LEEDS METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY
HANZE UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
RISKY TIMES: HOW SOCIAL MEDIA IS CHANGING THE RULES OF CRISIS MANAGEMENT
STUDENT ID (LMU): 77104169
STUDENT ID (HU): 000379604
1ST SUPERVISOR: PROF. RICHARD BAILEY (LMU)
2ND SUPERVISOR: PROF. ERIK KOSTELIJK (HU)
MAY 2nd, 2013
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
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ABSTRACT
In 2011, Arezzo, a multinational, women’s shoes and accessories company
(founded in 1972 in Brazil1), faced a series of online claims from clients and
ONG’s due to the launch of products made with real and exotic fur. During
three days its Facebook official profile received thousands of messages against
the products; the brand was categorized as “trending topics” on Twitter and a
profile was created to boycott against the company. Blogs and other websites
also engaged in the conversation spreading the content among distinct groups.
On the fourth day of protests, the CEO announced that he would remove all
fur products from the market.
The event highlights that the emergence of social media online groups
changed the way that communication is made, evaluated and information is
spread. From a one-way, top-down, mostly informational approach, in which
Marshall McLuhan described as “the medium is the message,” around the
1960’s; to a new communication pattern based in lateral engagement, personal interaction in online medium, two-way flow of information and bottomup approach strengthened in the past decade, communication has completely
changed in many different issues. In this scenario, issues such as image, reputation, crisis and issue management are deeply influenced by this new paradigm.
This research indicates that the lack of proper crisis management strategy
(that could facilitate engagement and response time to key stakeholders) and
a two-way communication flow – to establish an official positioning and clarify
the debate promoted by cons groups –, led to a unique situation in which a
company decided not market its products due to negative repercussion and
debates promoted in the online sphere.
Key words: social media, crisis management, response time, interaction,
brand.
1
Arezzo is the biggest brand of women’s shoes in Latin America, has more than 300 shops in Brazil, revenue
around R$620 mi (US$ 300 mi). Its products are also sold in Bolivia, Venezuela, Paraguay and Portugal in
own-stores (?) and in other countries in multi-brand shops.
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
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INTRODUCTION
Corporate communication has changed due to the advance of social media as
worldwide interaction platforms, which simulate face-to-face relationships.
The changes related to information spread in these mediums when compared
to traditional media (unidirectional and unilateral information to multilateral
and multidirectional engagement pattern), led many companies to a dubious
position about these new mediums. During crises, the strategy previously defined commonly presents gaps due to the constant and quick change in communication tools and, on the other hand, the unpreparedness of companies to
adapt plans according to a new communication/interaction reality.
Through a deep literature review in both fields (social media and crisis management) and content analysis as the main methodology, it is expected that,
in the end, three main questions will be answered: a) What are the most relevant communication elements that need to be considered when managing a
crisis situation?, b) In what point is crisis management’s current theory outdated to social media communication patterns? and c) How can companies
participate in social media communication in order to avoid the strengthening
of negative outcomes and image loses in a crisis situation?
In order to establish the most appropriate responses to this research and put
some light on relevant data that could be deeply studied in further research, a
comparison between findings from different authors in both fields was designed. Chapter 1 draws a general perspective over the case studied and the
present company’s situation in communication and its business environment,
bringing few elements that already put some light on issues addresses in
chapter 2: Literature Review.
This theoretical background aims to examine the contribution of current theory
in crisis management to this scenario influenced by social media platforms.
Also, it attempts to develop an inductive thinking in order to compare both
theory and practice to identify gaps in practice that could be avoided by the
support of the current theory in crisis management. The traditional approaches, SCCT and the Contingency Theory (Coombs, 2010), are combined in
a critical analysis with recent elements of crisis management such as environRisky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
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mental scanning and issue detection in multiple issue arenas (Lauzen, 1997;
Heath and Palenchar, 2009; Luoma-aho & Vos, 2010; Veil, 2011; Hallahan,
2011). In the end, the arenas in which different stakeholders act are considered as essential nodes within their network in the “network society” (Castells,
2005); bringing to the research a collaborative approach among traditional
theories that base crisis management and new elements that must be added
in this new social media age.
Following, chapter 3 describes the methodology used and rejected to answer
the research questions previously established. A content analysis focused on
media content about the case was applied. All material was published in different digital tools (social media, blogs and news Web Sites) and the selection
was made according to the crisis’ stage (pre-crisis, crisis, and post crisis),
which brought relevant conclusions about the brand sentiment and the level of
interaction between company-stakeholder during a period of crisis.
At last, chapters 4 and 5 clearly put together the findings from the content
analysis and the conclusions of this research, drawing to a scenario in which
traditional theory is the basis to a new crisis management theory. The strategy
defined also showed the inexistence of relevant theory that looks both on crisis management and social media subjects. Time, monitoring, appropriate language and PR expertise are also put over the light as some of the most important elements to mitigate a crisis strengthened by social media and that minimize image losses during that period. Findings actually showed that from the
moment company/stakeholder interaction began; positive perception about
the company grew 18%. The results also pointed out a relation between the
hour of the day in which a content was published and the level of negative
perception. In this case, content published between 2 p.m. – 2.30 p.m. and
5.30 p.m. – 6 p.m. presented an overall negative perception 28% higher than
in other periods of the day.
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
It was a lonely journey, but without your love, friendship, support, patience
and a few bottles of wine in your company, I never could have completed this
challenge.
Many thanks to Hélio Hopp, Rosane Hopp, Thomas Hopp, Ingridth Hopp, Michel Bruno, Leandro Cunha, Daiana Nicolodi, Valéria Ribeiro, Jessica Kalb and
Gadizsa Zselamart.
I love you.
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
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“In the end, how you deal with a crisis is much more important that what caused the crisis to
begin with”
Blanchard, O. (2011)
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................................... 2
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................. 3
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................................... 5
LIST OF PICTURES .......................................................................................................................... 9
CHAPTER 1: .................................................................................................................................. 10
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND TO THE STORY .................................................................. 10
1.1
Overview of Arezzo ......................................................................................................... 11
1.2
Market and key elements in Arezzo´s business model ................................................... 12
1.3
Arezzo´s Communication................................................................................................. 16
1.4
Classification of this study ............................................................................................... 23
CHAPTER 2: .................................................................................................................................. 27
LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................................... 27
2.1
Public Relations and international business.................................................................... 28
2.2
Traditional and social media in a communication strategy ............................................ 32
2.2.1 Defining stakeholders ............................................................................................ 37
2.3
The socialization of crisis situations ................................................................................ 40
2.3.1 Crisis management in a 24-hour society ............................................................... 44
CHAPTER 3: .................................................................................................................................. 50
METHODOLOGY........................................................................................................................... 50
3.1
Introduction..................................................................................................................... 51
3.2
Research philosophy ....................................................................................................... 51
3.3
Research approach .......................................................................................................... 52
3.4
Research strategy ............................................................................................................ 54
3.5
Time horizon .................................................................................................................... 56
3.6
Methodology ................................................................................................................... 56
3.6.1 Case study.............................................................................................................. 57
3.6.2 Document and content analyses ........................................................................... 58
3.7
Rejected methodologies.................................................................................................. 61
3.7.1 Interviews and Questionnaires.............................................................................. 62
3.7.2 Panels and Observational Research ...................................................................... 62
3.8
Ethical issues.................................................................................................................... 63
3.9
Limitations ....................................................................................................................... 63
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
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CHAPTER 4 ................................................................................................................................... 64
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS ...................................................................................................... 64
4.1 Introduction........................................................................................................................... 65
4.2 Content analysis and crisis map ............................................................................................ 65
4.2.1 Mistakes................................................................................................................. 69
CHAPTER 5 ................................................................................................................................... 76
CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................................................. 76
5.1 Introduction........................................................................................................................... 77
5.2 Elements to be considered when managing a crisis in a 24-hour society............................. 78
5.3 The gap between theory and practice .................................................................................. 80
5.4 Lessons for support managers and PR practitioners ............................................................. 84
5.5 Limitations of this research ................................................................................................... 86
5.6 Further research .................................................................................................................... 86
CHAPTER 6 ................................................................................................................................... 88
APPENDIX .................................................................................................................................... 88
Appendixes .................................................................................................................................. 89
CHAPTER 7 ................................................................................................................................. 179
BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................... 179
Bibliography............................................................................................................................... 180
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
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LIST OF PICTURES
Picture 1: An example of "joint selling". ........................................................................................... 14
Picture 2: The use of different elements to compose a showcase. .................................................. 15
Picture 3: Quantity of elements in a traditional Arezzo showcase................................................... 16
Picture 4: Comparison between Roulin and Usunier (2010) requirements to B2B web sites ........... 20
Picture 5: The salience model applied to Arezzo's case.................................................................... 39
Picture 6: The research onion ........................................................................................................... 53
Picture 7: Research design ............................................................................................................... 55
Picture 8: Definition of sources for content analysis ........................................................................ 61
Picture 9: Silva (2011): overall content analysis for blogs and Web sites content ........................... 67
Picture 10: Interactions on "Boicote Arezzo" Fan Page.................................................................... 69
Picture 11: Google trends for common terms .................................................................................. 69
Picture 12: The presence of "best practice" elements ...................................................................... 72
Picture 13: The tone of the content analyzed .................................................................................. 73
Picture 14: Content tone by time of the day .................................................................................... 75
Picture 15: The “Multi-dynamic crisis management theory” model ................................................ 82
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
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CHAPTER 1:
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND TO THE STORY
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
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1.1
Overview of Arezzo
Nowadays, many market researches and professionals point to Brazil as one of
the most important emergent markets of the world. The country led a secondary position in the social and economical context to be part of the group of
fastest growing countries in the world – The BRICS2. Brazil was also, in 2012,
the 5th most populous nation in the world3 and its population has a growing
purchasing capacity; increasing from US$8.629 in 2008 to US$12.594 in 2011
(UN Brazil´s indicators, 2011). This scenario put the country in the list of the
ones that consume the most in the world.
Complementary, due to this economical advanced, added to cultural issues,
Brazilian women have, year after year, increased the consumption of “secondary” goods (clothes, cosmetics, fashion accessories, beauty products and
cares, home decoration, and others). To fashion brands, the past years have
represented a great opportunity of engage with a whole set of customers,
needs and desires – and Arezzo was part of it.
Founded in 1972, Arezzo is, nowadays, the largest retail brand of women´s
footwear fashion in Latin America (Arezzo, 2013). In Brazil, there are more
than 300 stores in more than 160 cities. In 2010, the company had 11.1% of
market share (Arezzo, 2012). In 2012, the company had more than 2000 employees creating around 11,500 different shoe designs every year and launching them 7 to 9 times yearly, on average (Arezzo, 2012). In other countries,
there are eight stores in Bolivia, Paraguay, Venezuela and Portugal. However,
multibrands shops guarantee presence in many other places in the world.
Back to the 70´s, while Brazil struggled against a previous decade of a dictatorial government and considerable rates of growth to that period, Arezzo has
also found its way to development. It focused its products within a “European”
style – a greater influencer in fashion in that period. In the 80´s and 90´s
Arezzo moved to São Paulo and decided to produce “fast fashion” concept
products, within the retail market. In the last decade, Arezzo expanded its
2
BRICS is an acronym developed by economist at Goldman Sachs to describe the the economies of Brazil,
Russia, India, China and South Africa combined. The term was first used by Goldman Sachs in an economic
analysis report in 2003. The report fore-casted or some say "speculated" that by 2050 these five combined
would be wealthier than most of the current major economic powers.
3
nationsonline.org, 2012.
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products to other countries; starting its internationalization process - and, also, added another three brands to the company: Schutz, Alexandre Birman
and Ana Capri.
Arezzo has a really well defined position in this group: the sales represent
62.7% of the whole group´s gross revenue (Arezzo, 2012). It is a trendy,
new, easy-to-wear and eclectic brand; which focuses on women ages 16-60
years old (Arezzo, 2012). Complementary, it is in more than 900 multibrand
shops and in 30 own shops around the world. However, even with “only”
around 300 franchising stores in 2011, they represented 73% of the whole
gross revenue – around US$300mi4.
In 2011, the company faced a series of online claims from clients and NGO’s
due to the launch of products made with real and exotic fur. During three days
its Facebook official profile received thousands of messages against the marketing of the products; the brand was categorized as “trending topics” on
Twitter and a profile was created to boycott against the company. On the
fourth day of protests, the CEO announced that all fur products would be removed from the market. In this case, the lack of proper management strategy
that could facilitate engagement, a two-way communication flow in order to
establish an official positioning and clarify the debate promoted by cons
groups, led to the unique situation in the country in which a company decided
not market its products due to negative repercussion and debates promoted in
the online sphere.
1.2
Market and key elements in Arezzo´s business model
Founded by Alexandre Birman, its current vice-president, Arezzo is ruled by an
eight-member administrative council. The success of its business’ model could
partly be explained by the increased social mobility in Brazil5; but also due to
4
According to Arezzo, 2012, the whole revenue of Arezzo & CO in 2012 (Arezzo, Schutz, Alexandre Birman
and Ana Capri) was around R$1,038bi; around US$600mi
5
From 2003 to 2009, more than 29 million people moved from the lower socio-economical class “D” to
class “C”. Besides, more than other 7 million people moved from “C” to “A/B”; highlights, Arezzo 2012. Until
2014, it is expected that more than 11 million people will move from “C”, to “A/B”, representing a total of
31 million – or 16% of the entire Brazilian population – living in the highest socio-economical position.
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
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its franchising network management. In this case, the strategy is basically
based on three points: participation in outcomes, IT systems integration to
support management process and training consultants.
Shoes and clothes markets in Brazil are the ones which represent the greater
potential for expansion of consumption among five other categories,6 especially when considering the socio-economical classes A and B – Arezzo’s target
public. Another relevant point is the company’s sourcing; based on a supply
chain spread throughout the whole Brazilian territory. This chain embraces
tannery, packaging, chemical (for leather and shoes), insole, heel and sole
producers, tools and other supplements. At last, the management of this
sourcing is focused on an agile and flexible process; coordinating production
chain management and investing in product engineering.
Beside these market characteristics, from a customer´s perspective, some
items (especially related to the influence of customer behavior) were identified
as those that have the greatest impact on the consumers of its products:
1) Trendy: the majority of the products produced and launched are easyto-wear (comfortable, easily matched with different styles) and in accordance with the latest fashion trends around the globe
2) Price and sales: on average, a pair of shoes costs R$180 (around
US$90) and sales occur up to 4 times during the year with discounts
around 60% (Arezzo & CO, 2012). The combination of both strategies
allows the company to increase the frequency in which women goes to
sales points and purchases the products – in “normal” and “sales”
times. Besides, Arezzo adopts a common practice in Brazil, the “fractional sale” – facilitating payment conditions and acquirement.
3) Joint selling:
Shoes, bags, purses, wallets, jewelry, hats, glasses,
belts and even nail polish. When women get into an Arezzo store they
have the chance of buying all different items needed to compose a
“look”. Culturally, Brazilian women are used to purchasing similar items
6
Arezzo, 2012, considered a total of five categories in its analysis of potential for expansion of consumption: Food, beverages and cigarettes, shoes and clothes, hygiene and self-care, drugs and, lastly, furniture
and electronics. In all socio-economical classes analyzed (A, B, C, D and E), “shoes and clothes” had the
higher potential for expansion when analyzing all categories together.
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
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to compose a style (a pair of shoes, a similar “matching” bag and a
necklace – as showed in picture 1); so, to adapt the sales point to be
able to meet this demand is a logical strategy to both increase spending
at sales points and retain costumers for future purchases.
Picture 1: An example of "joint selling". An animal print pair of shoes, a bag and a matching necklace
4) Showcase: “Chameleon Project” (Arezzo & CO, 2012). Arezzo normally
modifies showcases in its stores, on average, three times yearly. The
activity intends to maintain client’s interest over different collections by
adapting showcases and even adding elements such as light, color, textures and furniture to the store’s architecture. It “represents a low cost
of investment and brings, to the shops and clients, relevant information
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
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of each collection” (Arezzo & CO, 2012). Showcases usually highlight a
relevant element from the recent collection: color, texture, cloth or,
even, marketing concept can be used to give people the expected experience when having contact with the brand (picture 2). At last, the sales
strategy at the sales points generally embraces the option of showing a
considerable number of products sold in the stores (picture 3). This is
an attempt to get people’s attention and maintain a high level of interest during the decision process of “go in or do not go in the store”. Even
so, it is important to highlight that this choice could generate a negative
impression to the client by exposing him/her to “too much” information
at the same time and, psychologically, inducing the assumption that
products are made to a different target public7.
Picture 2: The use of different elements to compose a showcase. During the Christmas period, Arezzo highlighted a traditional element in this type of decoration to be a central point in its showcase. It caught people´s attention when passing in front of the store and worked as a decoy to enhance the product. On the
right, the choice of “black” to a special showcase valued both products exposed and the brand
7
In Brazil, due to a cultural assumption, people usually relate a high number of products in a showcase to
them low quality. It is common to hear: “the higher the number of products; the lower the acquisition power by the public”
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
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Picture 3: Quantity of elements in a traditional Arezzo showcase. A large number of products displayed in
the showcase is commonly used by Arezzo as part of its sales strategy
1.3
Arezzo´s Communication
From customer behavior to communication culture, there are some elements
to be addressed especially when considering relationship and interaction with
the target public in the online sphere. In a high context (HC) society, communication is a complex and meaningful system, being necessary to “read between the lines” to fully understand what is said. Notoes (2009) emphasizes
the visual differences in a web site’s construction considering both contexts. In
Brazil, for example, it is expected that designers use “a linear navigation, an
exploratory approach; e.g, process-oriented and animations,” for example.
a. Web site
Arezzo´s web site perfectly addresses the expected elements in a high context
communication pattern. With more than 549k monthly accesses and an average of 8 minutes spent (Arezzo, 2012), it is designed to its clients and focused
on exposing all products. The virtual space fill requirements as flash animation, many side bars and menus and images depicting products and merchandise used by individuals (Notoes, 2009). It also uses what Hermeking (2005),
cited in Roulin and Usunier (2010), calls “soft sell appears” – indirect approaches creating emotions and an enjoyable atmosphere by visual and sym-
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bols. Roulin and Usunier (2010), also highlight a series of elements that normally characterize web sites from high-context communication countries. Most
of the time, the information available on these web sites requires a more contextual interpretation and person-to-person interaction, different from low
context (LC) web sites, commonly designed to guide visitors step-by-step and
publishing more informative content. More than this, the requirements of
many authors cited by Roulin and Usunier (2010), as shown in Picture 4, leads
to the conclusion that the majority of web site layouts and content are in accordance with common HC patterns in these elements. However, there are
considerable gaps in:
1) Real-time communication tools on the web site; since the only ones focused on this type of interaction are represented by social media tools –
important ones but, in this case, do not support the company in retaining online customers. Ghose and Dou (1998), cited in Roulin and
Usunier (2010), defend that “the more interactive a web site is the
more a visitor appreciates it”.
2) E-commerce environment: though the web site is customer focused,
there were no identifiable e-commerce opportunities. This means that
the customer needs to go to a physical space (store) to conclude the
purchase of an item. Again, Roulin and Usunier (2010), highlight that
“the online buying option facilitates and accelerates purchasing processes and buyers may perceive less uncertainty concerning the otherhandling process”.
Elements required by Roulin and
Arezzo´s web site
Usunier (2010)
Easily identified on the web
Google.com.br shows about 44mi results for “Arezzo”. The first result (e.g,
the most important), links directly to
the company web site. Two of seven
results on Google’s first page make references to the brand – a prevalence of
28,5%.
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Access to corporate web sites is often
The company web site can be easily
based on URLs using
accessed: www.arezzo.com.br
“companyname.com” syntax (Lord and
Collins, 2002)
Company needs to be able to communi-
On the main page, there are two chan-
cate with potential buyers from its web
nels to communicate with clients:
site, since real-time and interactive
communication help retain customers
1) main page: there are links to all
corporative profiles; Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Youtube
2)
“contact” link on the side bar
that allows the client to send an
e-mail with, for example, complaints, doubts, marketing, partnership subjects
3) links “collection”, “pocket”,
“Arezzo Mania” and “shop window”: it is always possible to
share the products shown on Facebook and Twitter
In this case, however, Arezzo does not
fill the requirement since it was not possible to identify any tool that enables
direct communication with customers
through the web site
It was not identified that any ecommerce page was available – which
might represent a lost opportunity especially when focusing on young, single
women
Internationally operating B2B suppliers
Arezzo´s official web page is in Portu-
to have at least an English version of
guese, since Brazil is its main market
the web site (another language is a
and country of origin. However, at the
competitive advantage (Wilson and
top left corner of the main page it is
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
18
Abel, 2002)
possible to choose between two languages: English and Spanish –
strengthening the idea of brand exposure to other relevant markets: the European and South American ones
The design needs to be visually attrac-
The main page has a simple layout that
tive for visitors and multimedia features
always highlights four products’ compo-
to influence user appreciation
sition in “flash” mode. Pictures are well
(Chakraborty, Lala and Warren, 2003;
produced and in good quality and
an der Merwe and Bekker, 2003)
there’s also a video that shows a preview of coming products or collection.
Considering the whole web site content,
there is clearly a prevalence of HC elements under the visual design: pictures
and videos of products, clippings from
online and printed media and short
texts. Text colors change according to
the combinations that are exposed
(purple bag, purple letter; black shoes,
black letter), providing, in general, a
coherent and pleasant experience during the navigation and possibly positively inferring in customer’s navigation
time
Web site needs to run correctly with no
Despite all multimedia features, Arez-
broken links
zo’s web site does not present broken
links or pages “under construction”. It
has a general loading time of around 2
seconds
Web site needs to be well organized and
It has a simple and clean layout, mak-
easy to navigate (Chakraborty et al.,
ing the web site easy to navigate. All
2003)
information about products or collections are given in a second-page after
the user chooses to click on one of the
links available in the side bar
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
19
Web site needs to contain information
On the “institutional” link it is possible
about the company (describing the or-
to find a considerable range of infor-
ganization, their positioning, vis-à-vis
mation about the company: its history,
target audience, financial status, contri-
franchises, multibrand shops, job oppor-
bution to the community or environ-
tunities, terms and RI and Arezzo & CO.
ment, etc)
When accessing the “RI and Arezzo &
CO” link, navigation is redirected to an
Investor Relations web site – a page
that provides different kinds of financial
information: listing on the stock exchange, net revenue, board meetings,
sustainability reports and so on
List references of successfully managed
As a famous brand in Brazil, Arezzo us-
past projects and other information to
es mainly national press information to
reduce buyer transaction uncertainty
legitimize its products’ quality and brand
(Hakansson, Johanson and Wootz,
relevance. This topic will be exposed in
1976)
detail below
It is supposed that press information
helps clients to better know the brand
and. Besides, this same press information, combined with financial data
available to potential and current investors, might help avoid the uncertainty in
investing
Information about the products
Arezzo offers a complete description of
its products to users: price, available
colors, type of cloth, places to find.
Picture 4: Comparison between Roulin and Usunier (2010) requirements to B2B web sites in a HC communication
country and Arezzo's web site characteristics
b. Public Relations
However, as Goldsmith emphasizes, cited in Roulin and Usunier (2010): “the
high/low content distinction…does not provide an account for normative judg-
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
20
ments of how individuals respond to context-specific communicative dilemmas”. In this new scenario, from a top-down to a unidirectionality media, influenced by distinct actors many times from/in different cultures all over the
world, corporate communication needs to be processed and managed by an
effective bilateral public relation system; strengthened by environmental monitoring, research techniques and issues detection and diagnosis (Lauren,
1997). To only define a communication strategy based on HC/ LC theory is not
enough since cultural boundaries are moving as fast as Internet access reaches the farthest societies all over the world. In this context, within recent years,
Arezzo has invested in a combined strategy among traditional and new media,
clearly trying to a) reach a specific target public in Brazil, considering distinct
age group, consumption and internet habits and b) initiate a more personalized communication process with customers from strategic markets such as
European and South American ones. Thus, Arezzo’s strategy evolves especially
a constant media relations composed by (Arezzo, 2012):
1) TV and electronic media: resulting in more than US$20mi on exposure,
1000 TV and 620 film appearances in 2011
2) Strong placement in print media: resulting in more than 45mi readers,
150 inserts and 300 pages
3) Constant presence in fashion editorials: resulting in partnership with designers, showrooms in L.A and representation by national and international fashion stars
Arezzo also maintains a specific media page on its web site, in which it is possible to check online and printed clippings8 and access pictures and releases. It
is interesting to point that only registered journalists can access this database
with a required login and password. To be part of the mailing list, it is necessary to ask for inclusion through a specific email system.
8
It was not possible to determine for how long the brand exposes its clippings. However, in March 2013, it
was possible to check online clippings from November 2012
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
21
c. Social media channels
In Brazil, more than 90% of internet users access social media (The International Communication Union, 2011), more than 69% of companies contact
their clients through social media (Deloitte, 2010) and Arezzo is one of them.
The company has shown strong social media efforts to communicate and engage with part of its clients. On Twitter (@arezzo_), there are more than 45k
followers; on Facebook (Arezzo), more than 977k “likes”; on Instagram
(Arezzo_), more than 95k followers and on Youtube, 6 videos9 are available.
These numbers put Arezzo among the strongest in social media in Brazil in the
segment of shoes and accessories (Arezzo, 2012). All this effort seems to
achieve an engagement pattern and client’s loyalty unique to a shoe and accessories brand. This direction could be partly explained by theory. Deloitte
(2010) highlights that while only 14% of social media users believe in traditional advertising campaigns, 90% believe in a friend’s recommendation.
Even more, the idea has strengthened that the emergence of social media
online groups changed the way that communication is made, evaluated and
information is spread. From a one-way, top-down, mostly informational approach, in which Marshall McLuhan described as “the medium is the message”,
around the 1960’s; to a new communication pattern based in lateral engagement, personal interaction in online medium, two-way flow of information and
bottom-up approach strengthened in the past decade, communication has
completely changed in many different issues.
In this scenario, issues such as image, reputation, and crisis and issue management are deeply influenced by this new paradigm. To be able to comprehend. communicate, engage and influence clients and potential customers on
the internet is a challenge that can only be overcome (and understood) by the
definition of a strategy that combines cultural issues and relevant content production. Thus, the content analysis of Arezzo’s social media channels leads to
