sourav Ganguly suffered a mild heart attack, it immediately released a statement asserting that it would continue to work with Ganguly. After a few days, it launched a personalised print ad penned by its ambassador Ganguly to clarify that there are multiple reasons that can affect one’s heart's health. In Cadbury’s case, it is just a note from brand’s official Twitter page and Srinivasan pointed out that ‘when sharing a factual response as a stock statement, who says it matters. For instance, if the response being used by Cadbury now was attributed to the India CEO, that would carry more weight.’ Due to the vastness of information available on social media, a lot of such crises come and go. Add to it people's perpetually decreasing attention spans. However, a Google search can still bring up stories around such controversies with just one search which could result in people changing their minds about a particular product. So, durable brands, FMCG or luxury brands need to be extra careful while handling a ‘small’ PR crisis. Srinivasan added, “It is important to put forward the brand's counterpoint impactfully so that future readers see both sides of the controversy and are able to make up their mind unambiguously.” He is sure that Mondelez will pull a ‘Maggi’<a href="https://twitter.com/beastoftraal/status/1416989779460190208"> and hire a big celebrity </a>to cover the damage and communicate how safe their products are. For its future communication, Rattan advised, “On a consistent basis, it should keep talking about safety and hygiene. Cadbury is not new to this and has faced a crisis before. But they stopped talking about hygiene in their overall campaigns once the immediate threat was overcome. Brand conversations that touch upon safety and hygiene must be a standard and not a crisis response, especially for a brand consumed by all ages including children. Keep hammering it and then some.”

Cadbury row over beef: Was Mondelez’s crisis management strategy convincing enough to win back its consumers' trust?

<ul><li><keyword id="6359039" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="sourav-ganguly">Sourav Ganguly</keyword>, BCCI President and Former India Cricket Captain, suffered a mild heart attack last month.</li><li>Netizens happened to re-discover his old ad endorsing Fortune's Cooking Oil, which then triggered a slew of tweets and jokes with people questioning the effectiveness of the oil and also wondering how the brand will tackle this crisis. </li><li>On Valentine’s day, the brand published an honest print ad clarifying that there are many factors that can affect our heart's health.</li><li>We speak to PR experts to find out if communication like this is enough to win audiences over. </li></ul>After BCCI President and Former India Cricket Captain Sourav Ganguly suffered a mild heart attack in January 2021, Adani Wilmar’s Fortune rice bran cooking oil, that is endorsed by Ganguly, got caught in the middle of the crisis. Twitterati had re-discovered Ganguly’s old ad with Fortune Oil that said it is ‘a healthy for heart oil’ and the irony was not lost on people. They were also quick to jump to the conclusion that Fortune oil is unhealthy and its old ad even started making rounds on WhatsApp. To soften the uproar coming in its way, Fortune Oil deleted the ad from its official website and social media handles. It had also immediately released a media statement asserting that it would continue to work with Ganguly. <div type="twitter" handle="arifaajakia" handlename="Arif Aajakia" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1335345211610963969/_YB6QF_R_normal.jpg" favoritecount="191" retweetcount="18" status="Dada, get well soon. We love you. You are a tiger, you will come back roaring. @SGanguly99 https://t.co/F5rkPAlmNE" createdat="1609734280000" id="1345949241093586946"></div> <div type="twitter" handle="aliusmani" handlename="AYU" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1335760850393526272/u2_LBHPy_normal.jpg" favoritecount="1" retweetcount="0" status="@beastoftraal WhatsApp forwards are already making rounds 😀😀 https://t.co/ouMXMTxcwW" createdat="1609678780000" id="1345716459503161344"></div> Post that, netizens, including brand experts and consumers, had eyes on Fortune’s next move for it was going to take a lot of come out of this huge PR crisis and win its consumers’ trust back. As an FMCG brand that caters to a mass audience, how do you deal with this cloud of resentment coming your way on social media? Fortune Oil has given us a case study with its latest move. On Valentine’s Day, when the whole brandverse got mushy and there were hearts splashed across the newspaper ads, Adani Wilmar decided to have a heart-to-heart conversation with fans. It launched a personalised print ad penned by its ambassador Ganguly to clarify that there are multiple reasons that can affect one’s heart's health. <div type="twitter" handle="FortuneFoods" handlename="Fortune Foods" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1230878437541371904/69ad0EW2_normal.jpg" favoritecount="10" retweetcount="2" status="Dada made a healthy comeback, as he always does! Here's a 'heart' felt message from him on Valentine's Day. Let's h… https://t.co/Je2cGatoz8" createdat="1613277036000" id="1360808636755320837"></div> Titled, ‘Today seems like a good day to talk about the heart,’ the body copy read, "You don't expect a fairly young and fit person like me to have a heart-related ailment. But here's the thing, there are just too many factors that can affect our heart's health. One of them could be family history of heart ailments, as it was in my case." It further shared a few tips to keep one’s heart-healthy. In a personalised note, Ganguly openly talked about his heart condition and what consumers can learn from his