In the league table of best and worst crisis communicators*, supermarkets dominate the top five as Tesco, Asda, Aldi and Iceland recovered particularly well from the horse meat scandal. Google, Starbucks, G4S, News International and Wonga ranked bottom, as each company struggled to gain traction with their various communications responses.
Despite being criticised as ‘slow off the mark’, Tesco made a good recovery, with many of those polled picking it as a top communicator. This suggests that the supermarkets’ big spend on advertising, a dedicated website and a PR push apologising to customers paid off.
Asda also polled highly, having acted before being implicated in the scandal, removing products from shelves and reassuring its customers with media statements.
Starbucks’ attempt to gain positive coverage and draw a line under tax avoidance claims by choosing to pay a voluntary £5m was clumsy. It drew unwanted attention to the issue and was perceived by consumers to be a gimmick.
Surprisingly, the BBC was in the top five for people rating the response ‘very well or well’. However, public opinion was sharply divided, with older age categories far more negative about the broadcaster’s communications response. Age groups of 34 and under were more forgiving.
Wonga polled worst, proving that even the most robust communications plan can fail if the entire industry is perceived negatively.
The research also illustrates the power of a charismatic spokesperson or leader, with Richard Branson eclipsing rivals, as the panel of 195 opinion formers overwhelmingly named him the number one corporate spokesperson.
The top five corporate spokespeople rated best at communicating were:
Rebecca Reilly, Open Road director, said: “Despite a sustained period of negative headlines relating to the horse meat scandal, the big supermarkets’ proactive, fast and comprehensive responses to the issue were well-received by the public, meaning that they have managed to maintain a strong level of trust in their businesses.
“While handling of a communications crisis doesn’t necessarily translate into loss of sales, with negative media coverage comes increased government scrutiny, and the potential for unwanted regulation.”
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