the conclusion that Arezzo’s strategy is mostly related to “information”, instead of “communication”. This analysis is justified due to the absence of content focused on debate promotion, discussion and client engagement; since:
9
nd
Data collected on March 2 , 2013
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
22
1) The majority of the content in all platforms is related to promoting
products and sales
2) Few posts are related to life style characteristics of the target public
(images or statements)
3) In general, all profiles are pasteurized, and repetitious, especially when
thinking about content. It was not possible to identify any differential
from Arezzo’s to its competitor’s, leading to the conclusion that its relevance in the digital medium is related to brand strengthening, instead of
content relevance
4) No online customer assistance was identifiable. However, there were
not any claims identified in any of these channels; giving the impression
that there might be a filter that blocks the publication of negative content
1.4
Classification of this study
This dissertation is a study, which is intended to be a contribution to the academic discussion of international social media and crisis management. It is
known that corporate communication has significant variables to be taken into
account when defining: what, where, when and how to do something. However, in an interconnected society, nothing is more necessary to watch than
“time”.
International Marketing has always dealt with standardization and adaptation
paradigms and now Internet and cross-cultural influences from one society
over another, bring to light the challenge of effective communication. It is not
possible to be totally apart from the Internet and social media influence because we are all in digital world even if we do not want to or do not know it.
So, there is nothing else to do except adapt our strategy to fill the gaps coming from the overlap of distinct types of influence: from communication (traditional, non-traditional, new or old approaches), culture (mainly influenced by
the increase of mobility of people all over the globe) or, even, economy (due
to economical mobility especially in developing nations).
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
23
Complementary, there is International Public Relations (IPR). If marketing is
about selling products strategies; IPR is about building a good reputation for
the business among key stakeholders in any particular society. The success of
IPR is positively influencing publics not in the home domain. For a business
enterprise the success of its international public relations intimately connects
with its success as a business. This means that IPR and marketing are deeply
connected, since selling products is only possible when the company has a
good reputation among its key stakeholders.
Especially in the past five years, a “good reputation” means dealing with
online issues and controlling them before they turn into a crisis. Also, it is related to the capability of engaging and building virtual relations with key
stakeholders as strong as in real life. Since the 1970’s, the new technological
paradigm (Castells, 2005, pp.4) has built the definition that “technology does
not determine society: it is society”. In a digital network society, thus, digital
networks became the basis of any kind of relationship, manifesting itself in
different cultures, institutions and countries. However, this “connected age”
was not built over distinct kinds of human relations, values or interests. As
Castells (2005, pp.4) highlights, “What is new is the microelectronics-based,
networking technologies that provide new capabilities to an old form of social
organization: networks.” In other words, we are the same, we just use another base of interaction, communication and, why not, socialization.
This influence is even clearer when analyzing the increasing relevance of digital social media. “The network society…is the nucleus of our societies” (Castells, 2005, pp.6).
Digital social media is, in this context, the modern way
found to keep human relations alive while we – humans – are busier with
work, responsibilities, needs, social values, duties, and less attentive to the
element that brought us to this step in evolution: time. Nielsen (2011) shows
that nearly 4 in 5 active Internet users visit social networks and blogs. The
same report showed that people usually spend more time in social media than
in any other type of web site – around 22.5% of time spent online. Additionally, Facebook is the site on which people spend most of their time while connected; around 53.5 billion minutes yearly. Complementary, Nielsen (2011),
highlights that social media users are 47% more likely to be heavy spenders
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
24
on clothing, shoes and accessories, when compared to the average adult internet user.
On the other hand, social media became an important space to market, as related by 83% of marketers last year (Stelzner, 2012). Most professionals believe that the top two benefits of social media marketing are increasing exposure and traffic; besides gaining marketplace intelligence, generating leads
and influencing loyal fans. 58% still found that these tools helped than improve sales after 3 years of heavy use.
At last, it is necessary to focus on crisis management theory. In social media
the role of timing has especially strengthened, since the speed of communication nowadays demands a re-thinking of disaster plans. In this digital reality, it
is more than necessary to promote a constant environmental scanning
(Lauzen 1997), in order to quickly identify possible issues that could turn into
a potential crisis. Colley & Collier (2009), cited by Buehner, Palenchar and Veil
(2011:111), highlight that “the news of a crisis can be shared and reshared,
reaching millions of people without the intervening presence of a journalist.
Word of mouth news is tremendously influential and even perceived as more
trustworthy than mainstream media in some instances.”
Also, due to the
power of social media in human behaviour (Mayfield, 2006; Marken, 2007;
cited in Buehner, Palenchar and Veil, 2011) it is necessary to emphasize the
role of a two-way model of public relations (Lauzen, 1997) before the process
of an issue’s management. In this case, an environmental scanning and a
strategic issue diagnosis (SID) are considered to “seek information about
events and relationships in a company´s outside environment” (Aguilar, 1967;
cited by Lauzen, 1997: 69) and establish “the importance and impact of those
issues on the organization” (Lauzen, 1997: 71).
Thinking about these findings related to online business and habits, it is notable that large companies have the obligation to be involved in these types of
discussions and communication. Embracing a strategy that combines the business’ issue with qualitative communication elements (engagement, loyalty,
positive corporative image, transparency and so on) seems to be the most
plausible way to design an international public relations approach.
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
25
Considering all the perspective described above, Arezzo perfectly represents
the challenge of developing a successful IPR approach in a social media time.
Being in contact with clients (and potential ones) in different cultures and contexts and effectively scanning the environment and detecting potential issues
to be able to implement and sustain a successful social media (and communication) strategy, is actually the main challenge for the company within the
communication field. In Brazil, the main conclusion that this case could bring
to us might be: “do not ever underestimate the power of social media and,
also of the ‘urgent’ stakeholder”.
Many different types of publics could be part of this study, however it is clear
from this brief description that there are two main stakeholders in this case:
the cons “fur-wear”/NGO’s and the media. The first one began the debate
against the brand’s products on the Internet and, in just a few hours, gained
media attention over the case. While it chose to not get publicly involved in
the debate – to wear or not wear fur – Arezzo put itself in a guilty position,
especially by not presenting any facts that could justify the type of investment
in a country in which fur wearing is not socially accepted (by the general level
of people’s consciousness about the issue) or “climatically” needed.
Thus,
putting in contrast both key stakeholders and the company strategy, we can
conclude that if applying a combined environmental scanning with issue detection it would have been possible to avoid a crisis situation (with business impact) raised in an online environment.
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
26
CHAPTER 2:
LITERATURE REVIEW
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
27
2.1
Public Relations and international business
In order to produce this dissertation, the researcher had to consider a number
of areas of research, which seemed to bear on the problem. The corporation
itself could have faced a considerable communication crisis if the situation had
extrapolated the virtual borders of Brazilian clients. However, considering that
its internationalization process is still in progress, most clients and communication practices are identified among the Brazilian target public.
For international companies, an efficient International Public Relations strategy
is part of business intelligence. If “differences in culture and communication
styles are important obstacles to expatriate communication management”
(Dowlinh & Welch, 2004; Welch, Welch & Piekkari, 2005; cited in Lauring,
2011), it is possible that a communication crisis put at risk the international
growth of a company. This is especially important when the reason of the crisis is related to some cultural practice or taboo, for example. If some company
deals with a situation that stems from an economical issue, such as a low in
the stock market due to an incorrect analysis of the future market, for example, there are few decisions that could be instantly taken to avoid the risk of a
crisis. However, when it is linked to a sex or gay scandal in a really conservative society or, like in this specific Arezzo case, fur wear in a society in which
most of people do not accept these types of products due to environmental
concerns and NGO’s pressures, the situation appears much more difficult to
deal with since the crisis will probably affect not only the company’s image,
but, also, business environment, investor confidence and the corporative relationship with different types of key stakeholders.
It is known that corporate communication theory highlights the importance of
environmental scanning (Lauzen, 1997) focused on issue detection. In multinational companies, the relevance of culture in public relations is even
stronger than in any other field of business, since “culture is communication
and communication is culture” (Hall, 1959; cited in Lauring, 2011). The divergence of approach and cultural practices could create differences in the way
messages are sent, received and interpreted (Lauring, 2011). In this context,
to avoid problems elapsed “when receivers interpret a message according to
their own cultural frame of reference, which may cause a different interpretaRisky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
28
tion to what the sender has intended” (Hall, 1976; Varner & Beamer, 2005;
cited in Lauring, 2011), it seems to be absolutely needed to invest in constant
environmental monitoring combined with a strategic issue diagnosis (SID).
For example, “seek information about events and relationships in a company’s
outside environment” (Aguilar, 1967; cited by Lauzen, 1997: 69) and establish
“the importance and impact of those issues on the organization” (Lauzen,
1997: 71).
Many companies in different fields have faced the challenge of dealing with
strategic and international public relations. In the past ten years, the
strengthening of social media and digital communication has led to large companies all over the world facing emergency situations due to inappropriate
communication management especially in these spheres. Some of these include: Pepsi AMP iPhone App (2009), Nestlé logo (2010) and Blackberry App
(2011). Lauring (2011) confirms the idea that culture itself is created in communication, instead of only a force that affects communicative behaviour, indicating that some aspects related to a “globalized culture” are irrelevant when
put in contrast with national values of some specific society; and, then,
strengthening cultural distances (Bourdieu, 1991, cited in Lauring, 2011).
Being focused on expanding its presence in the international market, Arezzo
faced a situation that could represent an initial stage of international communication crisis if the company had achieved a global relevance as other brands
in the field, such as Dolce & Gabbana or Chanel, for example. Penrose (2005),
cited in Taffarel, Garcias and Gerick (2009), defends that “a consistent growth
depends on its services associated with a need for creation of demands, higher
than those offered in a natural way.” However, considering communication
and cultural elements, it is especially true to conclude that needs are related
to the social reality in which people are embedded and the level of social interaction and trust among the members of the groups. In this context, a company might not only focus on traditional public relations theory, but also more
and more, insert cultural findings and studies within the context.
Globalization has constantly impacted eastern and western cultures. At the
same time it reduces distances, causes or homogenization (Levitt, 1983; cited
in Asgary and Walle, 2002) or polarization (Holton, 2000; cited in Asgary and
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
29
Walle, 2002) of cultural practices all over the world. “Besides consumption
patterns, some observers suggest that even attitudes and ideas about society,
religion and technology are transformed by cultural diffusion brought by globalization” (Tomlinson, 1999; cited in Asgary and Walle, 2002:61). Apart from
the debate of these theories regarding globalization effects, one unique belief
is the influence of the Internet on it.
Additionally, when Bennet and Segerberg (2011) defended the role of digital
media on collective actions, they highlighted the concept that social media is a
network that acts as a “bridge” in different levels facilitating appeals between
communities. Considering the influence of the Internet on globalization and
the relevance of digital communication in Public Relations, it is possible to conclude that globalization strengthens or weakens protests. However, again,
apart from these theories, the relation between social media and collective
attitudes has proved to be extremely deep since it personalizes communication
and involves people from different parts of the world in the same purpose of
action – strengthening the perception of relevance of some movement and, by
consequence, higher social mobilization.
Social media facilitates the connection between different peoples with the
same identity, needs and beliefs, becoming, at the same time, a challenge and
a blessing to an effective PR strategy. Firstly, because it decreases the power
of information control, “impacting the state of several traditional communication models and theories especially two-step flow theory, the conceptual
model, agenda setting theory, spiral of silence theory and excellence theory”
(Wright and Hinson, 2008: 7). Secondly, because it has promoted an organizational re-evaluation of PR practices, strengthening the concept of a growing
participatory and personalized communication strategy in an international perspective.
A general overview of Arezzo’s findings in communication and public relations
shows that in digital or traditional platforms the company highly wages on
Brazilian clients. So far, international public relations seem to be limited to the
different languages available on this web site. In this case, to focus exclusively
on HC communication style, could lead publics from LC cultures to an inevitable cultural distance and, so, lack of communication, loss of engagement opRisky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
30
portunities and so on. To avoid the circumstances that could collectively influence people in engaging and communicating with a specific brand, Lauring
(2011) defends an Intercultural Organizational Communication. According to
it, managers could develop an approach that strengths a dynamic view of the
link between communication (relationship building, collaboration and knowledge sharing), organization (categorization and group formation in the business context) and human (cultural) differences (variations in values and practices).
On the other hand, many authors defend that multinational companies, both
human resources and communication, should be managed under an ethnocentric perspective, allowing some hybridization in hosts’ countries (Born and Peltokorpi, 2010). Clarifying, language policies are necessary and they should
“balance the benefits of local responsiveness and global integration” (Bartlett
& Ghoshal, 1989, cited by Born and Peltokorpi, 2010: 98). In addition, the
lack of a common language could give rise to language boundaries, maybe
even influencing in group-bias, considering the different group identities (Born
and Peltokorpi, 2010).
In the network society, in which people became more friendly, social, socially
and politically active due to the Internet (Castells, 2005) it is extremely important that organizational communication and public relations face the natural
“networked individualism” (Castells, 2005) arisen from the new mode of building sociability: along self-selected communication networks related to the
needs and moods of each individual. This transformation of communication
and media has developed a new type of receiver:
the one that, even in a
community, understands and processes information according to its individual
perception and characteristics. In this new reality, International Public Affairs
and, also, the business environment, might especially consider the role of “culture” and “social practices” in its strategies. If culture is also communication,
as Hall defended, it is absolutely impossible to develop and implement a successful approach considering this new communication paradigm.
Besides being culturally focused, this IPR approach should combine environmental scanning and issue detection (Lauzen, 1997) with one eye on the major communication trends (Castells, 2005): self-directed mass communication,
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
31
transformation of the political process due to the culture of virtual reality and
the rise of the network state. To a new launching company in the international
market, such as Arezzo, it is specially needed to pay attention to the first role,
since the gradual interaction in digital communication has, simultaneously,
strengthened some basic values in each society and, on the other hand, influenced the attitudes of potential new groups; constituting, also, “socialized
communication beyond the mass media system that characterized the industrial society” (Castells, 2005: 13). Arezzo is a traditional women’s shoes and
accessories brand in Brazil and counts with thousands of faithful clients and
being able to join new media in a greater integration of all sources of communication will possibly contribute to homogenizing its international image and
increasing presence in this new “social communication” (Castells, 2005).
Finally, communication has always been an important and dynamic field of
research. The advance of globalization, the increase of socio-economical mobility all over different societies, the homogenization and creation of needs
represent a constant issue both in the business environment and, consequently in interaction, conversation and dialogue of corporate-client strategies.
Apart from traditional models that might – or might not – distinguish communication, marketing and public relations, put under the light of analysis about
changing rules in this field due to new forms of communication and social interaction, causes a relevant question to arise: are we ready to be a 24-hour
society? This case might provide us with some corporative and personal responses.
2.2
Traditional and social media in a communication strategy
“The multiplicity of television channels and Internet and access to information
in all its formats from around the world has had a strong impact on traditional
media and, at the same time, as Thompson (1997) points out, digital technologies have transformed the spatial and temporal organization of social life,
creating new forms of action and interaction, new kinds of social relationship
and new ways of relating to others and to oneself” (Tubella, 2005). From a
top-down, one-way and traditional communication and information approach,
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
32
we now live in a horizontal communication system, in which, anyone is able to
produce and spread information, facts and give opinions, unattached from any
formal vehicle or company.
This new approach brought some positive perceptions, it is clear. However,
from this “freedom” also emerged different problems in the modern society. If
television, radio, magazines and other traditional media sources gave people a
clear image about themselves (their life’s expectation, their role in society,
their needs, forbidden issues, taboos and so on); the rise of digital communication, on the other hand, left people even more insecure about all these issues. The impact of the Internet and all its possibilities developed different
concepts of communities and national cultural identity: there are many types
of relations, interactions and connections that influence both the individual and
collective identity. In this context, it is possible that “I do not feel part of the
society that I am physically in, but, another community that, even on the
other side of the globe, demonstrates the same needs, expectations, beliefs
and values that I do”.
Tubella (2005) draws attention to the fact that “one of the most important factors for the development of collective identity is and has been communication.” For example, if communication pattern completely changes, it is possible
that societies do not recognize themselves anymore as a cohesive group as
they were before, leading, sometimes, to the substitution of traditions by the
media (Tubella, 2005). One view, expressed by the author is that traditional
media might be responsible for the construction of collective identity, while the
Internet influences the individual one. However, the retelling process constantly modifies the narrative of self-identity, individual and collective, since
“the process of self formation as individuals and as collectives becomes increasingly dependent on access to mediated forms of communication”
(Tubella, 2005:259). For example, the construction of identities could be
highly influenced by the available sources of media.
Since the 1960’s and in the last 45 years, organizational communication has
almost exclusively focused on traditional media when developing strategies.
Some multinational companies had the economical power to implement a
more personal interaction with their customers, such as phone and letters.
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
33
First, because the existence of only few channels of communication and secondly, due to the possibility of information control and less mobility in the
world.
Additionally, in most of medium and large national companies, the traditional
mass (and unilateral) media was always the medium chosen to “communicate”
with potential and existing customers. “Communicate” because considering
that a communication approach implies in dialogical process, it is logical to
infer that traditional mass media is about – most of the time –information instead of communication. During decades, investments in organizational communication meant a considerable amount of money but in a one-way or twoway asymmetric (Grunig, 1984; cited by Lauzen, 1997) model with low involvement between publics and companies. This perspective lead a huge number of companies to a pattern in which, in a communication scenario, the action and reflection practice over the strategy was not constant; leading to an
incomplete knowledge and learning cycle, as Freire (2006) conceptualized.
In this context, social media has been positively strengthened by Freire’s
(2006) model, since it presupposes a “more instantaneous communication because they force organizations to respond more quickly to criticism” (Wright
and Hinson, 2008: 10). Public Relations itself is changing due to the dynamism
of digital media and its power of build meaningful relations with customers
(Wright and Hinson, 2008). Besides that, the Internet and its tools of “personalized communication” (Bennet and Segerberg, 2011) contribute to PR practice
by helping identify and detect contexts that could define issues and distribute
them to the proper management strategy.
In a highly dynamic and interactive society, time is the new villain in organizational communication. Grunig’s model is not enough anymore to supply the
engagement expected by clients, customers, media and employees. The
emergence of social media and, then, the network society, interconnected by
nodes (Castells, 2005), made companies face a totally new situation, in which,
social structures and relations are now represented and reproduced in a digital
environment. For example, a two-way symmetric model (Grunig, 1984; cited
by Lauzen, 1997) with high involvement of a company’s staff – at the beginning more by “reaction,” than “action.” Social media has brought to the online
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
34
sphere the same paradoxes and communication patterns than in real life, due
to it is people talking about and with another people. “Messages in social media are interpreted as word-of-mouth communication. They may be a more
effective tool for reaching consumers than online magazines, whose dynamic
is less interactive,” defend Colliander and Dahlén (2011: 314). Complementary, Blanchard (2011:6) emphasizes, “The emphasis on human interaction is
the essence and the elusive ‘secret sauce´ of the social media.” This is the
most relevant element in social media and, also, the biggest challenge to
companies – since all communication behaviour has been changed in the last
ten years after being almost the same for the last century.
After facing a time of mistrust, companies now note the importance of being
part of online communities. That is not exclusively about communication; it is
business. Many researchers have exposed this idea. Colliander and Dahlén
(2011) express the relevance of social media (blogs) over online magazines in
publicity effectiveness: blogs (one of the first social media platforms) are more
efficient when considering brand attitude, purchase intentions and para-social
interaction (PSI). “Blogs could be described as the ‘fashionable friends,’ exhibiting superior publicity effectiveness. Blog readers’ relationship with the blogger is thus similar to and – as powerful as – a word-of-mouth relationship”
(Colliander and Dahlén, 2011: 314). Lombard and Snyder-Duch (2001:56)
reinforces the finding and add that the higher of effectiveness presented in
social media, could be related to its interactive characteristic, “giving people
more control by giving them a range of choices in their experience with product information.” For example, depending on the degree of interactivity presented by some medium, results in advertising effectiveness are positively influenced.
Therefore, why are there companies so “afraid” of digital media when they offer competitive advances such as interaction, personalized communication,
geographic reach, high power of audience segmentation, increase potential for
issue detection, real-time issue detection and real-time brand management?
Commonly, the answer is “people will make negative comments about my
company or product and it will be exposed all over the world.” As Blanchard
(2011), states: “people already are talking about you and you are not there to
listen, manage and solve the demands.”
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
35
Considering a product – and not a service – brand, the relevance of social media is clear within the organizational communication (and business) strategy.
Nielsen (2011) points out interesting data about online consumer behaviour in
social media. Additionally, Kiso (2012) suggests that 90% of customers believe in person-to-person recommendation while only 14% in traditional advertisement and the expectation is that, in 2015, half of all e-commerce transactions will come from social media profiles. The biggest element of social media, as defined by Mayfiel, 2006; cited in Buehner, Palenchar and Veil (2011:
110), “is at its core human communication, possessing characteristics of participation, openness, conversation, community and connectedness.” For example, social media has filled all basic human needs: dialog, friendship, social
identity and community-belonging sentiment. Blanchard (2011:6) elucidates,
“The emphasis on human interaction is the essence and the elusive ‘secret
sauce´ of the social media.”
Under this perspective, Arezzo faces a key scenario in Brazil due to the increment of social mobility during the past years. As stated by Ibope (2012)
monthly investment in online publicity in Brazil raised 122% last year and blog
accesses 29%. Being able to deal with the power, benefits and risks of the
“fashionable friends,” besides, all opportunities that the Internet brings to
business is essential in our network society. For a women’s brand this is a key
element to success. By tradition, women spend more, communicate more, listen more and are more flexible to brand influence and awareness than any
other type of customer. This means that the company has all elements required to achieve international success, they just need to know how to use
them.
Nevertheless, international organizational communication is not only about
culture or choosing between traditional and new media. It is about people –
about key stakeholders. Many theories argue about selecting and dealing with
them. Back in the 1960’s the first studies proposed that companies might deal
with their audiences – assuming that receivers are apathetic and with no type
of dialog with the company, for example, a one-way public relations model.
Further, the concept has changed to “publics” in the 1980’s (Guning and Hunt,
1984; cited in Gregory, 2010) and, now, a modern approach suggests that
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
36
companies need to communicate with their stakeholders; “those who are affected by, or can affect an organization” (Freeman, 1984; cited in Gregory,
2010: 23), assuming a dialogical relationship. Additionally, in the business
world, the term “customers” has been changed to “clients” – assuming an exchange relationship, dialogue, rights and duties between both parties.
2.2.1 Defining stakeholders
The very “stakeholder” definition has changed during the past 30 years,
adapting the concept to market needs, the globalisation influence and incorporating the corporation’s role in this relationship (Freeman, 1984; Alkhafaji,
1989; Thompson, Wartick and Smith, 1991; Clarkson, 1994 all cited in Agle,
Mitchell and Wood, 1997). In this context, Agle, Mitchell and Wood (1997) defend the so-called stakeholder salience model. Unlike Gregory (2010), they do
not defend that managers should pay attention to any or another class of
stakeholders; but to achieve the ends, managers should pay certain kinds of
attention to certain kinds of stakeholders. This means that, considering the
dynamic of the three variables: power, legitimacy and urgency, companies
should pay more or less attention to stakes included in one, two or three of
the categories. This contrast with the view held by Gregory (2010), which,
based on Grunig and Hunt (1984), divides the stakes based exclusively on the
type and level of interaction with the company, not emphasizing the relevance
of a dynamic and interconnected overview. Agle, Mitchell and Wood (1997)
propose a model that perfectly relates to the dynamicity of social media; since
it considers a static map “to raise consciousness about ‘who or what really
counts’” (1997: 879) and additionally defends the dynamism over stakecompany relations, since it predicts the mobility from one group to another by
acquiring or missing some of the attributes.
Though Gregory (2010) defends a stakeholder approach mainly focused on the
level of interaction with the company, the author highlights the relevance of
monitoring the environment “to identify those publics that have particular interests in specific issues, whose opinion and behaviour will significantly affect
the activities of the organization” (2010: 103). A deep view is held by Lauzen
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
37
(1997) when defending that environmental scanning and a strategic issue diagnosis (SID) are considered to “seek information about events and relationships in a company’s outside environment” (Aguilar, 1967; cited by Lauzen,
1997: 69) and establish “the importance and impact of those issues on the
organization” (Lauzen, 1997: 71).
Arezzo attracted a lot of attention when it decided to launch the “Pelemania”
collection. The company did not expect the outcome, but it happened due to a
range of mistakes when planning the campaign. At first, it is very clear that
fur wear is not socially accepted in Brazil. The analysis of web sites and blog
comments indicates the general overview of the population about it. Bezerra
(2011) debates about the case in a national web site and of 45 opinions sent
by readers, 3 support the topic, while 94% do not agree with fur wear by the
fashion industry. The analysis of this case (even 2 years later), brings some
interesting insights about the results: Searching for the term “pelemania” on
the Internet shows 26,200 search results (2,100 only on blogs), 245 group
discussions, 126,000 videos and thousands of pictures. A general overview
about the content indicates that the majority of it has a negative perception
about the issue. Bloggers, journalists and clients were all involved in the discussions.
The salience model (Agle, Mitchell and Wood, 1997) brings to the case an explanation that allows us to start understanding the stakes’ relations and interactions flow that led to the final situation. By constructing the nodes of connection within the model, it is possible to select the most relevant stakeholders to be considered in this case: media/opinion leaders, clients, NGO’s
and potential clients. The picture below clearly shows the importance of each
stakeholder and how they could increase or decrease it according to their engagement.
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
38
Picture 5: The salience model applied to Arezzo's case
Luoma-aho and Vos (2010: 318), however, emphasize a more dynamic stakeholder model by acting in different issue arenas. This perception could be described as complementary to Agle, Mitchell and Wood’s (1997) model; since
“every act of establishing something is linked with the different factor influencing it, such as its surroundings, regulations, other people, and technology etcetera. Together, these influences produce an actor network, which is simply a
heterogeneous network of aligned interests.” For example, as the researches
of the salience model argue, it is not only about stakeholder’s groups themselves, but the influence and networks they develop with each other and the
company.
Arezzo is a fashion product brand and as such, should have a strategic action
in different issue arenas; not only to detect possible interactions, needs and
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
39
trends but, also, to monitor the changing of customer behaviour and stakeholder interaction and influence on the company. Since this is an even more
dynamic society, social interactions are equally changeable and “failure to
identify dangerous stakeholders would result in missed opportunities for mitigating the dangers and in lower levels of preparedness, where no accommodation is possible” (Agle, Mitchell and Wood’s, 1997: 878). To avoid lost legitimacy or influence in some arena and over some stakeholder’s group, a complementary view is defended by Luoma-aho and Vos (2010), by arguing that
companies should be active on the Internet, since stakeholder’s perceptions
are formed in the various issue arenas; “in cases where suitable arenas are
few or there are barriers to entry (for example in the case of closed groups,
e.g. on Facebook) organizations can also try to create new issue arenas or
provide a platform for discussion” (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010; cited in
Luoma-aho and Vos, 2010:321); contributing to a dynamic stakeholder identification model linked to social changes and the development of needs.
2.3
The socialization of crisis situations
Many different definitions for crisis might exist; however, there are some
words that are commonly attributed to the term: unexpected, unpredictable,
negative impact, uncertainty, stressful, overwhelming, threat, reputation (Barton, 2001; Coombs, 2007; 2010; Seeger, Sellnow & Ulmer, 1998 cited in Villines, 2011); during these circumstances, the role of PR was clear during the
past decades: control information, speak only the necessary and pray for a
worse thing happen to the competitor. In these old times, the role of PR as a
whole was really clear: “to distribute a client’s earnings announcements and to
secure positive coverage in the press, month-after-month, year-after-year”
(Burt, 2012: 7). Additionally, any crisis situation was mostly dealt with in the
same way; since the information/communication flow was always linear and
the final content probably had, in some level, influenced by the PR department. Additionally, managers had a clear crisis lifecycle to monitor, respond
and analyse and, in the end, it was always possible to take some time to
think, plan and decide the first step after the “red light” turned on.
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
40
In the 1970’s, for example, NASA faced its second major crisis when an explosion on board Apollo 13 threatened the lives of its three astronauts. To manage the situation, the traditional and basic steps of crisis management were
obviously followed: respond quickly, tell the truth and provide a constant flow
of information, especially to key publics. Back in the 1980’s, a similar case