episode. “Love your heart. Take good care of it,” he concluded. Fortune Oil appointed Ganguly as its brand face in 2020 to target mid-age people with its campaign ‘Welcome to the 40s,' which aimed to promote maintaining heart health and good lifestyle. The campaign backfired a year later and it was a blow hard to forget. However, when a brand faces a huge crisis related to their brand ambassadors such as this, the traditional PR advice is to maintain a low profile to cushion the blow. Adani Wilmar, on the other hand, decided to address the concerns and face the situation head-on. It also waited for the right amount of time to launch a piece of communication -- long enough to give its consumers some space to process the news and but not too long before it is a distant memory. And it seems to have won brand experts admiration. Albeit, will a brand ambassador coming to bat for a brand and talk about the health benefits it serves, be enough to regain its consumers' trust? Here is what experts had to say: Dilip Cherian, Founder and Partner, Perfect Relations: <div type="image" title="Dilip-Cherian1" msid="80928599" hostid="261"></div> There is no doubt that some response would have been expected from any consumer products company which is also substantially consumer-facing. So I guess, Fortune really didn’t have too much of a choice or perhaps was facing image pressures to explain its stance. This actually is one of the huge consequences of having an extremely popular and visible brand ambassador. The price you have to pay is often that, anything that happens to the ambassador actually happens to the company. So rather than entering a situation where a stent within the company would be necessary, I think that responding was smart. Opting for a print advertisement allowed the company to actually communicate at many levels. As we tell our clients today, owned media and paid media can be multiplied appropriately to reach the audiences you want in the ways you want. Taking a print advertisement was only one of the options. It could easily have been addressed far more cheaply and just as effectively by having this content put on the Fortune website. Would it have worked? The answer is yes, if properly promoted. Owned media can very often play the role that conventional media has played in recent times. This is one of the huge advantages that we have been able to get companies involved in understanding during the year of lockdown. Now that the advertisement is out, clever digital manipulation and propagation is the answer if that is done then the point will be well taken amongst many more stakeholders than just those who happened to read the print copy. The lessons a brand can learn from this are quite clear. There is no doubt that large consumer facing brands need to be conscious of who they choose as a brand ambassador and recognise that along with huge gains come the pains. The second lesson would be that responding is smarter than smarting in silence. Third lesson is that using your owned media would have been infinitely cheaper as a means of responding. Lesson four, clever use of social media and aggressive use of traditional media can very often multiply what you choose to put out on owned media. Archana Jain, Managing Director, PR pundit <div type="image" title="Archana Jain - Horizontal" msid="80932970" hostid="261"></div> There is no 'one size fits all' strategic response in a crisis; two identical scenarios can have different responses as they may be taking place at two different times, in two different domains, or with varied company cultures. A crisis always merits a response – as they say, 'Feed the shark before it feeds on you!" The key points to have got across swiftly would have been on how the company feels about the incident as its important to be humanly concerned, first, last and foremost. A lesson that brands can learn from this: When good health is the claim, it’s important to monitor the health of the brand ambassador just like insurance companies do each year of the insured. This was capture in the T of the HEART message in the advertisement Tarunjeet Rattan, Founder and Managing Partner, Nucleus and Co-founder of PRPOI <div type="image" title="Tarunjeet Pr" msid="80932780" hostid="261"></div> Absolutely, it was a good strategy. In fact, they should have done that when Sourav first got the attack. If I recall correctly a lot of personal branding experts at that point of time had recommended that Sourav drop the brand. On the other hand, they also urged the brand to take a stand and leverage this opportunity to educate everyone on the various causes of a heart attack. Fortune shied away from it at that point. To me, that was an opportunity lost. What if Sourav had not recovered. It would have ensured the loss of customer trust forever. Good that he did, and it gave the brand an opportunity to address it. It is great to see them take this up now and in such a sweet and toned down manner. In today's day and age, it does not work if you choose to lie low. Apart from it being a wasted opportunity to connect with your audience, the silence will backfire. Crisis needs to be addressed head-on with a smart strategy when the fires are the hottest. I do believe they've hit the sweet spot with a heartfelt message and on an appropriate day. Using a single medium is in line with their cautionary wait &amp; watch approach. Not too massive but at the same time reaching just about enough audiences. What I am sure they would have anticipated and counted on was that the same branding experts who pulled them up for not addressing the crisis earlier would be impressed enough or have an opinion either way to give them more space on their social media real estate. Lo and behold ! It worked out just as planned. Some lessons that brands can learn