Communications as Ikor

It’s a common epithet attached to hundreds of millions of brands that circulate worldwide, but events in recent months have made it a tagline befitting of the grim reaper. Glaring safety oversights of Chinese producers and manufacturers have resulted in the deaths of puppies, kittens and, most recently, young children. The latter group of victims comes with the news of Mattel’s second toy recall in a month, this time of Chinese-made toys contaminated with lead paint. This recall closely follows that of 18.2 million magnetic toys whose faulty design prompted choking deaths and injuries to children who ingested loose pieces.

Understandably, Mattel is in the hot seat for selling toys that should have never passed safety tests. However, until recent blips, the company had a stalwart reputation for being a conscientious toy maker with advanced inspection systems in its China factories, thus raising a key question: What’s going on in China?

Mattel’s current PR problem is a crisis management case study in the making, and communications executives are taking steps to rebuild trust in its brand and to reinforce its concern for safety. The team launched an advertising campaign with the headline “Because your children are our children, too,” and spokespeople are constantly reiterating the company’s investigation of the matter.

But what of China’s response? Contaminated pet food, deadly toys, defective tires – none bode well for a country whose economy is dependent on revenue generated from exports. According to a recent Financial Times report, “China” says that over 99% of its exports are safe, but that’s not very comforting when the country pushes a trillion dollars worth of exports annually. With numbers like that, even 1% adds up to a lot.

In short, there are two public relations situations here: the handling of a product recall for Mattel, and the overall reputation crisis for China. When it comes to product recalls, communications best practices include over-communication, complete transparency and bringing in independent third-parties to test and ensure safety. Mattel should follow the example of Johnson & Johnson, the archetype of product recall prowess. As for China, its next PR steps are anyone’s guess. Perhaps people should get used to hearing “Made in Singapore.” It has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?

Oops, They Did It Again

Cyberspace is not a playground, or a mud-wrestling pit, or a platform for flame-throwers.

It’s a lesson you’d think you’d be telling your 14-year-old kid who doesn’t understand the risk of his wacky (or risqué) blogosphere banters, but apparently you should consider taking the warning to the workplace – and maybe even hand-delivering it to your CEO.

Case in point: Whole Foods CEO John Mackey has created an organic mess out of his affinity for anonymously (until now) denouncing competitors on Yahoo! financial message boards.  His PR/communications team most likely wasn’t aware of this pastime, but its recent entrée into the public domain reiterates the importance of keeping your C-suite executives informed on the opportunities – and dangers – of digital communications.

The messages Mackey posted allegedly date back to seven years ago (which is ironically impressive that he even knew how to use the technology in digitalization’s relative infancy) and number in the thousands.  And while technically not unethical – but definitely well in the realm of a really bad idea – his definition of  “fun” is PR’s definition of transparency, which is all the more relevant in today’s digital environ.  Edelman and Wal-Mart learned the hard way with their faux-folksy “Wal-Marting Across America” blog, and now Whole Foods will suffer the reputation consequences. Maybe those consequences will be more of embarrassment (after defaming rival Wild Oats for years, he has recently made moves to buy shares) than anything, but only time (and board-of-directors decisions) will tell.

In the meantime, Mackey should probably abandon his keyboard for greener, safer, more organic pastures.