shook the world when Johnson & Johnson faced the famous Tylenol crisis. This
researcher believes that a relevant reason that contributed to the success of
the management strategy was especially related to the stage of communication during the period: mostly centralized with one big reference which controlled all the information disseminated, one-way approach and TV and radio
as the main information media. At that time, interaction among any company
and its key-publics was restricted to few tactics that combine voice interaction
(as costumer service on-the-phone) or an event promoted by the PR team.
Nevertheless, the absence of the Internet was never a condition for 100%
success in crisis management. In 1989, Exxon was “in the eye of the hurricane” due to the historical 11 million gallons of oil spilled in Alaska. One of
Johnson and Johnson’s crisis management techniques with the tampering
of Tylenol capsules that was very effective was its quick response to the product tamper. Exxon on the other hand, waited a long time before responding to
the oil spill and sending aid to Alaska. For example, an advertisement ran in
the newspapers 10 days after the spill, and Exxon’s chairman, Lawrence G.
Rawl, did not fly to Alaska until two weeks after the spill. Instead, he sent a
team of individuals who were not trained in crisis management. This showed
the public that Exxon didn't consider the spill a true environmental problem. Furthermore, the communication between management and its publics
was inefficient. Exxon chose to communicate only to the people of the town of
Valdez and not to the rest of the world.
The advance of Internet has influenced the way companies face crisis. Ten
years after Exxon’s, in 1999, Coca-Cola faced its own image disaster. Governments from France, Belgium, Luxembourg and The Netherlands banned
products from the Coca-Cola Company after hundreds of children became ill.
At this stage, the Internet was already an important reference of communication, especially through big conglomerates such as AOL and Yahoo and the
information flow changed from “centralized” to “distributed.” There were still
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
41
some mediation points that kept some data filtered from the public, but traditional media had to face its new “partner”; and it could be accessed 24 hours
a day from any part of the globe. One source no longer produced information.
Neither was only one point-of-view publicized.
When the crisis began, company executives took several days to make the
matter a top priority. The company did identify and publicly admit that there
had been manufacturing mistakes. However, according to some observers,
Coca-Cola stumbled repeatedly, exacerbating the situation. Hayes et al.
(1999) clarify some decisions that strengthened the image damage to the
company: “for example, an apology to consumers came more than a week
after the first public reports of illness. It took ten days after the first child became dizzy and nauseated for top executives to arrive in Belgium and CocaCola’s initial response attempted to minimize the number and severity of the
illnesses” (Hayes et al., 1999, cited in Johnson and Peppas, 2003: 22). Johnson and Peppas (2003) especially highlight “time” as the main issue in this
new communication scenario, since “from a historical perspective, there is evidence that the greater the response times to a critical incident, the greater the
long-term damage to a company’s financial security and reputation. In an age
of instantaneous communication, internet availability and satellite media coverage, the amounts of information and the speed at which customers can be
informed of a perceived or actual problem have increased exponentially”
(Johnson and Peppas, 2003: 21).
Finally, this brief “crisis timeline” arrives in 2010 and the recent BP Gulf oil
spill. It was a “social/online/real-time crisis”: people all over the world shared
and re-shared on Facebook, Twitter and so on, pictures from the location of
the disaster and from infected and dead animals and plants. Videos and interviews were posted on YouTube and the fateful statement “I want my life back”
still echoes as a ghost in any public relations’ head10. This actual interaction
model is characterized by a high degree of network’s freedom; a decentralized
model with free flow of information (horizontal and network organized). Crises’
stages had not changed during recent decades, “scholarly research reveals
10
th
On March 13 , 2013, the expression “BP crisis 2010” shows 18,200,000 results on Google search
(5,190,000 only on Blogs), 24,600 on YouTube, 4.147 on Slideshare and certainly millions of different images.
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
42
that the process of crisis communication is comprised of three main stages:
pre-crisis planning, crisis management during the time of a crisis, and postcrisis evaluation and learning” (Villines, 2011: 58). However, the most significant changes could be detected at the first and second stages, especially due
to the emergence and strengthening of digital communication tools.
The author also defends that “preparation for a crisis is an integral aspect of
effective crisis communication and is comprised of developing a crisis management plan, as well as monitoring for and training individuals within the organization how to respond to potential crises. Crisis management during the
actual crisis is highly complex and includes quick and decisive, yet thoughtful
action” (Villines, 2011: 58). Nevertheless, still influenced by some of the characteristics of the online medium, it is not possible anymore to think of crises
response without a constant and deep environmental scanning (Lauzen,
2009). In a 24-hour society, monitoring the environment and detecting trends
and issues are not only relevant to the development of a crises management
plan, but in helping predict potential scenarios that could affect a brand’s image and business.
“Communication in general, and blogging specifically, can change people’s
perception of a crisis” (Coombs, 2007; Stephens & Malone, 2009; cited in
Buehner, Palenchar and Veil, 2011: 115). Colliander and Dahlén (2011) clearly
showed that social media moved from a space of personal interaction – even
most of them were developed under this objective – to a strategic PR and
business tool, capable of influencing purchase intention and trust more than
traditional media. Probably, the main influence of social media on organizational communication and crisis management is its freedom of expression and
the absence of filters over the information, adding value to conversations and
connecting people through a chain that is valuable, meaningful and convenient
to its members; allowing “private individuals to become sources of information
online ‘sharing opinions, insights, experiences and perspectives with others’”
(Marken, 2007:10 cited in Buehner, Palenchar and Veil, 2011: 110). Even so,
only around 13% of companies have included social media in their crisis communication plan (Herder, 2009).
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
43
It is even more impressive that the role of an effective and dynamic issue detection model in this social media age, in which minutes signify the difference
of issues’ and crisis management; a new PR approach embedded and focused
on a dynamic environment. The possibility of easily publicizing a crisis might
be one of the only certainties in this digital communication society and understanding the notes that interconnect each part might be a coherent way in
finding a new PR practice. Finally, there is nothing more human than the desire to know about other people’s life; than the need of being part of a group;
of being listened to and, maybe, followed as an opinion leader. There is nothing more human than social media. And now, the big challenge in crisis management is discovering how to deal with all this “human life” on the Internet.
2.3.1 Crisis management in a 24-hour society
April 2011. At Arezzo, the PR team is required to deal with an unexpected
situation that had never happened before: for the first time, a boycott initiated
on the Internet against a famous brand could culminate in a huge financial
impact on the company or even the withdrawal from the market all products of
a collection. The lack of proper crisis management plan aligned with the current social media relevance to organizational communication led to the fatal
decision. To know how to manage a crisis, first it is necessary to understand,
in fact, it’s meaning. Coombs (2010), defines crisis management as “a set of
factors designed to combat crises and to lessen the actual damages inflicted,”
as well as seek to minimize negative effects upon the organization and stakeholders. Preventative measures, crisis management plans, and post-crisis
evaluations are integral components of crisis management” (Coombs, 2010:
20).
Sulton (2008), cited in Buehner, Palenchar and Veil (2011) defends that one
relevant element when managing a crisis is maintaining open lines of discussion where stakeholders are gathering information. Thus, the company would
promote a more personal, relevant and useful interaction when comparing to
mainstream news: “meeting the demand from stakeholders for timely, accurate information, while also helping to balance the coverage” (Prentice &
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44
Huffman, 2008:2; cited in Buehner, Palenchar and Veil, 2011: 115). During its
crisis, Arezzo took four days to declare an official position to the media, clients
and all stakeholders involved, probably enhancing the buzz against the brand.
Communication, PR managers and companies’ boards need to understand that
we do not have time anymore. There is no 24 hours until the first news gets to
the public as in the 1960’s; there is no “weekend off” until the first official
statement. Technology is an extension of this network society, “a social structure based on networks and operated by information and communication
technologies based in microelectronics and digital computer networks that
generate, process, and distribute information on the basis of the knowledge
accumulated in the nodes of the networks” (Castells, 2005: 7).
In general, recent or older theories are based on three main steps: detecting,
managing and learning; or, pre-crisis, crisis and post-crisis as Veil (2011) defines. The most prominent theories in the crisis management field highlight
the role of availability of information to determine responsibility for a crisis and
the role of each part (stakes or organization) when dealing with the situation.
Though these theories demonstrate a lack of dynamism considering this new
communication scenario, they are important to comprehend different elements
that could be used to build a new approach during crisis.
Coombs (2010) defends the Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT)
as an audience-centred approach that aims to explain public perception and
behaviour during crises. Though this theory does not explain the relevance of
effective management to control a crisis, it brings some light to the importance of word-of-mouth during this type of situation. A concept that emerges
regarding behaviour intentions is negative word-of-mouth. When the public is
disappointed, angered, or does not support an action, or lack of action, taken
by an organization during a crisis, individuals begin “relaying negative messages to others about the organization in crisis,” which further harms the organization’s reputation (Coombs 2010: 39-40). This concept can be easily
strengthened in the “network society” (Castells, 2005) and the idea of effective management based on response time, starts to show relevance when the
basis of the new communication tools is personal interaction and, by consequence, word-of-mouth.
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
45
On the other hand, instead of focusing on the public’s perception, the Contingency Theory highlights “the other side of the truth,” for example, the organization’s approach when dealing with its stakeholders during a crisis, or “how
an organization responds to competition and conflicts with other parties”
(Coombs 2010: 42). However, as SCCT approach (Situational Crisis Communication Theory), it does not consider the whole crisis environment; it attributes
the relevance of a crisis management strategy under the company’s view, exclusively. The problem is that a crisis circumstance is a live organism; influenced and which influences distinct internal and external components of an
organization’s network; determining and being determined by issues that can
or cannot achieve visibility through agenda building, the amount of attention
they receive and “social constructions that can exist independently of the verifiable conditions on which they are based” (Hallahan, 2001: 28-29).
Lastly, Cornelissen (2011) and Heath and Palenchar (2009), deeply highlight
the separation of a crisis in different types. While the first research defends
the segmentation in two dimensions (internal-external and intentional–
unintentional) and four types (faux-pas, terrorism, accidents and transgressions), the following ones look after to ten different kinds (natural disasters,
workplace violence, rumours, malevolence, challenge, technical error accidents, technical error product harm, human error product harm, human error
accidents and organizational misdeeds). Coombs (2010), however, defends a
simpler approach when defining the types of crisis – which could positively influence the so defended response time in this digital communication and social
media age. The SCCT theory reinforces the existence of only four primary response strategies: denial, diminishing, rebuilding and reinforcing.
Though this categorization is important to academic purpose and research, it
does not seem to be really helpful or relevant in practice. A crisis management
plan is based on, as argued before, three main steps developed in many different theories and the way the company should conduct the moment (considering social and digital media influence) is also similar in any of the following
occasions: to establish risk and crisis management policies and process approaches; plan pre-event logistics, partner with the public, listen to the public’s concerns and understand the audience, communicate with honesty, candour and openness; collaborate and coordinate with credible sources, meet the
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
46
needs of the media and remain accessible, communicate with compassion,
concern and empathy; accept uncertainty and ambiguity; and provide messages of self-efficacy (Sellow et.al, 2009; cited in Buehner, Palenchar and Veil,
2011).
During the past years, researchers have defended the inclusion of a dynamic
element in the traditional triad of crisis steps: environmental scanning/issue
detection ( Lauzen, 1997; Heath and Palenchar, 2009; Luoma-aho & Vos,
2010; Veil, 2011; Hallahan, 2011). This new factor would avoid companies
being surprised by a crisis situation and, also, increase the dialogue and interaction with relevant stakeholders in multiple issue arenas. Luoma-aho and Vos
(2010), note that now is not only the stakeholder who matters, but also the
network they become part of. These networks are influenced and influence
different political, social and economical questions so these spaces would become “places of interaction between an organization and its publics, where the
reputation of the organization is created” (Aula and Mantere, 2008; cited in
Luoma-aho and Vos, 2010: 319). A complementary view is held by Dutton
(1993), cited in Lauzen (1997: 71), by defending a strategic issue diagnosis
(SID) such as the “cognitive process through which decision makers form interpretations about organizational events, developments and trends”.
On the other hand, a conflicting opinion is expressed by Veil (2011), that focuses on the “Learning Barrier Model”, predicting that warning signals could be
recognized only after the “learning” process, for example, looking to the past,
not describing a more active practice to detect possible “red flags.” The author
defends that “despite our efforts to screen the reality of categories and labels,
we see the warning signs after a crisis because the experience of the crisis
forced us to recognize information that did not fit our previous perception of
the expected world” (2011:131). Nevertheless, in the “age of anxiety” (Burt,
2012) that is strengthened by some characteristics of globalization, stimulates
the use of social media as the core of human communication, wait for a crisis
to note the signs are a risk that could cost the image or reputation of an organization.
Thus, this new element (acting on multiple issue arenas) reflects not only on
the corporation but also especially on the relationship with its stakeholders,
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
47
since the debates are promoted around relevant issues for both stakeholders
and the organization (Luoma-aho and Vos, 2010). This new configuration
clearly strengthens the concept of the two-way symmetrical PR approach
(Lauzen, 1997), which, complementarily, seems to be deeply influenced by
social and all its human interactions factors (dialogue, friendship, no-filter and
so on).
Despite the apprehension that most of the companies present when talking
about being trend topics especially during a crisis, Buehner, Palenchar and Veil
(2011: 112) argue that these tools can and must be used positively during a
crisis situation by any company, since “new media tools have much potential
for encouraging preparedness, knowledge and involvement in crisis response
by making the topic visual and interactive. Social media can invite individuals
to self-identify as supporters of the organization.” Complementarily, they defend that the most relevant roles of digital tools in these circumstance are:
educate the public, encourage visible support, establish an open dialogue and
stimulate a change in people’s perception of a crisis. This view is especially
strengthened by Heath and Palenchar (2009:302) who remind us, “crisis is
often defined not by the damage done to the organization but the damage it
does to various stakeholders.” Acting like an open source and in a friendly way
in front of millions of people (or profiles) can be difficult for companies in certain events. However, it might be essential to the organization when analysing
the outcomes and the impact on its image and reputation.
Overall, a women’s shoe brand probably would not be involved in a compromising crisis situation due to the general components of its internal and external environment (supply chain, clients, media, employees, and so on). However, at the same time that digital media amplifies PR tactics, it brings to the
centre of the discussion problems, complaints and negative attention much
more quickly than positive outcomes. As Hallahan (2001) argues, issues are
constructed socially; for example, they exist even in a latent stage, independently of the variable conditions they are based, the amount of attention they
receive over time, power, the social drama they get and, also, the organizational structure. This fact strengthened the environmental scanning and issue
detection’s theories. For Arezzo, the “fur-wear” issue maybe was never
pointed out as an issue before because the dynamic of the stakeholders, coRisky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
48
incidently, have never suggested the subject for public discussion. Thus, due
to the launch of the “Pelemania” collection, it was activated by moving from
different stages of awareness and relevance according to issue’s identification
among different types of stakeholders.
Another relevant element of this case that is totally against the overall crisis
management orientation is the response time. It took Arezzo four days to officially publicize its position about the case; what contributed to the construction of a public opinion about the case exclusively based on media (traditional
and digital) opinion. As highlighted before, the current information system and
communication flow show us that to manage a crisis, instead of trying to manage the meaning of each message a company releases, an organization might
focus on managing its response time.
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49
CHAPTER 3:
METHODOLOGY
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50
3.1
Introduction
Many authors define “methodology” or “research techniques” and each of
them could be pointed out as complementary to one another. According to
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2007: 602), “methodology [is] the theory of
how research should be undertaken, including all theoretical and philosophical
assumptions upon which research is based and the implications of these for
the method or methods adopted.” Barros and Junqueira (2009: 44), in turn,
believe that “research techniques are tools” used to support the researcher
during the process of ascertaining the legitimacy of his study. Andrade (2001),
cited by Carratore (2009: 31), reinforces that methodology “is a path taken in
the search of knowledge”, assisting in developing procedures and behaviours
in a specific situation (Oliveira (1997) cited by Carratore, 2009: 31). In this
chapter the methodology employed in this study will be laid out and the limitations the researcher himself acknowledged.
3.2
Research philosophy
In scientific research the researcher is guided by a philosophy and his/her
view encompasses fundamental assumptions about the reality that is being
studied. Modern natural science grew under the influence of a positivist philosophy, e.g., the world was real and independent of the researcher. However,
social sciences threw doubt on this picture since they involve the study of institutions and practices invented by humans and our social reality.
Therefore, the necessity of a constructivist ontology was recognized to assist
researchers understand each find according to the cultural, social and economical veils in which they were embedded. Since humans construct social
reality it can nevertheless be understood by the same positivist approach that
the natural sciences use. But rather, considering the paradigm that different
human actors could interpret constructed realities differently; depending on
the assumptions, goals and values of those who were trying to understand
what was created.
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51
Research in the area of public relations and social interaction is mostly related
to a constructivist ontology belief (brands are created by humans to satisfy
different and developed needs). To organizational communication and/or International Public Relations this view is especially important since “speech occurs due to a context, which could influence the speech construction process”
(Júnior, 2009: 287). Thus, by ensuring that those who encounter this perspective interpret it in the way they prefer, professionals engineer the key stakeholders to know the brand in the way they (PR practitioners) want. This study
is committed to the constructivist ontology view, since this phenomenological
approach allows analyzing and understanding the meaning of different elements of social reality in the context it occurs, according to the cultural context and avoiding generalization and deconstruction of significance.
3.3
Research approach
Research approach could be stated as the chosen path that helps define the
main methodology in order to check the hypothesis made. Saunders, Lewis
and Thornhill (2007) divide it as inductive and deductive. While the first one
comes from the observation of empirical data, the second approach requires a
hypothesis, which generates testable implications.
Secondary research, which was outlined in the literature review, suggested
that “time” was the main issue that influenced in a proper crisis management
strategy due to social media influence. This research includes a content and
document analysis from different key stakeholders in order to establish the
relevance of different communication elements in crisis management in social
media and key issues that could support the investigation of how companies
can strategically participate in social media communication. Details included
official and unofficial content about the case. However, this researcher wants
to take this issue further especially because the absence of 1) proper theory
that clarifies a proper crisis management strategy in social media age, and 2)
the changes in traditional mass media communication promoted by social media: unidirectionality and massification (Lima, 2001; cited in Junior, 2009:
287). This is a really inductive process, highlighting, however, the relevance of
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
52
the findings of the universe researched. This is a research focused on one case
that could, in the end, put some light on the issue “crisis management in the
social media age.”
Even though the whole structure of this research is available in picture 6, the
third main idea of this research was deductive. The main issue is to discover in
what point crisis management current theory is outdated to social media
communication patterns. As suggested by the previous literature review, there
is no proper theory that could deeply explain and assist PR/ communication
practitioners; leading to a gap in a new PR practice. Despite some dynamic
issues that have been considered in crisis management theory, none of them
were capable of critically analyzing the role of social media tools in this type of
scenario; contradicting the main goal of scientific theories “represent by concepts articulated in specific languages and codes, the constrictions that bind
phenomena together” (Epstein, 2009: 15). Thereby, the analysis based on the
overview of the current theories in both crisis management and – although
incipient – social media fields intends to set up a bridge between both issues
that, although complementary, fail to assist the practice all over the world.
Picture 6: The research onion applied to this research (Saunders et. Al, 2007)
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53
3.4
Research strategy
The research strategy used in this study is the qualitative approach. No survey
was applied, due to the ideas set up for this study. Maxwell (1998:70) explains the criteria for qualitative research strategy:
“In a qualitative study, the activities of collecting and analyzing data, developing and modifying theory, elaborating
or refocusing the research and identifying and dealing
with validity threats are usually going on more or less simultaneously, each influencing all of the others. In addition, the researcher may need to reconsider or modify any
design decision during the study in response to new developments or to changes in some other aspect of the design.”
Thus, the analysis of documents and content of a range of materials published
by different authors focusing on internet users should provide us substantial
conclusions about the strategy adopted during Arezzo’s crisis. Besides, this
step might put under the light findings related to the most appropriate approach in this new digital communication scenario. Bickman et. al (1998)
scheme assists in better understanding the strategy chosen, as shown in picture 7.
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54
Picture 7: Research design - Bickman et. al (1998)
Bounding, to deeply understand the topic (social media and crisis management) and analyse information collected in a specific context, this project will
mainly focus on a case study as the strongest methodology. This decision was
taken firstly considering the topic and, secondly, due to the possibility that this
methodology gives in integrating the use of a range of tools to collect and analyse information (Duarte, 2009). Bruyne, Herman and Schoutheete (1991),
cited by Duarte (2009) also emphasize that it allows the research to understand the whole situation since it brings distinct and detailed information by
diverse collect techniques, either qualitative or quantitative; being an “open
and flexible plan, focusing on the reality in a complex and contextualized perspective” (Lüdke and André,1986; cited by Duarte, 2009: 218).
However, as Günther (2006: 202) also emphasizes, it is important to mix distinct techniques in order to deeply understand the situation and be able to select the most appropriate tool to analyse each piece of information required:
“When designing the research process as a mosaic describing a complex phenomenon to be understood is easy
to comprehend that individual parts represent a spectrum
of methods and techniques that need to be open to new
ideas, questions and data. Simultaneously, the diversity of
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55
pieces in this mosaic includes open and closed parts, implies in predetermined and open steps, uses qualitative
and quantitative procedures”. (Günther, 2006: 202)
Thus, through a comparative analysis of organizational practice chosen by
Arezzo during the crisis and theoretical guidelines for crisis management, it is
presupposed to understand (inductively and deductively) both method and
technique related to case study, document analysis and content analysis
methodologies. Method and technique because these ensure choosing a certain angle as the basis to an investigation and, second, complement other
ways of data gathering (Moreira, 2009). The analysis of primary and secondary data – institutional press releases about the case and blog, news web site
and Facebook posts and comments, respectively – based on mostly analytical
methods, was chosen correspondingly to Krippendorff’s (1990, cited in Júnior,
2009) basic characteristics: empiric orientation, transcendence of normal notions of content and possibility of critical analysis of the research regardless of
its results. Lastly they would increase the level of detail about data gathered
(Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2007).
3.5
Time horizon
The time horizon in this research is cross-sectional owing to time limitations
on this type of academic research. Whether a longitudinal approach over a
longer period would yield different results is doubtful. However, because it is
clear for the purpose of this study, that the hypotheses to be checked must be
applied in different groups and are focused on a specific point in time.
3.6
Methodology
The specific methodology for this research was chosen according to explanations showed below, according to the research problem stated and the object
of study (Barros and Junqueira, 2009).
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56
3.6.1
Case study
Yin (2001:32 cited in Duarte, 2009:216) defines the methodology as “the
study of a contemporary phenomenon within a real life context. It is justified
“when the border between the phenomenon and its context is not clearly apparent and where multiple sources of evidence are used.” Goode and Hatt
(1979: 421-422 cited in Duarte, 2009: 216) emphasize the approach as a
method that looks to social reality, considering “any social unit as a whole, including the development of this unit, which can be a person, a family, a social
group, a set of relations or processes, even a whole culture” (Duarte, 2009:
216).
During the past decades, many researchers have highlighted the social characteristic of this methodology (Yin, 2001; Bruyne, Herman and Schoutheete,
1991; Goode and Hatt, 1979) and its capability of analysing and using the inductive rationality to establish generalizations (and principles) about an issue.
Arezzo’s case relates to the first typology defined by Bruyne, Herman and
Schoutheete (1991), by exploring and trying to discover new issues, renewing
existent perspectives and suggesting fruitful hypothesis, preparing the path to
future research. This crisis management in the social age issue also fits in
Merrian (1998 cited in Duarte, 2009: 217) four essential characteristics of a
case study: particularistic, descriptive, heuristic and inductive. Thus, this study
is centred on one particular situation which allows a relevant analysis of real
life problems; the final result consists of a detailed description about the issue
previously challenged; it assists in comprehending the object of analysis and
in obtaining new interpretations, perspectives, meaning and visions previously
unrecognized. Finally, it pretends to discover new relations between the issue’s elements by using inductive rationality and analysing particular data to
establish generalization about the topic.
Thus, aligned to Yin’s (2001, cited in Duarte, 2009: 219-220) theory, this
study will mainly focus on two established procedures of case study to draw
conclusions based on the hypothesis arisen during the research process: a)
explain topics within an evaluation in a descriptive or journalistic approach and
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57
b) explore situations to which the question assessed does not present clear
and simple results.
3.6.2
Document and content analyses
Complementary to each other, the analyses of documents and messages aim
to formulate ideas and inferences that assess the core of the issue in this research. Therefore, to valorise both qualitative and quantitative aspects of
these methodologies (Júnior, 2009), primary and secondary sources of content
will be analysed. Moreira (2009) supports the concept that document analysis
is a secondary methodology that has both method and technique characteristics, contributing to rescue the history behind the facts spread by the media,
being a “type of investigation meaning a set of intellectual operations to scientific-informative extraction, being an objective reflex of the original source,
though identify new messages within the document” (Moreira, 2009: 276). At
last, the analysis of documents aims to stimulate aspects or angles of approach not foreseen during the design phase of the research project.
Krippendorff (1990, cited in Júnior, 2009) defines three fundamental characteristics to define a content analysis: a) empiric and exploratory orientation,
linked to real phenomena and predictive order; b) inclusion of elements such
as message, channel, communication and system, transcending the usual notion of content and c) approach that allows the research program, communicate and critically analyse his/her research project results independently.
The corpus analyzed was defined considering the following rules (Bardin,
1998; Barros and Targino, 2000; cited in Junior, 2009): representativeness,
non-probability sampling, homogeneity and relevance. Some issues were considered when the decision was taken; especially related to sampling size due
to the huge number of online information and data about the case and the necessity of a mainly qualitative, rather than quantitative, analysis in order to
deeply evaluate the content.
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
58
The selection of materials, therefore, was made based on the relevance of the
web site or blog over key stakeholders, through a previous document analysis
from different sources on the Internet. Considering Arezzo’s case, this document analysis will signify technique and not method (Moreira, 2009), due to
its complementary characteristic to data gathering and selection by contextualizing facts and moments, focusing on a final and deep content analysis.
Thus, this research will evaluate two main types of documents: the official
communiqué due to the withdrawal of Pelemania from Brazilian stores and
blogs/web site posts about the issue. Twitter and Facebook posts published by
the company and NGO’s groups will also be analysed in order to complement
the previous analysis and better understand the crisis evolution. Besides, as
Moreira (2009) defends, the technique allows for interventions that came from
the research to be considered in the inductive process.
Therefore, as a primary source, official Facebook posts about the new collection and the official communiqué about the withdrawal of Pelemania collection
from the market were analysed, as well as a video, which reproduces the
CEO’s position about the case during a speech. Additionally, as secondary
sources twitter. blog and web site11 posts were analysed, especially during crisis and post-crisis periods, as picture 8 shows.
This content analysis has the objective of reconstructing the information path
among different stakeholders and establishes their official positioning and perception (positive or negative) about the case. The categorization of factors to
be taken into account was defined in order to best comprehend the analysis
within the social media environment, strengthening a semantic relation
(Bardin, 1998; cited in Junior, 2009) between the groups. As a consequence, a
less positivist and a higher enhancement of inference are expected. Each material selected was analysed in a form coding (Bauer, 2002; cited in Junior,
2009) in order to evaluate the relevant elements present in each web site
news or blog post.
Complementary, it was conducted an overall analysis related to online content
highlighting 54 elements of the messages. In this case, Silva (2011) suggests
11
Posts and comments on the most relevant news’ web sites in Brazil were analyzed: G1, exame, UOL, IG,
Veja and Folha de São Paulo
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
59
six topics that support a content analysis in the online sphere: type of media,
message communicated, brand’s visibility, brand’s relevance within the context, sources mentioned and type of conversation. Finally, both types of
documents (blog posts and web site news) were also processed considering
the KWIC analysis12 (Bauer, 2002; cited in Junior, 2009), in order to establish
the main public expressions (and perceptions) used/established by the media
during the situation and supporting the findings related to corporate participation in social media during a crisis.
Thus, it is assumed that the information collected online from key stakeholders
in this case (media/opinion leaders, clients, NGO’s and potential clients; each
of them reached by specific web sites or blogs) supports the inductive reasoning to define “rights and wrongs” in crisis management in the social media age
and to establish best practices to avoid similar situations – always keeping one
eye on the current crisis management theory. Lastly, considering that speech
occurs in terms of context; which could have an influence in speech’s construction (Júnior, 2009), it is relevant to emphasize the cultural perspective
about the fur wearing issue in Brazil, as previously related.
Type of source
Primary
Secondary
Stage of crisis (Veil, 2011)
Pre-crisis

