Ever heard of this phrase - “Any publicity is good publicity”?
When a brand or a company faces negative publicity, such as receiving backlash for a new campaign, or a product launch failing, its PR team fumbles to remedy the brand’s reputation. While news media and social media continues to cover its flop, the brand strategically plans on how they want to revive the trust of their stakeholders and consumers.
A popular company, KFC, had a rather eccentric way of dealing with their brand’s crisis. In 2018, the KFC chains in Britain faced a major chicken supply crisis when their delivery firm, DHL, faced problems when handling their chicken supply. As a result, over 400 outlets had to be closed.
In response, KFC released an attention-grabbing advertisement across newspapers, gaining great publicity for their statement. They put out a full-page newspaper advertisement that rearranged the letters of its name to "FCK", and attached their statement in smaller font underneath the visual. They also mentioned that they are rectifying their supply issues, and are thankful to have the support and patience of their customers nonetheless.
While I mentioned that this form of publicity is rather eccentric, it was well-received by the British. However, if I were to compare the methods of handling brand crises between UK and Asia, the Asian community might not be as welcoming of the same KFC statement. I felt that this was an important learning point for me as I learn about the different ways companies handle their crisis, across different industries and across different cultures. If a local PR team published a seemingly vulgar advertisement like the one mentioned, the people in Singapore and Asia would not receive it well, and may even worsen the brand’s crisis. Not only will it worsen the damage on local media coverage, it might even drive existing customers away from the brand.
While I agree that any publicity is “good” publicity (because “bad” publicity still catches some form of attention), how well it’s received by the public can differ in different cultures and different generations. While Gen Zs and Gen Alphas would be more welcoming to various types of humour, millennials and Gen Xs may be less tolerant and preserve the conservative culture. Therefore, as communicators, one should be aware of their audiences and the companies’ customers, and tailor their crisis strategy into one that minimises another potential risk recurring for their brand.
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