Bad publicity can bring down a business. Whether it’s posting an ill-advised video or an online howler that goes viral, one mistake could be your downfall.

 

THE INAPPROPRIATE VIDEO
In 2014, the Belgium and Luxembourg division of car manufacturer Renault posted a video online in which a woman parks her new Twingo on a roundabout, leaving an apologetic note written in lipstick on a panty liner on the dashboard. The voice-over then suggests that women order pre-printed cards from Renault with the message “Sorry. I’m a danger at the wheel, so I’d rather leave my car here”. The video provoked a huge outcry on social media, with internet users accusing Renault of sexism and venting their anger at the company via a range of websites and blogs. This “bad publicity” left Renault facing a PR crisis as a result of the barrage of online criticism.

THE DISASTROUS EFFECTS OF BAD PUBLICITY
As Warren Buffet pointed out, “it takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to ruin it”. Given the speed at which things can go viral online, this observation has even greater resonance today. In reality, bad publicity can lead to many different consequences, including:
• causing a media crisis that can damage a company’s sales and even its share price;
• filtering into more traditional media;
• forcing a company to shut down;
• leaving damaging details on the internet that can be found in the future.
Don’t forget that 8 out of 10 people search the internet before making a purchase, so no company can afford to have its online reputation tainted by scandal or criticism.

THE 5 BIG ONLINE TABOOS
Online PR crises don’t just affect big businesses. SMEs, celebrities and politicians can also get things horribly wrong. More than half of all instances of bad publicity relate in some way to breaking one of the following 5 taboos:
• ethnic or geographic identity;
• gender;
• social class;
• respect for consumers;
• honesty.

How about you? Have you ever gone through an online PR crisis? How did you manage it?

(Source: study by the digital communications agency MMC on negative online publicity since 2015)