5 Facebook posts on
Arezzo’s official profile
-
about the new collection
Crisis

10 Fashion and NGO posts blogs (Jovem Pan,
Acho Tendência, garotas de propaganda, Chocomenta, Moda ON, EcoBlogs, Pepsiclub, Razão
-
Social, Blog Verde, Modaspot)

47 Comments of “boycott Arezzo” profile on
Facebook

13 Tweets mentinoning @Arezzo and #Arezzo
12
Within the areas of text analysis, KWIC refers to a way of displaying the words in a text so that particular
words (the keywords) are listed in the middle column, with a certain amount of context on either side.
KWIC displays are also called concordances, and are generated by concordancing software.
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
60
Post-crisis

17 Posts on the most relevant news/fashion web
sites in Brazil: G1, Exame, UOL, IG, Veja and


Folha de São Paulo, MTV Brazil, Vogue, Marie
1 You tube video
1 Official communiqué
Claire, Criativa, MSN, Modaspot)

2 Posts on NGO web site’s (Arca Brasil and
ABPA13)
Picture 8: Definition of sources for content analysis and their relation with crisis' stages
The content analysis will mainly highlight two of Krippendorf’s (1990; cited in
Junior, 2009: 291-292) categories of applicability of content analysis: linguistics representations and institutional processes. The overall goal is to analyze
whether there is or is not intervention of language in the public perception and
supposed influences of these public messages within the organization, “as an
instrument of organizational and competitive intelligence, supporting the
evaluation and monitoring of internal and external environments” (Junior,
2009: 292).
3.7
Rejected methodologies
Having discussed Saunders et. al (2007) research process onion and the layers that have been chosen to answer our research questions (A. What are the
most important communication elements that need to be considered when
managing a crisis situation influenced by social media platforms? B. In what
point is crisis management current theory outdated to social media communication pattern? C. How companies can participate in social media made), it is
also important to point out the rejections and why they were unsuitable for
this research.
Being the main methodology to this research a case study, it was defined to
apply two support techniques in order to guide the inductive thinking and draw
the appropriate conclusions in each case. Some methodologies commonly related to the case study strategy were rejected as follows.
13
Brazilian Association of Protection of Animals
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
61
3.7.1
Interviews and Questionnaires
Duarte (2009) highlights different typologies when applying the interview
technique. The most appropriate one would be related to several aspects of
the object studied, as qualitative or quantitative, type of questions, type of
approach, type of answers and so on.
Many researchers expose different
fields in which the technique is useful (Curvello, 2000; Schirato, 2000;
Marques de Melo and Duarte, 2001; Pereira Júnior, 2000) and, most of the
time, aiming to identify different ways of noting and describing phenomena.
Even this is “one of the most common and powerful ways to try to understand
our human condition” (Fontana & Frey, 1994 cited in Duarte, 2009: 62). This
author rejected the technique especially after considering Fisher’s (2004)
checklist planning process due to the conclusion that timescale was not
enough to apply the methodology. Since questionnaires frequently are related
to the same planning steps as interviews, it also showed to be inappropriate
under this justification.
3.7.2
Panels and Observational Research
Fisher (2004) defends the development of these techniques in two ways: open
(including focus group) or pre-coded, with more or less influence of the researcher. Though they were chosen, initially, as one of the preferred processes, they became impracticable due to the distance between the development of this study and the case studied itself. The conclusion was that the period of time between this study and the event itself would influence the perception about the case when analysing any type of stakeholder (the company,
clients, NGOs or media) and any stage of crisis (pre-crisis, crisis and postcrisis). Thus, these approaches were found to be less appropriate than they
could have been if we had another time context.
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
62
3.8
Ethical issues
It is known that confidentiality and privacy are some of the most relevant
elements related to ethics. As this dissertation is not directly dealing with confidential documents or any type of confidential data that could be, perhaps,
transferred by the company object of this study, the author might not deal
with relevant ethical issues about this perspective. Nevertheless, the importance of other elements such as veracity and reality of the case studied and
documents analysed were always taken into account during the whole process.
3.9
Limitations
This author recognizes that there are some issues that could represent different levels of limitations to this project. The first one is the timescale that
makes unavailable the development of any participatory technique with the
different key stakeholders involved in this case. The second is the crosscultural limitation, since there might be some differences in the engagement
pattern in social media considering High Context and Low Context communication styles. However, the researcher believes that this question should not
represent a relevant influence in the final result of this study, since one of the
research questions aims to clarify general guidelines about corporative action
in social media during crises. From a human perspective, this author tried to
maintain this study free of any type of bias or cultural perspective that could
influence the findings.
Further limitations of the methodology are influenced by the following factors:

Professional acting of the researcher, which was, most of the time,
compromised during a 50-hour week with this responsibility

The unexpected denial by the company to cooperate with data gathering

The deadline for submission is 2nd May 2013

The impossibility of a deadline extension without paying an extra fee
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
63
CHAPTER 4
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
64
4.1 Introduction
This chapter lays out the findings of the surveys and provides a running discussion on them. The content analysis was applied on different materials published on the Internet: blogs, news Web sites and posts on social media platforms (Appendixes 1 to 6), aiming to know the main communication elements
that need to be considered when managing a crisis situation influenced by social media. At this point, the main findings related to Arezzo’s case will support
the inductive thinking in order to predict an overall content scenario.
A second issue concerning the crisis management field is the adequacy of current theory to situations influenced by social media platforms. As it was
pointed out before, “time” is an essential issue to be considered in emergency
situations influenced by the intersection of social and traditional media tools
and this section shows why. Finally, the issue of corporate public participation
in order avoid the strengthening of negative outcomes in a crisis situation is
also analyzed and processed as a challenge in this new PR age – especially
considering multinational companies that could be highly influenced by different cultural contexts in which a crisis could be embedded.
4.2 Content analysis and crisis map
An overall content analysis (Picture 9) based on Silva (2011), showed the
prevalence of negative public position towards the brand (86.6% in overall
brand attitude and 92.6% when analyzing only blogs and Web site posts). The
most relevant data point:

The company’s name was in the title in 76.6% of the time and 100% in
the first 1/5 of the text (the lead).

