Image source: Gage Skidmore via Flickr
The president elect’s penchant for high-profile attacks will change corporate communications and PR crisis management. Donald Trump frequently picked public fights in the media and on Twitter during the campaign and shows no sign of dropping the practice.
Trump has singled out specific businesses and organizations and their leaders as well as general business sectors. He recently lambasted Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Carrier, Chuck Jones of United Steelworkers 1999, and drug companies. For instance, he “cancelled” Boeing’s $4 billion contract to build new Air Force Ones with a single tweet. It’s highly likely other high-level members of the new administration will adopt Trump’s attack tactics.
PR crisis management experts say corporations must adopt new communications strategies and change their crisis communications style in order to survive a Trump Twitter attack. “Corporate communicators will need to change their styles in this new world order,” argues Stan Steinreich, president and CEO of Steinreich Communications, in O’Dwyers. “Instead of balanced language, they will need to be more provocative, and this will no doubt go against the grain of many corporate executives who will fear this edginess will add fuel to the jousting volley.”
Corporate PR in Uncharted Territory
Trump’s “policy-by-tantrum style” puts corporations in an uncomfortable and unfamiliar position, explains Eric Dezenhall, CEO of crisis management firm Dezenhall Resources, in a CNBC op-ed. They disdain controversy. They prefer to avoid the limelight and work behind the scenes. Working behind the scenes is not Trump’s style. Businesses now have no choice but to prepare themselves for a reality TV landscape.
Deciding how to respond to a Trump attack is difficult, Dezenhall says. Corporations can defend themselves vigorously and risk angering the president. They can capitulate and change a business practice to avoid a confrontation. They can compromise as Carrier did on keeping jobs in Indiana. Or they can stay quiet and hope the storm passes. They don’t want to anger top government officials, especially a president and especially if even more government business is at stake.
On the other hand, corporations can gain sympathizers. “The media, historically, hasn’t had much affection for big businesses and institutions but many journalists are beginning to view Trump’s tactics as a slippery slope of unrestrained bullying and might be more willing to give companies a hearing than in the past,” Dezenhall says.
Advice for PR Responses
Subscribing to real-time alerts through a social media monitoring service that closely monitors mentions of your company, brand and executive leaders is essential. A swift response is critical. Tweets and other social media posts can spread quickly and exponentially.
These are some suggestions:
Don’t over-react. Trump may soon move on to a new target. Consider a measured, proportional response. Consider the business impact when deciding on the level of response. Some form of “we’re willing to work with you Mr. President” may be the most effective response to defuse the issue. Correcting any misinformation, as Boeing did in the Air Force One episode, is also appropriate.
If the organization resolves to fight back, deciding who will respond is critical. The CEO may not necessarily be the best choice. Other executives may be better skilled at media combat. Surrogates, such as rank-and-file employees or issue experts, may be harder to demonize than the CEO.
Assertiveness is Essential
“The key here is not to let social media comments knock you down, but in fact, to rise up and stand your ground,” Steinreich advises.
When Trump threatens a company that needs to move jobs out of the U.S., the company would be better to talk, not balk, he says. A fitting response would be: “Mr. President, happy to discuss ways we can stay.” Finding a quick win-win resolution, as Carrier did, may be the most effective tactic. Explaining the rationale for the decision well will help put the issue to rest. Greg Hughes, CEO of United Technologies (parent of Carrier) did that on CNBC.
Even while standing your ground, ending the online discussion or taking it off line, out of the limelight, will often be a key goal for the corporation. Feuding in public with the President or his representatives usually has little upside.
Bottom Line: Donald Trump’s habit of attacking organizations and their leaders has corporate America on edge. It’s imperative for PR and corporate leaders to expand their repertoire of crisis response strategies. In some cases, an aggressive and public stance may be the best option even though that runs counter to corporations’ traditional style.
William J. Comcowich founded and served as CEO of CyberAlert LLC, the predecessor of Glean.info. He is currently serving as Interim CEO and member of the Board of Directors. Glean.info provides customized media monitoring, measurement and analytics solutions across all types of traditional and social media.