from this crisis and its management: Never ever waste a good crisis. Every crisis is an opportunity in disguise so use it. When you do choose to address it make sure you are aware of the circumstances around the crisis so that you can choose the right medium for the message. This awareness will help you use your budget wisely. Amplification is essential. Identify the people and channels who will be most apt for it before deciding on your response. Respond to a crisis with facts and a lot of empathy. A situation like this would have worked really well for the brand and earned it a lot of goodwill if it had stood by its brand ambassador on the day of the heart attack. Be human. Whether now or later …whether the individual is your brand ambassador or not…being human won’t hurt you. It will only earn you loyalty points and love. Don’t make outright claims that you cannot control. They will come back to haunt you. Temper all claims with a dose of reality. Akshaara Lalwani, Founder and CEO of Communicate India: <div type="image" title="Akshaara Lalwani, Founder, Communicate India pic 1" msid="80928629" hostid="261"></div> Firstly, we have to understand Mr. Sourav Ganguly’s case wasn’t an anomaly. Scores of athletes and sportspersons across the world have had heart attacks when in the prime of their careers and lives. So this really was an unexpected event in terms of public relations because Sourav Ganguly was always the right fit for the brand and he is a national treasure, but it was just unfortunate that this happened to him. Having said this, from a PR perspective, when something like this happens, conventional wisdom does suggest that a brand lie low, retract all their communication and pull out adverts, as was the case with Fortune. This is understandable because no brand would not want to alienate its customers or lose out on revenue. However, we have to understand that we’re part of a more evolved digital economy today and that a brand need not necessarily hide behind a crisis. Bringing the issue to the forefront and addressing it head-on, is the best suited strategy for a modern PR and communications landscape. Without being insensitive to a brand ambassador’s health situation, it is an opportune moment to reiterate messaging around heart health eating and the importance of eating well and living well. This is not to say that a brand should use someone's misfortune to push sales and marketing, but it is about communicating and engaging with customers in an honest manner, and telling them that the risk of heart attacks is real for everyone. In a crisis situation like this, there has to be an acute understanding of brand sentiment and a two-way-communication model has to be adopted. Customers and brands need to work together to identify messages because at the end of the day, customers understand risks of a product and it is the duty of any company to educate its customers about these risks. Making the customer your partner and working in a symbiotic relationship is the key. Therefore it isn’t advisable to have a knee-jerk reaction of retracting communication and adverts during an unprecedented situation like this. In fact, creating honest communication, addressing the situation directly, and working through issues is advisable. It’s all about responding to your customer and providing them with the most correct, accurate, and valuable information.

After Fortune Foods' recent PR crisis after Sourav Ganguly's heart attack, is the brand’s latest print campaign enough to win back its consumers' trust?

<ul><li>After CrossFit CEO Greg Glassman tweeted several insensitive remarks referencing to <keyword id="9295731" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="george-floyd">George Floyd</keyword>’s murder and the coronavirus pandemic, Twitteratti expressed their fierce anger and shock. </li><li>Gyms across the USA, social media influencers and brands like Reebok cut ties with CrossFit permanently and expressed their dismay on social media over the brand’s failure to quickly put out an apologetic statement.</li><li>We reached out to experts to understand the lessons one can learn from this incident. </li></ul>Last week, in response to George Floyd's death, many global social-media influencers and brands spoke out online demanding change. A few giants like Amazon Prime, Nickelodeon and Spotify observed silence for 8 minutes and 46 seconds on #BlackoutTuesday. On the other hand, CrossFit CEO Greg Glassman’s controversial tweet referencing to George Floyd’s murder and the coronavirus pandemic, sparked outrage on social media. To be specific, in response to a tweet that said racism is a public health issue, Glassman said it's 'a FLOYD-19 issue.’ <div type="twitter" handle="IHME_UW" handlename="Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/509474832983920640/ijAkDalA_normal.png" favoritecount="1623" retweetcount="457" status="Racism and discrimination are critical public health issues that demand an urgent response. #BlackLivesMatterRead… https://t.co/uvGuWc4Qlh" createdat="1591470001000" id="1269343305147518976"></div> It soon escalated and set the ball rolling. Gyms across the USA and sports giants like Reebok cut their affiliation with CrossFit for not apologizing sooner and taking corrective actions. According to an <a href="https://bit.ly/affiliaterebranding">online spreadsheet tracking, affiliates</a> who have dropped CrossFit, as shared on Brand and Social Media Expert <keyword id="247533" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Karthik-Srinivasan">Karthik Srinivasan</keyword>’s blog, the list currently stands at 310! <div type="twitter" handle="CrossFit" handlename="CrossFit" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/654360047485513728/-pZGrVSW_normal.png" favoritecount="689" retweetcount="158" status=".