69.2% of titles contained negative expressions linked to the company’s
name (polemic, protest, fury and condemn were the most common
ones). This is a clear rejection of the company and an impressive crisis
situation.
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
65
The KWIC analysis in blogs and Web site texts also determined that the most
common words (nouns or adjectives) linked to the company’s name were Pelemania and collection. Furthermore, the analysis of the key words Arezzo,
brand, brands, company, fur and Pelemania, showed that, overall, 52.8% of
the statements that contained one of these expressions were negative. To better understand the positive versus negative relation around key words researched, the most common expressions related to them were divided into
nine groups: negative verbs, negative nouns, negative adjectives, positive
verbs, positive nouns, positive adjectives, internet relevance, neutral expressions and adverbs. The result showed that negative terms represented 74.5%
of the whole most common expressions related to the six key words researched, appearing 416 times in the content analyzed.
In addition to the content analysis in blogs and Web site posts and the KWIC
analysis, a study about the content of each comment published related to the
posts was conducted. The results also followed the same tendency pointed out
by the previous research: 87.4% (881 comments) have negative content
(e.g., disagree with the collection; “cons-fur” wear), while 12.6% (127) demonstrate agreement and support the brand.
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
66
Picture 9: Silva (2011): overall content analysis for blogs and Web site content
The analysis of social media content (Twitter and Facebook profiles) also confirmed the pattern found in the other two types of content (blogs and Web
sites). As expected, positive mentions were mostly found in official tweets
posted by the institutional profile @Arezzo (Appendix 1). In this case, the content published offered links to Pelemania products or pictures of the official
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
67
launching event. It was also noted the use of e-moctions to characterize positive sentiment towards Pelemania, such as “:)”. On the other hand, the analysis of tweets sent by clients, media and NGOs profiles revealed an overall
negative sentiment of 92.3% towards the brand’s name.
Different from what common sense would point out, the analysis of activity on
the Fan Page “Boicote Arezzo” did not show a steady growth from 14th to 18th
April; for example, the “pre-crisis” to the “peak crisis” moments. Otherwise, it
brings the information that though the profile was created only on the 18th, it
had an important role in public pressure since, in one day, around 7,000
members joined. This means that the research did not point to distinct perceptions over the case in pre-crisis, crisis or post-crisis periods. The public perception of the issue was always similar and even strengthened the negative
element as the days were passing. However, it is immature to conclude that
this is a pattern in social media crises, since it was not possible to research the
changes in public perception in different stages of the crisis.
Thus, picture 10 clearly shows the peak and decrease of interaction between
members of the “Boicote Arezzo” fan page. Due to the whole movement on
Twitter, blogs and news Web sites during the previous days, the pressure and
protests caused by this profile represented the “icing on the cake” to the decision taken by the company. A total of 45 posts were posted on the wall and
shared with thousands of followers. This perception is confirmed when analysing the trends presented from 14th to 21st April - that clearly shows the same
peak evidenced on the Fan Page – on Google results (Picture 11), when
searching by the four terms: Arezzo, Pelemania, Arezzo pele and Pelemania
Arezzo.
Nevertheless, the correct and constant application of environmental scanning
techniques would probably avoid 100% of the negative public perception toward the issue on blogs and Web site posts on the 16th and 17th April. Additionally, due to the speed at which a crisis changes stages, this is a crucial
element when trying to mitigate a potential crisis before it turns into a crisis.
Probably, an effective management of this point would avoid the rejection of
92.3% of the brand in the first day of the issue.
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
68
Interactions on "Boicote Arezzo" Fan
Page
Number of interactions
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
782
Comments
606
593
Share
462
268
179
Likes
120
3
6
96
8
18th
19th
20th
21st
Comments
179
120
268
96
Share
166
3
6
8
Likes
782
606
462
593
166
Logarithm
(Comments)
Logarithm (Share)
Logarithm (Likes)
Crisis day
Picture 10: Interactions on "Boicote Arezzo" Fan Page
Picture 11: Google trends for common terms related to the issue during the crisis days
4.2.1 Mistakes
The general overview related above confirms the crisis situation that Arezzo
faced during four days. However, to better understand the main reasons that
were responsible for this negative outcome, it was decided to analyse the
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
69
main activities during this situation under the ten elements to “best practices
in risk and crisis communication” in social media (Buehner, Palenchar and Veil,
2011). From the whole scope of guidelines, the company filled 10% (1) of
them. This means that 90% of the time, the expected actions when dealing
with a crisis in social media were not taken into account (Picture 12). An overall analysis of the elements showed lack of:

