Public relations situation
Analyze the challenges and issues presented by the public relations situation described in the scenario. You are free to embellish details but keep them realistic.
This situation is expected to have a negative opinion of our airline. However, we do not expect any significant decrease in our ratings. As the president, my course of action would be to improve my brand’s reputation. My main goal would be to make our airline the spirit airline for most customers. Having that in mind, my team would carry out a survey of what our clients like and dislike about our airline. Apart from growing profits and a healthy stock price, brand reputation is essential because it will help current and potential customers understand who we are and what we offer as an airline. Our game would be to increase the understanding of our model. With this plan in motion, we are expected to retain and even raise the confidence our clients have in us.
Suggest three different public relations approach to address the issue. Evaluate each approach.
The first approach is the asymmetrical approach. Using this method, the communicator uses information from the target audience collected by public relations. Public relations team seeks to understand issues of importance such as client organization. The beliefs and ideas of the clients are used to the benefit of the organization. The organization then modifies these ideas to suit the clients’ needs making them more relatable. In my case, I would collaborate with influencers to make clients know why our company services are appreciated.
The second approach is the use of public information. This approach seeks to use truthful information acquired about the needs of the clients to better the services provided by the organization. If the purpose of the company goes beyond profit, the company is more likely to be appealing to the consumers. Instead of tricking the clients, public information educates the public as well as the media with factual and complete information. In my company, I would use avenues such as YouTube to showcase our exquisite customer service and seek to gain customer reviews through other social media platforms.
The last approach is giving a traditional press to release its exclusivity. In public relations, this strategy was termed press agentry. This approach simply means to give attention through the use of media. In today’s digital world, newspapers, trade journals, commuter papers, and broadcast shows still hold credibility and weight. With an exclusive angle, one can offer an outlet to a target audience. Finding the right brand layer to provide a particular service is essential.
Provide a course of action and detail why you chose that action, what you hope it will gain for your airline, and what might go wrong if you made the wrong choice.
I might prepare a quick press release for immediate release, stating that the captain was taken to the hospital but that the plane landed safely, offering no other details – The problem with this strategy is that the press and the public will ask questions which the airline may not be in a position to answer. Different reactions speak to diagnose these errors, and if the response is rather quick and not precisely elaborate, more problems might be created. Timing is vital in a public relations crisis, and it is often not best to give a response without bearing all the facts or answers to the possible questions that might be asked and can lead to backtracking or contradicting previous statements. Even worse, there might be no answers to some of the problem asked. In most cases, without enough information, it is always best to give that as a reliable response and assure the people that you will provide more detailed information later on.
Prepare a full press release with all details of the incident – This is the method I would use to approach the crisis at hand. As the president, it would be important that I gather all the facts about the incident. Then, without putting external blame, I would come up with the most transparent way of delivering the press release. I would commit to being open and honest with my audience. The sooner an apology is made to the public; the sooner people will forgive, forget, and move past that particular situation. To make the apology more personal, I the president will personally tweet or post the apology on social media. In instances where the excuse could be considered an admission of guilt, I will involve our legal team. I will make sure that my first external crisis communication is a well thought out response that my clients, media, and the general public can resonate with.
I might put positive spin on all of this and create a press release that focuses on the heroic efforts of the first officer who landed the plane – When a crisis poses a threat to the reputation of a company; it is always effective to come up with a situation that functions to maximize protection of the organizations reputation. This can be an aggregate presentation of how the company has met consumer expectations in the past or this case, how a well-trained copilot working for the airline, was able to salvage the situation. The copilot’s heroic acts serve to show that the airline hosts a dedicated and competent team and that only a few accidents if any, can happen within the organization. By using this strategy, the organization appears rather irresponsible by focusing on the organization’s reputation. Ethically, as the president, I would concentrate my concern towards the psychological and physical wellbeing of the passengers in the plane. After this, I can turn my attention to the reputational assets of my company.
Press release
Kular Airline Pilot Stabilizes Airplane and Ensures Passengers Safe Landing. The pilot is praised for his heroic efforts as he restored sanity in the air.
Atlanta, Georgia, June. 6, 2019 – earlier today, a fantastic scene was witnessed as Thomas Shults who captained Flight 1890 to a Miami airport saved the lives of over ninety passengers and six cabin crew members when he stopped the chaos of 1890 as it was about to land.
Passengers and his teammates back at Kular Airlines have lauded the ex-navy pilot as a ‘Southern hero.’
The plane destabilized when the chief captain of the plane suddenly became unconscious as the plane was almost landing. Thomas, who was the copilot, took over and brought the craft to a safe landing.
An ambulance with paramedics was rushed to the scene upon the plane landing, and the unconscious pilot was taken to hospital. After an hour of waiting, we established the captain had suffered a heart attack. He is still in critical condition.
We are pleased to say that all the passengers are safe and no one was harmed.
We wish to inform our esteemed clients that business is usual here at Kular Airlines and flights to various destinations across states and other parts of the world are ongoing.
Investigations are currently taking place, and our airline regulators are inspecting all crafts for any foul play terms of structure.
Various pilots are also probed to ensure their eligibility to fly specific crafts.
Fly With Us, Fly Kular.
REFERENCES
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Fearn-Banks, K., (2009). Crisis communication: A review of some best practices. In R.L. Heath (Ed.), Handbook of Public Relations (pp. 479-500). London: Sage. http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781452220727.n40
Noelle-Neumann, E., (2008). The spiral of silence: A theory of public opinion. Journal of Communication, 24(2), 43-51. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.1974.tb00367.x
The Texas State Office of Risk Management Public Relations and Crisis Coordination,(2007) http://www.sorm.state.tx.us/Risk_Management/Business_Con tinuity/pr_crisis.php
Van R. Hook Steven. Crisis Management Moments: (2012) Making the most of a bad situation, http://aboutpublicrelations.net/aa021701a.htm, http://aboutpublicrelations.net/aa021701b.htm
Whims Ellie Crisis Communications for Small Business: (2011) A well-developed crisis plan can save the unexpected sting, 2010, http://aboutpublicrelations.net/ucwhims1.htm