@CrossFitCEO: &quot;I, CrossFit HQ, and the CrossFit community will not stand for racism. I made a mistake by the words… https://t.co/6kL6zBAD3I" createdat="1591579482000" id="1269802501873623040"></div> <div type="javascript" title="Instagram" contenttype="Image"><cdata><![CDATA[ ]]></cdata></div> Social media influencers also ditched their associations with the brand. This whole fiasco comes with its own list of learnings for leaders everywhere. The incident came as a reminder that one needs to be careful before putting anything out on social media, be empathetic. It also showed the critical role Public Relations plays in the journey of a brand. We all saw what kind of repercussions it brought on CrossFit. Closer home too, empires can easily collapse in a day if the audiences find out the person behind the brand still holds on to their sexist, classist or racist prejudices. We reached out to a few Indian Brand Experts and Public Relations Professionals to understand how CrossFit should have tackled the situation, what it teaches our country’s leaders and if the COVID situation has made the business environment more volatile, pushing brands to realise the importance of communicating thoughtfully on social media, now more than ever before? Here is what they said: Karthik Srinivasan, Brand and Social Media Expert: “It teaches us that social media is a performance. Anything said online becomes the 'written word'. I recall reading a really thoughtful sentence from Neil Postman's book ‘Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business’, that I'm reading now: "What people say is assumed to be more casually uttered than what they write. The written word is assumed to have been reflected upon, by its author." The crux is, when on social media, behave as if the world is watching you... because it is! The first necessity is to work towards not being in such situations. CXOs learn so many things in their journey towards the ascent to that role, but not how to use social media. Why? Because everyone assumes that social media is free and what is there to learn anyway? But they did learn public speaking, presentation skills, etiquette etc, even though they were free, too. Also, the assumption that some other department would do it on behalf of the CXO. Those days are gone. The first need is to help CXOs understand the power of social media and the pitfalls it comes with. And help them in a structured way to build their personal brand via social platforms. This is insurance in terms of the brand's corporate communications process - insurance against days when things are going wrong, when the CXO with a trusted voice (that she/he built over a period of time) could come and help the brand.” <keyword id="244384" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lloyd-Mathias">Lloyd Mathias</keyword>, Business Strategist &amp; Angel Investor and former APAC Marketing Head of HP: “I think CEO’s and brand custodians should be very careful about their social media communication in general, especially when it touches serious issues like human rights and racism. In this instance, CrossFit’s CEO Greg Glassman’s tweet clearly lacked sensitivity. As a CEO and de facto spokesperson for your business and brand you have the added responsibility of setting the tone of communication. Failing to do so will harm your brand and the community in general. The first thing brand’s need to do when they err on issues like this is to apologize unconditionally. This is best done in the same medium where the original error was committed and by the same person who made the mistake. Customers are likely to accept an apology when it comes unconditionally, straight from the heart and is genuine in intent. Also good to follow it up is with genuine contrition - by addressing the cause that your post went against and stating that you and your company stands with the cause. In the current Covid situation, digital and social media have become mainstream so it's double important for brands to remain ultra-cautious in their posts. Having said which, brands will need to be empathetic and not remain silent hoping the issues that are current to their consumers, die down.” Dilip Cherian, Founder- Perfect Relations: “The huge fallout from the Crossfit Controversy around the CEOs wiseass tweet is a lesson to business leaders everywhere. Indian business leaders are still notoriously allergic to social media. This can't last going forward as customers are now increasingly expecting to hear from CEOs about their own brands, their big news breaks and their responses to public issues. Reluctant Indian CEOs are becoming an unwitting drag on their companies outreach competencies. At Perfect Relations, we've been championing CEO voices on Social Media, as a critical input into this new age of Co Owned Media. It's vital for a post-Covid economy. But being trained on how to use this vital tool and having professional oversight teams is just as vital, as just having a Social Media voice in India. What the Crossfit CEO did was exuberant foolishness. An attempt to sound like a clever punster spun out of control. The 3 lessons he's taught Indian CEOs are, One, please don't be smart alecky. Two: Steer clear of issues that involve fissile public emotions unless you want to show empathy. Three: have someone check your responses for you &amp; don't overrule them.” Among the golden "Perfect Rules" that we use to coach CEOs is one that says, ...No humour ( it's for standup comics), no self deprecation (you're the Boss), no puns (that's for experts), no tilting at political holy cows (leave that to politicians). Our broad Comms thesis is Remember "we live in brutally literal times". Navigate you must, even as you must Engage."

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