Risk and crisis management policies and process approaches

Pre-event logistics

Partner with the public

Understanding and listening the audience

An honest, opened and candour communication

Remaining accessible to the media

Communicate with compassion, concern and empathy

Accept uncertainty and ambiguity

Provide messages of self-efficacy
When combing this scenario with the timeline of public perception towards the
case, the relevance of “time” is clear. As previously highlighted in the literature review, social media is about social interactions in a digital sphere and
“time” now is the biggest ally (and villain) of corporative PR in this 24-hour
society. Besides “time,” silence was one of the main mistakes in this (lack of)
management strategy. Four days to make a corporative decision is a long time
in today’s society. This means four days of protests, furious comments and
image losses.
Type of element
(Buehner, Palenchar and Veil, 2011)
Is it present in the issue studied?
YES
Establish risk and crisis management policies and process
approaches
NO
Official positioning
Arezzo’s CEO admitted that the company did not have an established
risk/crisis committee;
Plan pre-event logistics
Arezzo’s CEO admitted that a deep
marketing research was not taken into
account before developing Pelemania
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
70
collection
Partner with the public
Arezzo ignored public claim and only
officially positioned itself four days
after the protests started. The company did not provide any additional
information to the public during those
days.
Listen to the public’s concern and understand the audi-
The company deleted all negative
ence
comments about the case from its
Facebook official profile. There was no
type of dialogue. The content analysis
showed high level of “uncertainty” by
the public that was involved in the
protests. Nobody knew what was going
to happen or why the company decided
to produce a collection with exotic
animal fur.
Communicate with honesty, candour and openness
Due to the silence, any type of communication was made
Collaborate and coordinate with credible sources
The company’s CEO was able to talk
about the case after the official positioning. PR team sent quantitative
information to the press about the
collection; e.g., official basic information was available
Meet the needs of the media and remain accessible
No update about internal discussions
was available to public opinion. The
company only showed to be a bit more
accessible after the 18th, when the
official positioning was publically released
Communicate with compassion, concern and empathy
In the end, the official communiqué left
the impression that the company was
exempting itself from the responsibility
of discussing the issue and provide
transparent and trustful answers to
public opinion and its key stakeholders
Accept uncertainty and ambiguity
The company lost credibility, trust and
positive sentiment due to the lack of
information during the case
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
71
Provide messages of self-efficacy
No action that could promote the sense
of self-efficacy was taken by the company during the period
Picture 12: The presence of "best practice" elements during crisis communication management
Language is another relevant element to be taken into consideration. The
same communiqué was released to the press and posted on Facebook and
Twitter official profiles. The language used was formal and focused on a oneway approach. For example, the company did not show, at any time, openness
to discuss solutions with the public or sincerely publically apology. This is a
basic mistake in small companies, but completely unexpected in large multinational ones. The common rule in the new PR approach (two-way symmetrical/dialogical way) is that each public has different needs, different languages
to communicate and needs to be treated according to their desires. At least, it
was expected that the official positioning would be “translated” to different
types of languages according to the medium and the platform characteristics
(it is impossible to think of publishing a 200 word text on Twitter, and this is
what Arezzo did).
The content analysis also showed that from the day before the official communiqué defining the gathering of Pelemania collection, to the end of the communiqué day (17th and 18th April) the negative public perception towards the
brand decreased from 100% to 53%, while the positive came from 0% to 18%
in the same period. Unfortunately, this study could not prove whether there
existed any kind of constant mathematical relation between the period needed
to extinguish a crisis after the decision-making process (in this case the public
communiqué to withdraw the products from the market). However, picture 13
indicates that corporate public response and brand involvement during a crisis
highly enhance the drop in negative perceptions about the event. At the end of
day 18, the tendency expected was around 61% of negative perception, but
the final result was 8% better than the projection made. Positive perception,
on the other hand, was around 1% higher than expected (changing from 17%
to 18%).
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
72
% Content tone by day
Positive
Negative
Logarithm (Positive)
Logarithm (Negative)
100,0%
90,0%
80,0%
70,0%
60,0%
50,0%
40,0%
30,0%
20,0%
10,0%
0,0%
Neutral
Official communiqué
16th
17th
18th
19th
20th
Positive
0,0%
0,0%
18%
25%
20%
Negative
100,0%
100,0%
53%
40%
47%
Neutral
0,0%
0,0%
29%
35%
33%
Picture 13: The tone of the content analyzed (blog and Web site posts) during the crisis period
Lastly, deepening the content tone study during the same period mentioned
above, a pattern was observed in negative content published on blogs and
Web sites and the time of the day. Considering that the selection was made in
order to cover and simulate the different stages of crisis, when organizing
them in a timeline (picture 14), it was noted that content published between
14h to 14h30 (2 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.) and between 17h30 to 18h (5:30 p.m. to
6 p.m.) presented the higher percentage in negative tone showing a higher
result of 28% when compared to any other period of the day. The average
negative perception about the content in these selected times was established
in 72.6%, while the other periods present an overall result of 44.6%. A secondary peak was noted at 21h30 (9:30 p.m.) with overall negative content in
62.5% - 20.6% higher.
The same information collected on the Facebook “Boicote Arezzo” Fan page did
not show a similar pattern as the one found on blogs and Web site posts.
However, as social media simulates face-to-face interaction, the participation
pattern during a crisis situation might be directly linked, not to the time of the
post (as some practitioners defend in regular situation in social media platforms), but to the type of content, the level of interest generated over the
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
73
reader and his/her level of socio-cultural recognition with the issue being discussed. Nevertheless, the analysis of these data could put some light on the
crisis management tactics in the organizational sphere and show the direction
to communication and interaction in social media.
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
74
Picture 14: Content tone by time of the day during the crisis studied
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
75
CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSIONS
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
76
5.1 Introduction
This study was designed to achieve a number of objectives:
1- To compare both theory and practice to identify gaps in practice that
could be avoided by the support of the current theory in crisis management
2- To examine the contribution of current theory in crisis management to
this scenario influenced by social media platforms
3- To examine the contribution of current theory in social media and select
elements that could contribute to the crisis management field
4- To determine positive and negative elements when managing a crisis influenced by social media buzz
Based on these points, three research questions were to be answered at the
end of this whole process:
a. What are the most important communication elements (time, type of
language, level of interaction and response to the public) that need to
be considered when managing a crisis situation influenced by social media platforms?
b. In what point is crisis management’s current theory outdated in comparison to the social media communication pattern?
c. How can companies participate in social media communication made by
their stakeholders in order to avoid the strengthening of negative outcomes and image loses in a crisis situation?
From the beginning of this research, one goal was always in the mind of the
researcher; not only to analyse a case based on numbers and texts but, at the
end, come up with general perceptions, conclusions, definitions and guidelines
that could support academic researchers, companies and practitioners in different
fields
and
organizations,
considering
the
current
communica-
tion/interaction/relationship pattern in which we are all embedded. Thus, the
conclusions of this research will be described point-by-point as follows:
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
77
5.2 Elements to be considered when managing a crisis in a 24-hour
society
Social media has changed some factors in crisis management. Thus, managing
a situation influenced by digital tools requires that practitioners observe some
elements that could turn the worst villain into PR’s best friend.
The research has already showed that Arezzo, as a multinational brand, did
not pay the necessary attention to some elements. Maybe because it has
never faced a crisis situation on the Internet and, at a first sight, this is actually scary; or maybe because the first internal decision would be “give some
time” to check if the protests would cease without any kind of intervention.
The case analysed brought some light on this question and from the findings it
is possible to highlight four main essential issues that need to be taken into
account when managing this “new” crisis.
1- “Time means image”: As pointed out by the content tone analysis by
day of crisis, the earlier the company starts the information and communication processes, the earlier negative perceptions are minimized.
In this network society (Castells, 2005) to wait four days until officially
positioning the company about some “yellow light” issue could signify
the emergence of a crisis. The decentralization of the information process strengthens the power of social media, this “fashionable friend”
(Colliander and Dahlén, 2011). All throughout communication history,
public perception towards a brand that does not take a position about a
concerned issue, tend to be evaluated as “guilty”. Then, if “time means
image,” complementary, “silence means guilt.”
2- “Monitoring means guard”: To avoid the change from a yellow to a
red light, effective real-time monitoring is essential. Lauzen (2009) already highlights the role of environmental scanning in a pre-crisis
event, but with no practical guidelines. Schulz, Pauheim and Probst
(2012) suggest the implementation of monitoring applications by key
words in order to track any abrupt change in corporative digital scenarios. In practice, it is necessary that corporations define the best model
according to its business model, area of performance, type of public,
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
78
communication culture of its key stakeholders and market characteristics. So far, however, considering social media interaction pattern it
seems difficult to define any scanning tactic without the support of digital applications.
3- “Appropriate language means appropriate public”: Arezzo committed the mistake of sending the same content, with the same language to different types of stakeholders (with different needs and expectations). During a crisis, it is essential that the “core” corporative
message be published for distinct stakeholders; this means the unification and unit of corporative speech. However, it does not mean the unification of language. Each key stakeholder is, in essence, interested in
different outcomes during a crisis period. Shareholders are not interested in the same information as clients. Employees have different
needs from the media, or suppliers would like to have access to data
that could explain whether their relation with the company would be affected. Thus, when Arezzo decided to publish the same official communiqué on Facebook, divide it into dozens of 140-character posts on Twitter and also send as a press release to journalists, the absence of public
concern with the different stakeholders was clear. In the end, clients
and NGOs wanted an official explanation about the decision of launching
the collection and what the company would do with the withdrawn
products. The media was interested in the financial impact and shareholders in the share market and so on.
Arezzo did not have the experience of a real interaction and dialogue
promotion on social media. The analysis of its digital communication
strategy discussed in Chapter 1 showed that the majority of the content
published was exclusively related to brand promotion through the promotion of new products, collections, campaigns and sales. In general,
the platforms did not consider proximity and kindness that make the
target public desire the interaction and become a brand lover or advocate. The overall perception within that platform (before the crisis) was
positive, but the nodes that tie all elements together are not strong
enough that they could be used to weaken a crisis situation such as Pelemania. This perception was clear when many clients publicly recogRisky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
79
nized that the company had failed, that they “were disappointed” and
only a few of them (8.7%) defended the brand during the period. Thus,
the content analysis and a deep reflection about the crisis evolution,
bring the research to the point that the non-use of adequate language
to each stakeholder, just made clear the inexperience and lack of basic
knowledge related to language and type of public.
4- “Crisis management” means PR expertise: Also common in smallmedium size companies, is that the whole PR strategy and marketing
department is usually under responsibility (or authority) of the company’s owner or his son. In large multinational companies, it is usually
expected that a PR specialist – based on a crisis management plan,
manage crisis situations. In the Pelemania case, however, the CEO of
the company had a deep influence in the final content (communiqué)
sent to different publics. He admitted (see Appendix 5) that he decided
to write the official document and became personally involved in the
strategy defined (including deleting posts from Arezzo’s Fan Page) and,
in the end, regretted his decision. Another relevant piece of information
is that the company did not count on a risk/crisis committee and, then,
probably was not ready to deal with a strong negative perception like
this. All these findings lead to the important issue that all companies
and practitioners need to be aware of: crisis management is a subject
to experts.
5.3 The gap between theory and practice
The current crisis management theory is not enough to explain and assist researchers and practitioners in the analysis of relevance and influence of social
media in this field. This research did not identify one whole theory that could
support the current management scenario in the networked and digitalized
society. Nevertheless, this study defends a new approach combining multiple
elements brought by different researchers (Lauzen, 1997; Johnson and Peppas, 2003; Castells, 2005; Bennet and Segerberg, 2011; Villines, 2011;
Lauring, 2011) especially justified due to a) the influence of social media on
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
80
collective action, b) the impact of new technologies on traditional media and
its theories and c) the influence of digital actors on cultural issues in many different groups all over the globe.
A few years ago the role of PR and crisis management strategy was similar in
different organizations and cultures due to the characteristics of communication/information flow, but the Pelemania case makes it clear that the linearity
of the information flow no longer exists. Information flows have been substituted by information nodes, interconnected to each other by distinct actors
and level of strength.
In view of this new scenario and the lack of elements that consider the dynamic environment in which companies are deeply embedded, this research
defends a combined theory to define a new model of crisis management. This
dynamism might be strengthened by the use of digital technology during environmental scanning or issues detection step; e.g., pre-crisis moment. It is
clear that current theories deeply contributed to researchers and practitioners
in IPR field and they still compose the basis to this new approach. Unlike SCCT
or the “Contingency Theory” that defends a one point-of-view centred communication (stakeholder or company) this research defends a mixed strategy,
especially considering the distinct influences that key stakeholders have over
the company and the dynamism of the internal and external environment. Under this perspective, it is believed that to integrate opinion leaders from different groups of stakeholders in a crisis management strategy is a positive
strength when interacting with these different actors, with different needs and
different values; besides, it probably would diminish the public perception of
the damage caused in different stakeholders. Being able to effectively communicate across groups is vital in this new scenario.
Thus, considering the influence of the current theories on crisis management,
this research suggests the development of a new approach, centred on dynamic and electronic issue detection, environmental scanning, low response
time, personalized public messages and interaction based on cultural veils and
beliefs; the “Multi-dynamic crisis management theory”; as presented below:
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
81
Picture 15: The “Multi-dynamic crisis management theory” model defends an approach centred on dynamic issues
detection by monitoring social media in real-time using electronic devices. The model also highlights the role of response time to an effective crisis management approach and the influence of cultural veils in the online sphere,
which, by consequence, directly strengthens or weakens collective actions
This model maintains the relevance of the three steps of a crisis situation (Villines, 2011), adding two elements strengthened by the social media communication pattern: cultural veils and low response time. Different researchers
have already pointed out the influence of high and low communication patterns on digital communication.
Thus, cultural veils imbedded in different
communities are considered important elements when managing a crisis, due
to peculiarities of communication needs, habits and expectations. The second
factor, “low response time”, is required to be especially taken into account
within the pre-crisis moment. As previously showed due to the content analysis, when organizational communication starts acting with key stakeholders,
the tendency is that negative opinions start to decline while neutral ones increase constantly.
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
82
The post-crisis, usually designed to be a reflection and evaluation of the management strategy adopted, needs to be addressed also as a continuous moment of environmental scanning. This period might contain the analysis of information related to key words mentioned, brand sentiment, changing in
brand supporters and aggressors. It is also relevant to check the influence of
cultural elements in the strategy adopted, in order to establish gaps and cultural differences that could have great influence (positive and negative) on the
final outcome of the crisis. To turn post-crisis into an inductive moment of
analysis is essential in this social media age. This moment might be focused
on the analytical approach of the management strategy adopted and on the
continuous environmental scanning in order to monitor the dissipation of the
crisis situation in the digital sphere.
Lastly, as emphasized by Lauring (2011), a dynamic approach combing human
differences with communication and organizational elements could avoid circumstances that could collectively influence people in engage and communicate with a specific brand. It means that variations in different groups’ values
and practices could avoid or strengthened a crisis potential – when taken into
account within the practice of communication and relationship-building with
different stakeholders. In social media age, the relevance of cultural differences in communication and information tools had already been discussed by
many authors. A quick look at profiles from companies based or focused on
societies with HC and LC communication pattern strengths the perception
about the influence of cultural identities even on interactions made by social
media tools. Thus, PR practitioners, when establishing crisis management
strategies might define an approach aligned with cultural specificities of the
target group. It means more and more to personalize the interaction in both
tactical and managerial levels, adapting the content published to needs, values
and communication culture of the target stakeholder in each type of situation;
or to any type of objective set up.
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
83
5.4 Lessons for support managers and PR practitioners
Arezzo committed some mistakes in managing a crisis influenced by social
media tools as previously showed. The company was not the first and, probably, will not be the last one in facing a situation like this. The main point that
caught this research’s attention was that, for the first time, a company determined for an extreme decision due to social media pressure. Thus, we come
to the end of this study with two main lessons for practitioners: a) pay attention to the “response time” and b) define the social media strategy within the
whole communication strategy and according to the organizational culture. As
previously highlighted, current crisis management theories contribute to actual
practice insofar as it represents the basis for any practice adopted. Some authors (Blanchard, 2011; Schulz et.al, 2012 and Veil et.al, 2011) defend the
inclusion of elements that could assist companies and practitioners in achieving the best potential of social media during crisis.
In general, the main contribution of these theorists to the crisis management
field is precisely the inclusion of social media dynamism as one of the core
elements of this new practice. The consciousness of the fact that we are all in
constant change and within a constant changeable environment is embedded
in tactics that focus on the proactive action of crisis avoidance. Thus, acknowledging issues and/or the existence of problems, opening channels for dialogue
(by a specific hashtag on Twitter, group on Facebook or blog) that encourage
public participation in finding solutions and giving constant updates is common
advice in a management crisis in this 24-hour society.
Secondly, from this study, it is possible to conclude that it is actually impossible to determine whether an issue is positive or negative to a crisis situation
because it depends on from what perspective the strategy treats it. For example, this research has showed that from the moment a company starts debating with its public about an issue through an open and kindly approach, the
tendency is that negative perception goes down quickly while neutral and positive views slowly increase as soon as relevant information is available to each
type of key stakeholder. As Arezzo took four days until it decided to start its
communication process, the public opinion had the time to create an overall
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
84
negative perception about the case. Thus, “time” again, showed to be the biggest challenge in a “networked crisis”.
Nevertheless, this research brought to light the clear perception that the information process is being changed due to the impact caused by new technologies and platforms of communication – especially social media and mobile
devices. Thus, it was noted that the new pattern developed by these new
communication/relationship platforms, transformed “information” from a process and a model followed by some companies to an element in the whole
communication process. In the end, the view that corporate communication is
an evolution of corporate information is put aside due to the new perception
that, actually, this corporate information process is only a part of the whole
range of communication possibilities. And, more, that maybe, the next corporate challenge in PR is to evolve from a communication process to a complex
relationship process perspective.
Lastly, companies in all different fields desire orientation about “How to participate in social media discussions?” This is not a 10-step way or list of homogenous guidelines that could be taken into account by any company. Even
though the theory supports the development of new models and approaches
for and during crisis management, online reputation management reduces the
uncertainty towards an issue and the emergence of an unexpected event.
However, implementing tactics and approaches that help PR practitioners in
these management situations is essential, but it is necessary not to forget organizational culture. Companies are singular in their responsibilities, business
strategies, internal and external relationships, values, beliefs and technological
use (for example, their culture). Thus, the digitalization of collective meaning
within the organizational environment requires the adequacy of communication strategies in the organizational reality. This analysis process leads to the
strengthening of a systematic posture, speech integration and
a complex
process; supporting the decision-making process of digital communication
considering the integration of this process with the whole corporative communication strategy.
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
85
5.5 Limitations of this research
As academic research at this level, this study had neither the time nor the resources to carry out broad-based surveys with all key stakeholders involved in
this case. The researcher is confident that had she the opportunity to meet
with the company’s representatives she would have been positively impacted
on confirming the strategy adopted by the company during the crisis, instead
of only data gathering by secondary sources. Both focuses, however, have
their own advantages, since the decision of data gathering of secondary
sources and perceptions about the case gave to the research the opportunity
of studying the final message and public perception about the case without
organizational veils or influences.
A further limitation was the impossibility of a deep content analysis (larger
sample) with other crisis management cases especially related to time versus
content tone issues, as initially discussed in chapter 4. This approach would
have brought relevant data about the existence of (or lack of) a mathematical
relation between the two elements.
5.6 Further research
There are several ways in which this research could be broadened and deepened. On a grander scale, the investigation of limiters issues in this dissertation is a good start, especially in order to confirm the relation between time
and content tone and time of the day and negative public perception. These
are relevant factors that could put some light on issues that are relevant for
any company in any market. Another area of investigation would be testing
the presented “Multi-dynamic crisis management theory” model in order to
check its effectiveness and appropriateness in companies in different sectors.
Considering also the relevance of cultural factors in crisis communication as
previously defended in chapter 2, the research on social media communication
and culture would be able of study the influence of “global” (global + local)
differences in the online sphere and in a controlled environment. Are the culRisky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
86
tural barriers still valid in the social media sphere or has globalization homogenized digital relationships and needs to a pattern that strengthens basic
core values of human beings? Unlike many could think, social media culture is
affected by the same dilemmas as “real life” interaction and socialization patterns.
Focusing on the case studied, the analysis of motivation to protest within the
different stakeholder’s groups could clarify through what factors is social media engagement during crisis linked to? Is it social or cultural values? Brand
knowledge? Group pressure? Personal interest? The relevance of the issue discussed? These answers would, for sure, support the practice in a general perspective and bring the responses needed to affirm the reason why this case
received strengthened negative public perception.
At last but not least, another relevant field of study is the issue’s remaining in
the collective memory. How long does it take for a certain issue to decrease
its relevance in collective memory? Is there any change from the initial public
perception towards a crisis situation after certain post-crisis time? Is there any
difference between past findings and the social media age (for example, does
social media influence collective memory?)? All these answers would both
complement the case and the overall crisis management field, assisting postcrisis strategies in many different marketing and PR sectors.
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
87
CHAPTER 6
APPENDIX
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
88
Appendixes
Appendix1
Institutional posts on social media platforms announcing the new collection on
April 14th and 15th (Facebook and Twitter)
1- Showcase/Pelemania After the success of yesterday’s Scarpin, we decided to
show that rabbit fur could also be part of casual looks. What do you think of
this boot? Daily glamour!
Tagline: I saw it, I loved it and I shared it. At Arezzo’s web site there is much
more!
2- Oscar Freire Flagstore/Pelemania Ankle boot with details in sheep fur is the
boot that you needed this winter
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
89
3- Oscar Freire Flagstore/Pelemania we are revealing or Pelemania collection at
this moment here, at Oscar Freire. Come check out the runaway show and the
winter collection :)
4- Check out our Facebook photos from the launching event of the Pelemania collection that occurred yesterday at the Oscar Freire flagstore
5- For all thermometers (? Meaning not clear) and looks: check out our fur selection from Arezzo. Photos and prices here:
6- Check out our Facebook photos from the launching event of the Pelemania collection that occurred yesterday at Oscar the Freire flagstore
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
90
Facebook album with pictures from Pelemania official launching event
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
91
Appendix2
Protest against Arezzo’s collection (Pelemania) on Twitter (15th to 18th April)
1- Arezzo, do you know how foxes are killed to rip off the fur without any damage? It is tacky to wear fur!
2- Use the designer’s skin...then I’ll buy the product! Boycott Arezzo #fashionthatkills
3- That is absurd! There are so many campaigns against animal slaughter and
Arezzo appears with this attitude?! You lost my respect
4- We eat meat due to the nutritional value, needs. Now, wearing fur for luxury
and fashion...that is too much, Arezzo
5- When the campaign and/or products harm or injure customer, there is no digital marketing that could fix it. #Arezzo
6- I am really upset with Arezzo’s issue... You went down in my preferences!
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
92
7- I won’t buy anything else at Arezzo; at least until they stop slaughtering small
foxes and rabbits. And I buy there a lot!
8- Protests on social media remove Arezzo’s fur collection
“I’ve seen Arezzo’s collection, and I had stomach pain. The accessories look like my
rabbit, that is horrible...it is disgusting”
“Arezzo could donate the profit to animal support associations and never try to do it
again...obviously...”
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
93
“Fur is used by beautiful animals and disgusting people, did you get it Arezzo_!”
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94
“I just don’t get why people would want to look like a blanket with these clothes”
“We need to agree that Arezzo 2011 winter collection is amazing! Love it! ;s haha”
Visual changes of the brand logo
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
95
Appendix3
The first composition protesting against Arezzo (April 14th)
“New collection Pelemania Arezzo
They forgot to show you the other side of the collection
Boycott this trend
Animal fur is not fashion (? cool)”
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
96
Appendix4
Comments on Arezzo’s official Facebook profile (Arezzo Brasil)
1- You got what you deserve Arezzo Brasil
Tagline: Arezzo causes polemic and withdraws pieces from shops
2- Lamentable Arezzo’s Brasil attitude. Now they only need to withdraw the
pieces. What will you do with them? I wanna know!
Tagline: Arezzo withdraws animal fur pieces after polemic
3- It is sad that a brand like Arezzo Brasil could have an attitude like this. Now
they only need to withdraw the pieces. What will you do with them? We wanna
know!
Tagline: Arezzo withdraws animal fur pieces after polemic
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
97
Appendix5
Content analysis of blog and web site news
CONTENT ANALYSIS – MEDIA COVERING ABOUT PELEMANIA COLLECTION
FORM CODING
Group
Encoder
Folha de São Paulo
IG
Veja
Exame
O Globo
Arca Brasil
Abpabahia
Marie Claire
Vogue
Criativa
UOL
G1
Blogs (NGOs and Fashion)
Ecoblogs
Consciência
Modaspot
Chocom
enta
MSN
Other blogs
Pepsiclub
Jovempan
MTV Brazil
O Globo
Web sites (news, NGOs
and Fashion)
1.
Presence of illustrations / explanations
No
Yes
2.
Graphics
Draws
Life & Style
Culture
Box
Info
graphics
Gender (select the predominant one)
News
3.
Photo
Note
Reporter
Section
Other
Fashion
Money/economy
Environment
Business
Vitrine
TEXT ANALISYS
4.
Message tone
Positive
5.
Negative
Type of message published
Fur-wear is
against the
environment
6.
Neutral
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is against
local culture (social
practices)
Fur-wear is acceptable when the
origin of the fur is
legalized
The impact of the campaign
on the company’s economic
balance
Fur-wear is not fashion (tacky)
Motivation of the protest
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
98
Fur-wear is against the environment
7.
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Main expressions related to the issue
Tacky, animal murder, protesters
PHOTO ANALYSIS
8.
Photo tone
Positive
9.
Negative
Neutral
Visual elements justifying the tone
Swearing/ slang
words
Brand accessories
Brand logo
Blood
Others
Visual signs indicating “doubt” about the
company’s attitude
by launching the
collection
Dead/suffering animals
10. Type of message published
Fur-wear is against the
environment
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is acceptable when
the origin of the fur is legalized
Fur-wear is against local
culture (social practices)
The impact of the
campaign on the
company’s economic balance
N/A
11. Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Other or N/A
12. Others
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
99
CONTENT ANALYSIS – MEDIA COVERING ABOUT PELEMANIA COLLECTION
FORM CODING
Group
Encoder
Folha de São Paulo
IG
Veja
Exame
O Globo
Arca Brasil
Abpabahia
Marie Claire
Vogue
Criativa
UOL
G1
Blogs (NGOs and Fashion)
Ecoblogs
Consciência
Modaspot
Chocom
enta
MSN
Other blogs
Pepsiclub
Jovempan
MTV Brazil
O Globo
Web sites (news, NGOs
and Fashion)
1.
Presence of illustrations / explanations
No
Yes
2.
Photo
Graphics
Draws
Life & Style
Culture
Box
Info
graphics
Gender (select the predominant one)
News
3.
Acho
Tendência
Note
Reporter
Section
Fashion
Money/economy
Environment
Business
Other
TEXT ANALISYS
4.
Message tone
Positive
5.
Negative
Type of message published
Fur-wear is
against the
environment
6.
Neutral
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is against
local culture (social
practices)
Fur-wear is acceptable when the
origin of the fur is
legalized
The impact of the campaign
on the company’s economic
balance
Fur-wear is not fashion (tacky)
Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
100
7.
Main expressions related to the issue
Against personal beliefs, disappointment
PHOTO ANALYSIS
8.
Photo tone
Positive
9.
Negative
Neutral
Visual elements justifying the tone
Brand accessories
Brand logo
Blood
Dead/suffering animals
Swearing/ slang
words
Others
10. Type of message published
Fur-wear is against the
environment
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is acceptable when
the origin of the fur is legalized
Fur-wear is against local
culture (social practices)
The impact of the
campaign on the
company’s economic balance
N/A
11. Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Other or N/A
12. Others
The images shown are neutral when comparing to the text content. Some products from the brand’s catalogue are shown without any visual interference from other elements.
There is a link that should open a new tab to the entire “Pelemania” catalogue, however the address is not available anymore.
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
101
CONTENT ANALYSIS – MEDIA COVERING ABOUT PELEMANIA COLLECTION
FORM CODING
Group
Encoder
Folha de São Paulo
IG
Veja
Exame
O Globo
Arca Brasil
Abpabahia
Marie Claire
Vogue
Criativa
UOL
G1
Blogs (NGOs and Fashion)
Ecoblogs
Consciência
Modaspot
Chocom
enta
MSN
Other blogs
Pepsiclub
Jovempan
MTV Brazil
O Globo
Web sites (news, NGOs
and Fashion)
1.
Presence of illustrations / explanations
No
Yes
2.
Graphics
Draws
Life & Style
Culture
Box
Info
graphics
Gender (select the predominant one)
News
3.
Photo
Note
Reporter
Section
Other
Fashion
Money/economy
Environment
Business
Polemic
TEXT ANALISYS
4.
Message tone
Positive
5.
Negative
Type of message published
Fur-wear is against
the environment
6.
Neutral
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is against
local culture (social
practices)
Fur-wear is acceptable when the
origin of the fur is
legalized
The impact of the campaign
on the company’s economic
balance
Fur-wear is not fashion (tacky)
Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
102
7.
Main expressions related to the issue
Polemic, manifestation, protests, exotic fur
PHOTO ANALYSIS
8.
Photo tone
Positive
9.
Negative
Neutral
Visual elements justifying the tone
Brand accessories
Brand logo
Blood
Dead/suffering animals
Swearing/ slang
words
Others
10. Type of message published
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is acceptable when
the origin of the fur is legalized
Fur-wear is against local
culture (social practices)
The impact of the
campaign on the
company’s economic balance
N/A
11. Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Other or N/A
12. Others
The image shown is neutral when comparing to the text content. Some products (one bag) from the brand’s catalogue are shown without any visual
interference from other elements.
Message: the protests have begun online and the company is not blamed since it would have all documents needed to use this type of material
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
103
CONTENT ANALYSIS – MEDIA COVERING ABOUT PELEMANIA COLLECTION
FORM CODING
Group
Encoder
Folha de São Paulo
IG
Veja
Exame
O Globo
Arca Brasil
Abpabahia
Marie Claire
Vogue
Criativa
UOL
G1
Blogs (NGOs and Fashion)
Ecoblogs
Consciência
Modaspot
Chocom
enta
MSN
Other blogs
Pepsiclub
Jovempan
MTV Brazil
O Globo
Web sites (news, NGOs
and Fashion)
1.
Presence of illustrations / explanations
No
Yes
2.
Graphics
Draws
Life & Style
Culture
Box
Info
graphics
Gender (select the predominant one)
News
3.
Photo
Note
Reporter
Section
Other
Fashion
Money/economy
Environment
Business
TEXT ANALISYS
4.
Message tone
Positive
5.
Negative
Type of message published
Fur-wear is
against the
environment
6.
Neutral
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is against
local culture (social
practices)
Fur-wear is acceptable when the
origin of the fur is
legalized
The impact of the campaign
on the company’s economic
balance
Fur-wear is not fashion (tacky)
Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
104
7.
Main expressions related to the issue
Polemic, mistreatment of animals
PHOTO ANALYSIS
8.
Photo tone
Positive
9.
Negative
Neutral
Visual elements justifying the tone
Brand accessories
Brand logo
Blood
Dead/suffering animals
Swearing/ slang
words
Others
10. Type of message published
Fur-wear is against the
environment
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is acceptable when
the origin of the fur is legalized
Fur-wear is against local
culture (social practices)
The impact of the
campaign on the
company’s economic balance
N/A
11. Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Other or N/A
12. Others
The image shown is neutral when comparing to the text content. Some products from the brand’s catalogue are shown without any visual interference from other elements.
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
105
CONTENT ANALYSIS – MEDIA COVERING ABOUT PELEMANIA COLLECTION
FORM CODING
Group
Encoder
Folha de São Paulo
IG
Veja
Exame
O Globo
Arca Brasil
Abpabahia
Marie Claire
Vogue
Criativa
UOL
G1
Blogs (NGOs and Fashion)
Ecoblogs
Consciência
Modaspot
Chocom
enta
MSN
Other blogs
Pepsiclub
Jovempan
MTV Brazil
O Globo
Web sites (news, NGOs
and Fashion)
1.
Presence of illustrations / explanations
No
Yes
2.
Graphics
Draws
Life & Style
Culture
Box
Info
graphics
Gender (select the predominant one)
News
3.
Photo
Note
Reporter
Section
Fashion
Money/economy
Environment
Business
Other
TEXT ANALISYS
4.
Message tone
Positive
5.
Negative
Type of message published
Fur-wear is against
the environment
6.
Neutral
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is against
local culture (social
practices)
Fur-wear is acceptable when the
origin of the fur is
legalized
The impact of the campaign
on the company’s economic
balance
Fur-wear is not fashion (tacky)
Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
106
7.
Main expressions related to the issue
Polemic
PHOTO ANALYSIS
8.
Photo tone
Positive
9.
Negative
Neutral
Visual elements justifying the tone
Brand accessories
Brand logo
Blood
Dead/suffering animals
Swearing/ slang
words
Others
10. Type of message published
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is acceptable when
the origin of the fur is legalized
Fur-wear is against local
culture (social practices)
The impact of the
campaign on the
company’s economic balance
N/A
11. Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Other or N/A
12. Others
There are two images: one shows products of Pelemania Collection and another, by a visual intersection with products of the collection, shows dead
animals, blood and also changes in the brand’s official logo
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
107
CONTENT ANALYSIS – MEDIA COVERING ABOUT PELEMANIA COLLECTION
FORM CODING
Group
Encoder
Folha de São Paulo
IG
Veja
Exame
O Globo
Arca Brasil
Abpabahia
Marie Claire
Vogue
Criativa
UOL
G1
Blogs (NGOs and Fashion)
Ecoblogs
Consciência
Modaspot
Chocom
enta
MSN
Other blogs
Pepsiclub
Jovempan
MTV Brazil
O Globo
Web sites (news, NGOs
and Fashion)
1.
Presence of illustrations / explanations
No
Yes
2.
Graphics
Draws
Life & Style
Culture
Box
Info
graphics
Gender (select the predominant one)
News
3.
Photo
Note
Reporter
Section
Other
Fashion
Money/economy
Environment
Business
Image
TEXT ANALISYS
4.
Message tone
Positive
5.
Negative
Type of message published
Fur-wear is
against the
environment
6.
Neutral
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is against
local culture (social
practices)
Fur-wear is acceptable when the
origin of the fur is
legalized
The impact of the campaign
on the company’s economic
balance
Fur-wear is not fashion (tacky)
Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
108
7.
Main expressions related to the issue
Polemic, fierce criticism, ecologically incorrect
PHOTO ANALYSIS
8.
Photo tone
Positive
9.
Negative
Neutral
Visual elements justifying the tone
Brand accessories
Brand logo
Blood
Dead/suffering animals
Swearing/ slang
words
Others
10. Type of message published
Fur-wear is against the
environment
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is acceptable when
the origin of the fur is legalized
Fur-wear is against local
culture (social practices)
The impact of the
campaign on the
company’s economic balance
N/A
11. Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Other or N/A
12. Others
“Harmless” is another important message published, but always in an ironic way
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
109
CONTENT ANALYSIS – MEDIA COVERING ABOUT PELEMANIA COLLECTION
FORM CODING
Group
Encoder
Folha de São Paulo
IG
Veja
Exame
O Globo
Arca Brasil
Abpabahia
Marie Claire
Vogue
Criativa
UOL
G1
Blogs (NGOs and Fashion)
Ecoblogs
Consciência
Modaspot
Chocomen
ta
Other blogs
Pepsiclub
Jovempan
MTV Brazil
O Globo
Web sites (news, NGOs
and Fashion)
1.
Presence of illustrations / explanations
No
Yes
2.
Photo
Graphics
Draws
Life & Style
Culture
Box
Info
graphics
Gender (select the predominant one)
News
3.
MSN
Note
Reporter
Section
Other
Fashion
Money/economy
Environment
Business
TEXT ANALISYS
4.
Message tone
Positive
5.
Negative
Type of message published
Fur-wear is against
the environment
6.
Neutral
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is against
local culture (social
practices)
Fur-wear is acceptable when the
origin of the fur is
legalized
The impact of the campaign
on the company’s economic
balance
Fur-wear is not fashion (tacky)
Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
110
7.
Main expressions related to the issue
Polemic, trend, online protests
PHOTO ANALYSIS
8.
Photo tone
Positive
9.
Negative
Neutral
Visual elements justifying the tone
Brand accessories
Brand logo
Blood
Dead/suffering animals
Swearing/ slang
words
Others
10. Type of message published
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is acceptable when
the origin of the fur is legalized
Fur-wear is against local
culture (social practices)
The impact of the
campaign on the
company’s economic balance
N/A
11. Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Other or N/A
12. Others
The report induced the perception that the CEO of the brand is a “coward” since his public denial to debate the issue instead of only withdrawing all
products from the shops.
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
111
CONTENT ANALYSIS – MEDIA COVERING ABOUT PELEMANIA COLLECTION
FORM CODING
Group
Encoder
Folha de São Paulo
IG
Veja
Exame
O Globo
Arca Brasil
Abpabahia
Marie Claire
Vogue
Criativa
UOL
G1
Blogs (NGOs and Fashion)
Ecoblogs
Consciência
Modaspot
Chocom
enta
MSN
Other blogs
Pepsiclub
Jovempan
MTV Brazil
O Globo
Web sites (news, NGOs
and Fashion)
1.
Presence of illustrations / explanations
No
Yes
2.
Graphics
Draws
Life & Style
Culture
Box
Info
graphics
Gender (select the predominant one)
News
3.
Photo
Note
Reporter
Section
Other
Fashion
Money/economy
Environment
Business
Law
TEXT ANALISYS
4.
Message tone
Positive
5.
Negative
Type of message published
Fur-wear is
against the
environment
6.
Neutral
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is against
local culture (social
practices)
Fur-wear is acceptable when the
origin of the fur is
legalized
The impact of the campaign
on the company’s economic
balance
Fur-wear is not fashion (tacky)
Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
112
7.
Main expressions related to the issue
Critics, criticizing, boycott, outraged
PHOTO ANALYSIS
8.
Photo tone
Positive
9.
Negative
Neutral
Visual elements justifying the tone
Brand accessories
Brand logo
Blood
Dead/suffering animals
Swearing/ slang
words
Others
10. Type of message published
Fur-wear is against the
environment
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is acceptable when
the origin of the fur is legalized
Fur-wear is against local
culture (social practices)
The impact of the
campaign on the
company’s economic balance
N/A
11. Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Other or N/A
12. Others
This article tends to put in check the veracity of the explanations given by the company due to lack of response by the organization when sought by
the reporting team.
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
113
CONTENT ANALYSIS – MEDIA COVERING ABOUT PELEMANIA COLLECTION
FORM CODING
Group
Encoder
Folha de São Paulo
IG
Veja
Exame
O Globo
Arca Brasil
Abpabahia
Marie Claire
Vogue
Criativa
UOL
G1
Blogs (NGOs and Fashion)
Ecoblogs
Consciência
Modaspot
Chocom
enta
MSN
Other blogs
Pepsiclub
Jovempan
MTV Brazil
O Globo
Web sites (news, NGOs
and Fashion)
1.
Presence of illustrations / explanations
No
Yes
2.
Graphics
Draws
Life & Style
Culture
Box
Info
graphics
Gender (select the predominant one)
News
3.
Photo
Note
Reporter
Section
Other
Fashion
Money/economy
Environment
Business
N/A
TEXT ANALISYS
4.
Message tone
Positive
5.
Negative
Type of message published
Fur-wear is
against the
environment
6.
Neutral
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is against
local culture (social
practices)
Fur-wear is acceptable when the
origin of the fur is
legalized
The impact of the campaign
on the company’s economic
balance
Fur-wear is not fashion (tacky)
Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
N/A
114
7.
Main expressions related to the issue
Protests, against
PHOTO ANALYSIS
8.
Photo tone
Positive
9.
Negative
Neutral
Visual elements justifying the tone
Brand accessories
Brand logo
Blood
Dead/suffering animals
Swearing/ slang
words
Others
10. Type of message published
Fur-wear is against the
environment
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is acceptable when
the origin of the fur is legalized
Fur-wear is against local
culture (social practices)
The impact of the
campaign on the
company’s economic balance
N/A
11. Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Other or N/A
12. Others
There are two images: one shows products of Pelemania Collection and another, by a visual intersection with products of the collection, shows
dead animals, blood and also changes in the brand’s official logo
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
115
CONTENT ANALYSIS – MEDIA COVERING ABOUT PELEMANIA COLLECTION
FORM CODING
Group
Encoder
Folha de São Paulo
IG
Veja
Exame
O Globo
Arca Brasil
Abpabahia
Marie Claire
Vogue
Criativa
UOL
G1
Blogs (NGOs and Fashion)
Ecoblogs
Consciência
Modaspot
Chocom
enta
MSN
Other blogs
Pepsiclub
Jovempan
MTV Brazil
O Globo
Web sites (news, NGOs
and Fashion)
1.
Presence of illustrations / explanations
No
Yes
2.
Graphics
Draws
Life & Style
Culture
Box
Info
graphics
Gender (select the predominant one)
News
3.
Photo
Note
Reporter
Section
Other
Fashion
Money/economy
Environment
Business
TEXT ANALISYS
4.
Message tone
Positive
5.
Negative
Type of message published
Fur-wear is
against the
environment
6.
Neutral
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is against
local culture (social
practices)
Fur-wear is acceptable when the
origin of the fur is
legalized
The impact of the campaign
on the company’s economic
balance
Fur-wear is not fashion (tacky)
Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
116
7.
Main expressions related to the issue
Fashion trend, fashion, negative buzz, nattily, regulation, certification, fulfilling all legal formalities, nobly, cheap controversies
PHOTO ANALYSIS
8.
Photo tone
Positive
9.
Negative
Neutral
Visual elements justifying the tone
Brand accessories
Brand logo
Blood
Dead/suffering animals
Swearing/ slang
words
Others
10. Type of message published
Fur-wear is against the
environment
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is acceptable when
the origin of the fur is legalized
Fur-wear is against local
culture (social practices)
The impact of the
campaign on the
company’s economic balance
N/A
11. Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Other or N/A
12. Others
Message2: Fur wear is fashion
Some of the interviewed sources are linked straight to sustainable fashion (as a fashion consultant) and defended the brand, trying to diminish the
scope of the protests. An institutional source was also interviewed (the campaign art’s director) and logically defended the company.
Arezzo usually invests considerable amounts of money in publicity at Vogue magazine.
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
117
CONTENT ANALYSIS – MEDIA COVERING ABOUT PELEMANIA COLLECTION
FORM CODING
Group
Encoder
Folha de São Paulo
IG
Veja
Exame
O Globo
Arca Brasil
Abpabahia
Marie Claire
Vogue
Criativa
UOL
G1
Blogs (NGOs and Fashion)
Ecoblogs
Consciência
Modaspot
Chocom
enta
MSN
Other blogs
Pepsiclub
Jovempan
MTV Brazil
O Globo
Web sites (news, NGOs
and Fashion)
1.
Presence of illustrations / explanations
No
Yes
2.
Graphics
Draws
Life & Style
Culture
Box
Info
graphics
Gender (select the predominant one)
News
3.
Photo
Note
Reporter
Section
Other
Fashion
Money/economy
Environment
Business
TEXT ANALISYS
4.
Message tone
Positive
5.
Negative
Type of message published
Fur-wear is
against the
environment
6.
Neutral
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is against
local culture (social
practices)
Fur-wear is acceptable when the
origin of the fur is
legalized
The impact of the campaign
on the company’s economic
balance
Fur-wear is not fashion (tacky)
Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
118
7.
Main expressions related to the issue
Polemic, cruelty, sacrifice, repudiate, fiery comments
PHOTO ANALYSIS
8.
Photo tone
Positive
9.
Negative
Neutral
Visual elements justifying the tone
Brand accessories
Brand logo
Blood
Dead/suffering animals
Swearing/ slang
words
Others
10. Type of message published
Fur-wear is against the
environment
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is acceptable when
the origin of the fur is legalized
Fur-wear is against local
culture (social practices)
The impact of the
campaign on the
company’s economic balance
N/A
11. Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Other or N/A
12. Others
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
119
CONTENT ANALYSIS – MEDIA COVERING ABOUT PELEMANIA COLLECTION
FORM CODING
Group
Encoder
Folha de São Paulo
IG
Veja
Exame
O Globo
Arca Brasil
Abpabahia
Marie Claire
Vogue
Criativa
UOL
G1
Blogs (NGOs and Fashion)
Ecoblogs
Consciência
Modaspot
Chocom
enta
MSN
Other blogs
Pepsiclub
Jovempan
MTV Brazil
O Globo
Web sites (news, NGOs
and Fashion)
1.
Presence of illustrations / explanations
No
Yes
2.
Graphics
Draws
Life & Style
Culture
Box
Info
graphics
Gender (select the predominant one)
News
3.
Photo
Note
Reporter
Section
Other
Fashion
Money/economy
Environment
Business
TEXT ANALISYS
4.
Message tone
Positive
5.
Negative
Type of message published
Fur-wear is
against the
environment
6.
Neutral
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is against
local culture (social
practices)
Fur-wear is acceptable when the
origin of the fur is
legalized
The impact of the campaign
on the company’s economic
balance
Fur-wear is not fashion (tacky)
Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
120
7.
Main expressions related to the issue
Polemic, protests, boycott, fury, outraged, repudiation
PHOTO ANALYSIS
8.
Photo tone
Positive
9.
Negative
Neutral
Visual elements justifying the tone
Brand accessories
Brand logo
Blood
Dead/suffering animals
Swearing/ slang
words
Others
10. Type of message published
Fur-wear is against the
environment
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is acceptable when
the origin of the fur is legalized
Fur-wear is against local
culture (social practices)
The impact of the
campaign on the
company’s economic balance
N/A
11. Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Other or N/A
12. Others
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
121
CONTENT ANALYSIS – MEDIA COVERING ABOUT PELEMANIA COLLECTION
FORM CODING
Group
Encoder
Folha de São Paulo
IG
Veja
Exame
O Globo
Arca Brasil
Abpabahia
Marie Claire
Vogue
Criativa
UOL
G1
Blogs (NGOs and Fashion)
Ecoblogs
Consciência
Modaspot
Chocom
enta
MSN
Other blogs
Pepsiclub
Jovempan
MTV Brazil
O Globo
Web sites (news, NGOs
and Fashion)
1.
Presence of illustrations / explanations
No
Yes
2.
Photo
Graphics
Draws
Life & Style
Culture
Box
Info
graphics
Gender (select the predominant one)
News
3.
Moda on
Note
Reporter
Section
Other
Fashion
Money/economy
Environment
Business
TEXT ANALISYS
4.
Message tone
Positive
5.
Negative
Type of message published
Fur-wear is
against the
environment
6.
Neutral
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is against
local culture (social
practices)
Fur-wear is acceptable when the
origin of the fur is
legalized
The impact of the campaign
on the company’s economic
balance
Fur-wear is not fashion (tacky)
Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
122
7.
Main expressions related to the issue
Polemic, outraged, unnecessary cruelty
PHOTO ANALYSIS
8.
Photo tone
Positive
9.
Negative
Neutral
Visual elements justifying the tone
Brand accessories
Brand logo
Blood
Dead/suffering animals
Swearing/ slang
words
Others
10. Type of message published
Fur-wear is against the
environment
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is acceptable when
the origin of the fur is legalized
Fur-wear is against local
culture (social practices)
The impact of the
campaign on the
company’s economic balance
N/A
11. Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Other or N/A
12. Others
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
123
CONTENT ANALYSIS – MEDIA COVERING ABOUT PELEMANIA COLLECTION
FORM CODING
Group
Encoder
Folha de São Paulo
IG
Veja
Exame
O Globo
Arca Brasil
Abpabahia
Marie Claire
Vogue
Criativa
UOL
G1
Blogs (NGOs and Fashion)
Ecoblogs
Consciência
Modaspot
Chocom
enta
MSN
Other blogs
Pepsiclub
Jovempan
MTV Brazil
O Globo
Web sites (news, NGOs
and Fashion)
1.
Presence of illustrations / explanations
No
Yes
2.
Graphics
Draws
Life & Style
Culture
Box
Info
graphics
Gender (select the predominant one)
News
3.
Photo
Note
Reporter
Section
Other
Fashion
Money/economy
Environment
Business
TEXT ANALISYS
4.
Message tone
Positive
5.
Negative
Type of message published
Fur-wear is
against the
environment
6.
Neutral
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is against
local culture (social
practices)
Fur-wear is acceptable when the
origin of the fur is
legalized
The impact of the campaign
on the company’s economic
balance
Fur-wear is not fashion (tacky)
Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
124
7.
Main expressions related to the issue
Common sense, critical, against, offensive, the end of the animal fur industry
PHOTO ANALYSIS
8.
Photo tone
Positive
9.
Negative
Neutral
Visual elements justifying the tone
Swearing/ slang
words
Brand accessories
Brand logo
Blood
Dead/suffering animals
Others
Animals used to
make the collection
(fox)
10. Type of message published
Fur-wear is against the
environment
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is acceptable when
the origin of the fur is legalized
Fur-wear is against local
culture (social practices)
The impact of the
campaign on the
company’s economic balance
N/A
11. Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Other or N/A
12. Others
The photo used shows wild animals within their natural habitat, contributing to a negative perspective of the company that would slaughter defenseless animals for fashion industry
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
125
CONTENT ANALYSIS – MEDIA COVERING ABOUT PELEMANIA COLLECTION
FORM CODING
Group
Encoder
Folha de São Paulo
IG
Veja
Exame
O Globo
Arca Brasil
Abpabahia
Marie Claire
Vogue
Criativa
UOL
G1
Blogs (NGOs and Fashion)
Ecoblogs
Consciência
Modaspot
Chocom
enta
MSN
Other blogs
Pepsiclub
Jovempan
MTV Brazil
O Globo
Web sites (news, NGOs
and Fashion)
1.
Presence of illustrations / explanations
No
Yes
2.
Graphics
Draws
Life & Style
Culture
Box
Info
graphics
Gender (select the predominant one)
News
3.
Photo
Note
Reporter
Section
Other
Fashion
Money/economy
Environment
Business
N/A
TEXT ANALISYS
4.
Message tone
Positive
5.
Negative
Type of message published
Fur-wear is
against the
environment
6.
Neutral
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is against
local culture (social
practices)
Fur-wear is acceptable when the
origin of the fur is
legalized
The impact of the campaign
on the company’s economic
balance
Fur-wear is not fashion (tacky)
Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
126
7.
Main expressions related to the issue
Polemic, animal rights, environmental consciousness, complicated situation, glamour, luxury, aggressive, disrespectful, sacrifice
PHOTO ANALYSIS
8.
Photo tone
Positive
9.
Negative
Neutral
Visual elements justifying the tone
Brand accessories
Brand logo
Blood
Dead/suffering animals
Swearing/ slang
words
Others
10. Type of message published
Fur-wear is against the
environment
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is acceptable when
the origin of the fur is legalized
Fur-wear is against local
culture (social practices)
The impact of the
campaign on the
company’s economic balance
N/A
11. Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Other or N/A
12. Others
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
127
CONTENT ANALYSIS – MEDIA COVERING ABOUT PELEMANIA COLLECTION
FORM CODING
Group
Encoder
Web sites (news, NGOs
and Fashion)
Folha de São Paulo
IG
Veja
Exame
O Globo
Arca Brasil
Abpabahia
Marie Claire
Vogue
Criativa
UOL
G1
Consciência
Modaspot
Chocom
enta
MSN
Jovempan
MTV Brazil
O Globo
Blogs (NGOs and Fashion)
Ecoblogs
Other blogs
Pepsiclub
1.
Garotas de
propaganda
Presence of illustrations / explanations
No
Yes
2.
Graphics
Draws
Life & Style
Culture
Box
Info
graphics
Gender (select the predominant one)
News
3.
Photo
Note
Reporter
Section
Other
Fashion
Money/economy
Environment
Business
N/A
TEXT ANALISYS
4.
Message tone
Positive
5.
Negative
Type of message published
Fur-wear is
against the
environment
6.
Neutral
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is against
local culture (social
practices)
Fur-wear is acceptable when the
origin of the fur is
legalized
The impact of the campaign
on the company’s economic
balance
Fur-wear is not fashion (tacky)
Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
128
7.
Main expressions related to the issue
Stupid, consumers outraged, defenseless animals, conscienceless, boycott
PHOTO ANALYSIS
8.
Photo tone
Positive
9.
Negative
Neutral
Visual elements justifying the tone
Brand accessories
Brand logo
Blood
Dead/suffering animals
Swearing/ slang
words
Others
10. Type of message published
Fur-wear is against the
environment
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is acceptable when
the origin of the fur is legalized
Fur-wear is against local
culture (social practices)
The impact of the
campaign on the
company’s economic balance
N/A
11. Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Other or N/A
12. Others
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
129
CONTENT ANALYSIS – MEDIA COVERING ABOUT PELEMANIA COLLECTION
FORM CODING
Group
Encoder
Folha de São Paulo
IG
Veja
Exame
O Globo
Arca Brasil
Abpabahia
Marie Claire
Vogue
Criativa
UOL
G1
Blogs (NGOs and Fashion)
Ecoblogs
Consciência
Modaspot
Chocom
enta
MSN
Other blogs
Pepsiclub
Jovempan
MTV Brazil
O Globo
Web sites (news, NGOs
and Fashion)
1.
Presence of illustrations / explanations
No
Yes
2.
Graphics
Draws
Life & Style
Culture
Box
Info
graphics
Gender (select the predominant one)
News
3.
Photo
Note
Reporter
Section
Other
Fashion
Money/economy
Environment
Business
N/A
TEXT ANALISYS
4.
Message tone
Positive
5.
Negative
Type of message published
Fur-wear is
against the
environment
6.
Neutral
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is against
local culture (social
practices)
Fur-wear is acceptable when the
origin of the fur is
legalized
The impact of the campaign
on the company’s economic
balance
Fur-wear is not fashion (tacky)
Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
130
7.
Main expressions related to the issue
Polemic, throwback, revolt, indignation
PHOTO ANALYSIS
8.
Photo tone
Positive
9.
Negative
Neutral
Visual elements justifying the tone
Swearing/ slang
words
Brand accessories
Brand logo
Blood
Dead/suffering animals
Others
Draw relating fur
wear to a throwback
in human evolution
10. Type of message published
Fur-wear is against the
environment
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is acceptable when
the origin of the fur is legalized
Fur-wear is against local
culture (social practices)
The impact of the
campaign on the
company’s economic balance
N/A
11. Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Other or N/A
12. Others
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
131
CONTENT ANALYSIS – MEDIA COVERING ABOUT PELEMANIA COLLECTION
FORM CODING
Group
Encoder
Folha de São Paulo
IG
Veja
Exame
O Globo
Arca Brasil
Abpabahia
Marie Claire
Vogue
Criativa
UOL
G1
Blogs (NGOs and Fashion)
Ecoblogs
Consciência
Modaspot
Chocom
enta
MSN
Other blogs
Pepsiclub
Jovempan
MTV Brazil
O Globo
Web sites (news, NGOs
and Fashion)
1.
Presence of illustrations / explanations
No
Yes
2.
Graphics
Draws
Life & Style
Culture
Box
Info
graphics
Gender (select the predominant one)
News
3.
Photo
Note
Reporter
Section
Other
Fashion
Money/economy
Environment
Business
TEXT ANALISYS
4.
Message tone
Positive
5.
Negative
Type of message published
Fur-wear is
against the
environment
6.
Neutral
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is against
local culture (social
practices)
Fur-wear is acceptable when the
origin of the fur is
legalized
The impact of the campaign
on the company’s economic
balance
Fur-wear is not fashion (tacky)
Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
132
7.
Main expressions related to the issue
Protests, against
PHOTO ANALYSIS
8.
Photo tone
Positive
9.
Negative
Neutral
Visual elements justifying the tone
Brand accessories
Brand logo
Blood
Dead/suffering animals
Swearing/ slang
words
Others
Print screen of the
institutional web site
10. Type of message published
Fur-wear is against the
environment
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is acceptable when
the origin of the fur is legalized
Fur-wear is against local
culture (social practices)
The impact of the
campaign on the
company’s economic balance
N/A
11. Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Other or N/A
12. Others
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
133
CONTENT ANALYSIS – MEDIA COVERING ABOUT PELEMANIA COLLECTION
FORM CODING
Group
Encoder
Folha de São Paulo
IG
Veja
Exame
O Globo
Arca Brasil
Abpabahia
Marie Claire
Vogue
Criativa
UOL
G1
Blogs (NGOs and Fashion)
Ecoblogs
Consciência
Modaspot
Chocom
enta
MSN
Other blogs
Pepsiclub
Jovempan
MTV Brazil
O Globo
Web sites (news, NGOs
and Fashion)
1.
Presence of illustrations / explanations
No
Yes
2.
Graphics
Draws
Life & Style
Culture
Box
Info
graphics
Gender (select the predominant one)
News
3.
Photo
Note
Reporter
Section
Other
Fashion
Money/economy
Environment
Business
Memo
TEXT ANALISYS
4.
Message tone
Positive
5.
Negative
Type of message published
Fur-wear is
against the
environment
6.
Neutral
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is against
local culture (social
practices)
Fur-wear is acceptable when the
origin of the fur is
legalized
The impact of the campaign
on the company’s economic
balance
Fur-wear is not fashion (tacky)
Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
134
7.
Main expressions related to the issue
Protests, polemic, critics, boycott, negative buzz
PHOTO ANALYSIS
8.
Photo tone
Positive
9.
Negative
Neutral
Visual elements justifying the tone
Brand accessories
Brand logo
Blood
Dead/suffering animals
Swearing/ slang
words
Others
10. Type of message published
Fur-wear is against the
environment
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is acceptable when
the origin of the fur is legalized
Fur-wear is against local
culture (social practices)
The impact of the
campaign on the
company’s economic balance
N/A
11. Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Other or N/A
12. Others
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
135
CONTENT ANALYSIS – MEDIA COVERING ABOUT PELEMANIA COLLECTION
FORM CODING
Group
Encoder
Folha de São Paulo
IG
Veja
Exame
O Globo
Arca Brasil
Abpabahia
Marie Claire
Vogue
Criativa
UOL
G1
Blogs (NGOs and Fashion)
Ecoblogs
Consciência
Modaspot
Chocom
enta
MSN
Other blogs
Pepsiclub
Jovempan
MTV Brazil
O Globo
Web sites (news, NGOs
and Fashion)
1.
Presence of illustrations / explanations
No
Yes
2.
Graphics
Draws
Life & Style
Culture
Box
Info
graphics
Gender (select the predominant one)
News
3.
Photo
Note
Reporter
Section
Other
Fashion
Money/economy
Environment
Business
TEXT ANALISYS
4.
Message tone
Positive
5.
Negative
Type of message published
Fur-wear is
against the
environment
6.
Neutral
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is against
local culture (social
practices)
Fur-wear is acceptable when the
origin of the fur is
legalized
The impact of the campaign
on the company’s economic
balance
Fur-wear is not fashion (tacky)
Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
136
7.
Main expressions related to the issue
Socio-environmental responsibility, environmental protection, conscious, inappropriate, inconceivable, not calmed, satisfied consumers
PHOTO ANALYSIS
8.
Photo tone
Positive
9.
Negative
Neutral
Visual elements justifying the tone
Brand accessories
Brand logo
Blood
Dead/suffering animals
Swearing/ slang
words
Others
10. Type of message published
Fur-wear is against the
environment
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is acceptable when
the origin of the fur is legalized
Fur-wear is against local
culture (social practices)
The impact of the
campaign on the
company’s economic balance
N/A
11. Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Other or N/A
12. Others
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
137
CONTENT ANALYSIS – MEDIA COVERING ABOUT PELEMANIA COLLECTION
FORM CODING
Group
Encoder
Folha de São Paulo
IG
Veja
Exame
O Globo
Arca Brasil
Abpabahia
Marie Claire
Vogue
Criativa
UOL
G1
Blogs (NGOs and Fashion)
Ecoblogs
Consciência
Modaspot
Chocom
enta
MSN
Other blogs
Pepsiclub
Jovempan
MTV Brazil
O Globo
Web sites (news, NGOs
and Fashion)
1.
Presence of illustrations / explanations
No
Yes
2.
Graphics
Draws
Life & Style
Culture
Box
Info
graphics
Gender (select the predominant one)
News
3.
Photo
Note
Reporter
Section
Other
Fashion
Money/economy
Environment
Business
Updates
TEXT ANALISYS
4.
Message tone
Positive
5.
Negative
Type of message published
Fur-wear is
against the
environment
6.
Neutral
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is against
local culture (social
practices)
Fur-wear is acceptable when the
origin of the fur is
legalized
The impact of the campaign
on the company’s economic
balance
Fur-wear is not fashion (tacky)
Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
138
7.
Main expressions related to the issue
Protest, negative messages, ecologically incorrect attitude, blameless, worried, animals and environment protection
PHOTO ANALYSIS
8.
Photo tone
Positive
9.
Negative
Neutral
Visual elements justifying the tone
Brand accessories
Brand logo
Blood
Dead/suffering animals
Swearing/ slang
words
Others
10. Type of message published
Fur-wear is against the
environment
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is acceptable when
the origin of the fur is legalized
Fur-wear is against local
culture (social practices)
The impact of the
campaign on the
company’s economic balance
N/A
11. Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Other or N/A
12. Others
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
139
CONTENT ANALYSIS – MEDIA COVERING ABOUT PELEMANIA COLLECTION
FORM CODING
Group
Encoder
Web sites (news, NGOs
and Fashion)
Blogs (NGOs and Fashion)
Other blogs
1.
Folha de São Paulo
IG
Veja
Exame
O Globo
Arca Brasil
Abpabahia
Marie Claire
Vogue
Criativa
UOL
G1
Ecoblogs
Consciência
Modaspot
Chocom
enta
MSN
MTV Brazil
O Globo
(Blog Verde)
Pepsiclub
Jovempan
Presence of illustrations / explanations
No
Yes
2.
Photo
Graphics
Draws
Life & Style
Culture
Box
Info
graphics
Gender (select the predominant one)
News
3.
O Globo
Note
Reporter
Section
Other
Fashion
Money/economy
Environment
Business
TEXT ANALISYS
4.
Message tone
Positive
5.
Negative
Type of message published
Fur-wear is
against the
environment
6.
Neutral
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is against
local culture (social
practices)
Fur-wear is acceptable when the
origin of the fur is
legalized
The impact of the campaign
on the company’s economic
balance
Fur-wear is not fashion (tacky)
Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
140
practices)
7.
Main expressions related to the issue
PHOTO ANALYSIS
8.
Photo tone
Positive
9.
Negative
Neutral
Visual elements justifying the tone
Brand accessories
Brand logo
Blood
Dead/suffering animals
Swearing/ slang
words
Others
10. Type of message published
Fur-wear is against the
environment
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is acceptable when
the origin of the fur is legalized
Fur-wear is against local
culture (social practices)
The impact of the
campaign on the
company’s economic balance
N/A
11. Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Other or N/A
12. Others
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
141
CONTENT ANALYSIS – MEDIA COVERING ABOUT PELEMANIA COLLECTION
FORM CODING
Group
Encoder
Folha de São Paulo
IG
Veja
Exame
O Globo
Arca Brasil
Abpabahia
Marie Claire
Vogue
Criativa
UOL
G1
Blogs (NGOs and Fashion)
Ecoblogs
Consciência
Modaspot
Chocom
enta
MSN
Other blogs
Pepsiclub
Jovempan
MTV Brazil
O Globo
Web sites (news, NGOs
and Fashion)
1.
Presence of illustrations / explanations
No
Yes
2.
Graphics
Draws
Life & Style
Culture
Box
Info
graphics
Gender (select the predominant one)
News
3.
Photo
Note
Reporter
Section
Other
Fashion
Money/economy
Environment
Business
TEXT ANALISYS
4.
Message tone
Positive
5.
Negative
Type of message published
Fur-wear is
against the
environment
6.
Neutral
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is against
local culture (social
practices)
Fur-wear is acceptable when the
origin of the fur is
legalized
The impact of the campaign
on the company’s economic
balance
Fur-wear is not fashion (tacky)
Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
142
7.
Main expressions related to the issue
Polemic, fury, boycott, indignant
PHOTO ANALYSIS
8.
Photo tone
Positive
9.
Negative
Neutral
Visual elements justifying the tone
Brand accessories
Brand logo
Blood
Dead/suffering animals
Swearing/ slang
words
Others
10. Type of message published
Fur-wear is against the
environment
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is acceptable when
the origin of the fur is legalized
Fur-wear is against local
culture (social practices)
The impact of the
campaign on the
company’s economic balance
N/A
11. Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Other or N/A
12. Others
The photos exposed mix graphic elements (slang words, changes in the brand’s logo) with original images of accessories of Pelemania collection
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
143
CONTENT ANALYSIS – MEDIA COVERING ABOUT PELEMANIA COLLECTION
FORM CODING
Group
Encoder
Folha de São Paulo
IG
Veja
Exame
O Globo
Arca Brasil
Abpabahia
Marie Claire
Vogue
Criativa
UOL
G1
Blogs (NGOs and Fashion)
Ecoblogs
Consciência
Modaspot
Chocom
enta
MSN
Other blogs
Pepsiclub
Jovempan
MTV Brazil
O Globo
Web sites (news, NGOs
and Fashion)
1.
Presence of illustrations / explanations
No
Yes
2.
Graphics
Draws
Life & Style
Culture
Box
Info
graphics
Gender (select the predominant one)
News
3.
Photo
Note
Reporter
Section
Other
Fashion
Money/economy
Environment
Business
N/A
TEXT ANALISYS
4.
Message tone
Positive
5.
Negative
Type of message published
Fur-wear is
against the
environment
6.
Neutral
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is against
local culture (social
practices)
Fur-wear is acceptable when the
origin of the fur is
legalized
The impact of the campaign
on the company’s economic
balance
Fur-wear is not fashion (tacky)
Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
144
7.
Main expressions related to the issue
Critics, protest, cruelty
PHOTO ANALYSIS
8.
Photo tone
Positive
9.
Negative
Neutral
Visual elements justifying the tone
Brand accessories
Brand logo
Blood
Dead/suffering animals
Swearing/ slang
words
Others
10. Type of message published
Fur-wear is against the
environment
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is acceptable when
the origin of the fur is legalized
Fur-wear is against local
culture (social practices)
The impact of the
campaign on the
company’s economic balance
N/A
11. Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Other or N/A
12. Others
Other important messages published are:
-
each person needs to think about animal cruelty before deciding to wear or not to wear animal fur;
all over the world ONGs are pressuring governments and fashion brands to not use animal fur in collections; in general, people are more
conscious about the issue
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
145
CONTENT ANALYSIS – MEDIA COVERING ABOUT PELEMANIA COLLECTION
FORM CODING
Group
Encoder
Folha de São Paulo
IG
Veja
Exame
O Globo
Arca Brasil
Abpabahia
Marie Claire
Vogue
Criativa
UOL
G1
Blogs (NGOs and Fashion)
Ecoblogs
Consciência
Modaspot
Chocom
enta
MSN
Other blogs
Pepsiclub
Jovempan
MTV Brazil
O Globo
Web sites (news, NGOs
and Fashion)
1.
Presence of illustrations / explanations
No
Yes
2.
Graphics
Draws
Life & Style
Culture
Box
Info
graphics
Gender (select the predominant one)
News
3.
Photo
Note
Reporter
Section
Other
Fashion
Money/economy
Environment
Business
TEXT ANALISYS
4.
Message tone
Positive
5.
Negative
Type of message published
Fur-wear is
against the
environment
6.
Neutral
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is against
local culture (social
practices)
Fur-wear is acceptable when the
origin of the fur is
legalized
The impact of the campaign
on the company’s economic
balance
Fur-wear is not fashion (tacky)
Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
146
7.
Main expressions related to the issue
Polemic, angry comments, trend
PHOTO ANALYSIS
8.
Photo tone
Positive
9.
Negative
Neutral
Visual elements justifying the tone
Swearing/ slang
words
Brand accessories
Brand logo
Blood
Dead/suffering animals
Others
Fur accessories by
other (international)
brands
10. Type of message published
Fur-wear is against the
environment
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is acceptable when
the origin of the fur is legalized
Fur-wear is against local
culture (social practices)
The impact of the
campaign on the
company’s economic balance
N/A
11. Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Other or N/A
12. Others
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
147
CONTENT ANALYSIS – MEDIA COVERING ABOUT PELEMANIA COLLECTION
FORM CODING
Group
Encoder
Folha de São Paulo
IG
Veja
Exame
O Globo
Arca Brasil
Abpabahia
Marie Claire
Vogue
Criativa
UOL
G1
Blogs (NGOs and Fashion)
Ecoblogs
Consciência
Modaspot
Chocom
enta
MSN
Other blogs
Pepsiclub
Jovempan
MTV Brazil
O Globo
Web sites (news, NGOs
and Fashion)
1.
Presence of illustrations / explanations
No
Yes
2.
Graphics
Draws
Life & Style
Culture
Box
Info
graphics
Gender (select the predominant one)
News
3.
Photo
Note
Reporter
Section
Other
Fashion
Money/economy
Environment
Business
TEXT ANALISYS
4.
Message tone
Positive
5.
Negative
Type of message published
Fur-wear is
against the
environment
6.
Neutral
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is against
local culture (social
practices)
Fur-wear is acceptable when the
origin of the fur is
legalized
The impact of the campaign
on the company’s economic
balance
Fur-wear is not fashion (tacky)
Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
148
7.
Main expressions related to the issue
Polemic, trust, loss, imbroglio (?)
PHOTO ANALYSIS
8.
Photo tone
Positive
9.
Negative
Neutral
Visual elements justifying the tone
Brand accessories
Brand logo
Blood
Dead/suffering animals
Swearing/ slang
words
Others
CEO’s photo
10. Type of message published
Fur-wear is against the
environment
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is acceptable when
the origin of the fur is legalized
Fur-wear is against local
culture (social practices)
The impact of the
campaign on the
company’s economic balance
N/A
11. Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Other or N/A
12. Others
Arezzo’s CEO is interviewed to show his version of the facts, however, during the report the journalist puts in check the veracity of official information released by the company; questioning, for example, if it is possible to trust in the certification of the fur since it comes from China, if the
brand does not want to be part of the environmental debate and if social media is only positive when people share good comments on it.
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
149
CONTENT ANALYSIS – MEDIA COVERING ABOUT PELEMANIA COLLECTION
FORM CODING
Group
Encoder
Folha de São Paulo
IG
Veja
Exame
O Globo
Arca Brasil
Abpabahia
Marie Claire
Vogue
Criativa
UOL
G1
Blogs (NGOs and Fashion)
Ecoblogs
Consciência
Modaspot
Chocom
enta
MSN
Other blogs
Pepsiclub
Jovempan
MTV Brazil
O Globo
Web sites (news, NGOs
and Fashion)
1.
Presence of illustrations / explanations
No
Yes
2.
Graphics
Draws
Life & Style
Culture
Box
Info
graphics
Gender (select the predominant one)
News
3.
Photo
Note
Reporter
Section
Other
Fashion
Money/economy
Environment
Business
TEXT ANALISYS
4.
Message tone
Positive
5.
Negative
Type of message published
Fur-wear is
against the
environment
6.
Neutral
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is against
local culture (social
practices)
Fur-wear is acceptable when the
origin of the fur is
legalized
The impact of the campaign
on the company’s economic
balance
Fur-wear is not fashion (tacky)
Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
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150
7.
Main expressions related to the issue
Polemic, exotic fur, irrelevant, dubious content
PHOTO ANALYSIS
8.
Photo tone
Positive
9.
Negative
Neutral
Visual elements justifying the tone
Brand accessories
Brand logo
Blood
Dead/suffering animals
Swearing/ slang
words
Others
10. Type of message published
Fur-wear is against the
environment
Fur-wear is against
animal rights
Fur-wear is acceptable when
the origin of the fur is legalized
Fur-wear is against local
culture (social practices)
The impact of the
campaign on the
company’s economic balance
N/A
11. Motivation of the protest
Fur-wear is against the environment
Fur-wear is against animal rights
Fur-wear is against local culture (social
practices)
Other or N/A
12. Others
Message: the intention of the use of natural fur by the brand was to position itself as a trendy brand
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
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Appendix6
Print screen from Arezzo’s official fan page on Facebook showing the official
communiqué sent to all key stakeholders (media, clients and NGO groups) in
different mediums (traditional communication vehicles, social media platforms,
Web sites and blogs) due to the decision to withdraw the entire Pelemania collection from the Brazilian market (April 18th)
Dear consumers,
Arezzo understands and respects the opinions and demonstrations against wearing
exotic fur in the manufacturing of clothing products and accessories.
Therefore, we are positioning ourselves on the episode involving our pieces with exotic
fur - properly regulated and certified in compliance with all legal formalities involving
the issue.
We do not believe it is our responsibility to debate an issue so broad and controversial.
One of our main commitments is to offer fashion trends in a fast and accessible way to
our customers, backed by the precepts of transparency and respect for our customers
and values.
And for respect for consumers against the use of these materials, we are taking out of
all our stores in Brazil the pieces with exotic fur in their composition, keeping only the
ones with synthetic fur.
We reaffirm our commitment to customer satisfaction and transparency of the attitudes of Arezzo.
Sincerely,
The Arezzo team
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152
Appendix7 – Dissertation Proposal
Leeds Metropolitan University
Hanze University of Applied Sciences
Master in International Communication
Dissertation Proposal
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis
management
Alyssa Marjorye Hopp
December/2012
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
153
I.
Title
The provisory title to this dissertation is established as:
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management.
II.
Introduction
Since the beginning of 2000’s, due to the appearance of groups as Friendster
(2002), My Space (2003), LinkedIn (2003), Orkut (2004), Facebook (2004),
Twitter (2006) and Google+ (2011), corporate communication has been influenced by online communication and engagement stimulated by different
stakeholders. According to the International Telecommunication Union (2011),
from 2006 to 2011 the number of internet users increased 110% achieving
more than 2,4 bi active users around the world and connecting 34,7% of the
globe population.
The speed that information is spread in social media groups in different parts
of the globe, the need of a) personalized interaction with the key stakeholders
and b) motivation to engage with brand advocates and opinion leaders during
a crisis in order to minimize its effect, lead most of the companies to a gap in
social media management. How to manage issue and crisis communication in
social media age is the new challenge to all sectors. Information and, thus, the
communication flow became unstoppable, and now, opinions, comments and
attitudes are eternalized by the endless internet memory.
I always loved social media and its social characteristic of bringing together
people from different cultures, countries and beliefs within a same place –
even it is online.. One thing that always caught my attention is the way many
companies design its strategy in social media and during the past two or three
years I was always attentive to many different successful or failure cases in
this specific online sphere. A general overview about many cases occurred as
Pepsi AMP iPhone App (2009), Nestlé logo (2010) and Blackberry app (2011)
made me note that important companies did not even know how to strategi-
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
154
cally deal with issues in social media in order to avoid them become a crisis
situation.
On the other hand, a previous research linking social media and crisis management showed me that not that many relevant papers were produced about
this field; revealing that, probably, many companies around the globe are
practically dealing with social media and crisis management issue under an
unprofessional and non-strategic perspective. And more: applying traditional
issues or crisis management theory to a totally new and non-traditional
sphere, characterized by a completely unusual engagement pattern; time
management; type of language and information dissipation. Nowadays, considering corporate communication either in global or big national companies,
knowing how to strategically deal with crisis situation developed and/or
strengthened by social media platforms seems to be essential in an interconnected world in which image management is practiced anytime. Anywhere.
Recognize the most important communication elements that need to be considered when managing a crisis influenced by social media, the similar and gap
points between theory and practice in crisis management and social media and
estipulate some core guidelines that could be followed to avoid the strengthening of negative outcomes and image loses are the main purpose of this study.
To develop this research, a Brazilian case study will be used as the main
methodology. Nevertheless, another qualitative and, even, quantitative techniques will support and shape the data collection among distinct stakeholders
affected by the event.
III. Background context.
The International Telecommunication Union (2011) showed that in 2010 more
than 40 million Brazilians accessed internet. Last year, the number increased
up to 100 million – almost 60% of the entire population. From the total, more
than 90% accessed some social media platform. Deloitte (2010), highlights
that within the corporative environment in Brazil, 69% contacts its clients
through social media and that 90% of users believe in friends’ recommendation, while only 14% in traditional advertising campaigns. The Word-of-Mouth
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
155
engagement is the most powerful tool nowadays, as in positive, or in negative
way. The same research pointed that one negative comment in social media
could influence up to 220 other costumers.
Therefore, the gap in an appropriate communication and marketing strategies
could lead a company to a crisis situation with clients and other stakeholders
evolved in the context. In 2011, Arezzo, a women shoes and accessories multinational company founded in 1972 in Brazil14, faced a series of online claims
from clients and ONG’s due to the launch of products made with real and exotic fur. During three days its facebook official profile received thousands of
messages against the market of the products; the brand was categorized as
“trending topics” on twitter and a boycott profile was created to advocate
against the company. The crisis switched from online to offline medium:
newspapers, radios and TVs started to share the case among their public, increasing the awareness. At last, blogs and another websites also engaged in
the conversation spreading the content among distinct groups. At the fourth
day of protests, the CEO announced that would remove all fur products from
the market. Teixeira (2011) defends that “the lack of subject-matter, positioning and appropriated steps, defines the history and, most of the times; this is
not a happy end”. In this case, the lack of proper management strategy that
could facilitate engagement, a two-way communication flow in order to establish an official positioning and clarify the debate promoted by cons groups, led
to the unique situation in the country in which a company decided not market
its products due to negative repercussion and debates promoted in online
sphere.
The event highlights that the emergence of social media online groups
changed the way that communication is made, evaluated and information is
spread. From a one-way; top-down; mostly informational approach, in which
Marshall McLuhan described as “the medium is the message”, around the
1960’s; to a new communication pattern based in lateral engagement, personal interaction in online medium, two-way flow of information and bottomup approach strengthened in the past decade, communication has completely
14
Arezzo is the biggest brand of women shoes in Latin America, has more than 300 shops in Brazil, revenue
around R$620 mi (US$ 300 mi). Its products are also sold in Bolivia, Venezuela, Paraguay and Portugal in
own-stores and in other countries in multibrands shops.
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
156
changed in many different issues. In this scenario, issues as image, reputation, crisis and issue’s management are deeply influenced by this new paradigm.
Before the development of internet and, more recent, social media platforms,
a crisis situation could be managed during a time period that gave PR or corporate
communication
team
until one
day
to
prepare
press-releases,
speeches, corporate positioning and spokes-person training. In this scenario,
the crisis would last for a couple days, on average, being completely forgotten
from collective mind when the next news’ headlines were defined. In the new
engagement pattern, strengthened in the past five years due to the increase
acceptance of social media platform all over the world (specially in emergent
economies), a crisis situation “can be shared and reshared, reaching millions
of people without the intervening presence of journalists” (Buehner, Palenchar
and Veil, 2011). Besides, the infinite memory of internet maintain all cases
timeless posted in blogs, websites, online forums, social media profiles and so
on. This new scheme leads to a point in which 24/7 monitoring and response
system is necessary in order to minimize the effects to image and reputation
that the situation could generate among different key-stakeholders all over the
world.
IV.
Stakeholder’s map
Different stakeholders are involved in the process that led to the final decision
of collect all products made with fur from shops. Considering Freeman (1984),
cited by Gregory (2010), which describes a stakeholder as any kind of stake
who affects or is affected by the decisions and activities of a company; a map
is presented and analysed below in order to establish the connections between
all and design their relevance/ role in the case. The “power, legitimacy, and
urgency model” (also called “The salience model”) (Mitchell, Agle and Wood,
1997) was used to understand the priority and level of attention a particular
stakeholder need within the communication and, thus, crisis management
process. The selection was made considering the dynamism of this model; it
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
157
allows the classification based on stakeholder’s salience to the company, assisting in prioritizing and communicating with each of them. Mitchell et al.
(1997) suggested that stakeholders can be classified according to whether
they have, or perceived to have one, two, or all three of the following attributes: power to influence, legitimacy of their claim and urgency of their claim.
Stakeholder power exists where one stakeholder can get another to do something that would not have otherwise done. Stakeholder legitimacy represents
the belief that the actions of a stakeholder or stakeholder group are desirable
or appropriate within the company’s accepted norms and values. Stakeholder
urgency includes both criticality and time urgency, with a stakeholder claim
considered to be urgent both when it is critical and/or when a response delay
is unacceptable.
Considering the environment faced by the company (Arezzo) during the crisis
situation, the relevant stakeholder’s for this project are presented as followed:
Figure 1
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158
Before deeply describe the influence and relevance of each of them to the focused case study, it is necessary to define the connections to each other that
influences within the information flow. According to the image “Connections
between the key-stakeholders during de pre and crisis situations” (figure 2),
showed below, it is possible design an overview analysis about the relation
among the stakeholders selected within the Salience Model. By the launch of
“Pelemania” campaign, four types of stakeholders were supposed to be positively activated with the strategy; however, due to the cultural perceptions
among this issue, two types of negative publics began to interact and influence different stakeholders targeted by the company, leading to a deep crisis
and influencing both online and offline spheres.
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
159
Figure 2
Connections between the key-stakeholders during de
pre and crisis situations
This dissertation will focus specially on key-publics to Arezzo, highlighted at
figure 2: clients, potential clients, opinion leaders, media, NGO´s and “Cons”
fur-wear groups. Their connections with each other, importance and influence
within the company were important topics when defining it. Their segmentation will consider Grunig’s (1984) approach – cited by Gregory (2010). The
perspective highlights four sorts of public among active and passive groups:
non-publics, latent, aware (clients, potential clients) and active (NGO´s,
“Cons” fur-wear groups, opinion leaders and the media. The first two ones
could even be classified as “hot-issue publics”, while the last ones, “singleissue publics”).
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
160
V.
Topic
Social media and crisis management – how new technologies are influencing
crisis communication between companies and their publics. A case study of a
Brazilian company
The importance and increase influence that social media has in corporate
communication was already highlighted. Companies have been facing a new
challenge: how to develop a strategic crisis management approach aligned
with social media main characteristics; sharing information in real time and
built of different views over the same fact by dispersing information quickly?
This topic had been chosen considering the fact that many companies, including multinational ones, had not developed guidelines that deal with social media as an ally during crisis situation. In this scenario, many companies could
be cited during the past years: Blackberry app (2011), Nestlé responses about
clients’ changes at the official logo as an honour act (2010) or Pepsi AMP
iPhone App (2009). Besides, it has been identified a lack of research in social
media and crisis communication’s field, with no relevant academic research in
the last years. Based on a case study from Brazil, this dissertation will try to
identify the main gaps in crisis management, how to recognize and to deal
with these new technologies in a positive way.
VI.
Problem statement and research objectives
The congruence among the topic selected and the literature review pointed to
a gap in academic research related to social media and the changes it problem
is not direct related to crisis management theory, but to how social media
platforms have influenced and changed it. An overview under the development
of a crisis situation in or strengthened by social media, showed that the cycle
in a crisis outside social media sphere is basic the same when considering the
online medium. However, the main difference in the last case is the time and
speed factors; also being recognized as the biggest concerns in this new management situation. This point was, also, the biggest influence in Arezzo’s case;
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
161
making the final answers the most important contribution to client´s issue.
Considering this new scenario, the main problem to be dealt with, could be
established as followed:
How to manage a communication crisis situation considering the role performed by social media platforms?
Barros and Junqueira (2009) define “objective” as actions that support the researcher in achieve his/hers ends. “They are feasible elements and not generic
or abstract. They are related to research’s operability, the research problem
and hypothesis. They bound the research focus” (2009: 43). To answer main
query, stipulated above, the following aims and objectives are set up:
Aim
1- To critically access crisis management and social media theories, in order to understand and identify influential elements of social media in
crisis management
2- To critically add to crisis management and social media fields by establishing
general standards that could contribute to crisis management
strategies considering the current social media influence in practice
Objectives
5- To compare both theory and practice to identify gaps in practice that
could be avoided by the support of the current theory in crisis management
6- To examine the contribution of current theory in crisis management to
this scenario influenced by social media platforms
7- To examine the contribution of current theory in social media and select
elements that could contribute to crisis’ management field
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162
8- To determine positive and negative elements when managing a crisis influenced by social media buzz
Terms of reference
1- The project will highlight the partnership relation between public and
the company in an unexpected event
2- The project will highlight the relation between crisis and issue’s management in a pre-crisis situation
3- The project will mostly use primary research to survey about the level
of adequacy between theory and practice in social media and crisis
management. Secondary research might be used to study the strategy
adopted by the company and its relations with theory and target public
4- The project will conclude by making recommendations as how to manage a crisis situation influenced my social media platforms
VII. Research questions
To achieve the objectives previous set up, and develop a critical work, this
project will highlight the following directional hypotheses:
Hypotheses a
The strengthening of social media as a communication tool among distinct
stakeholders influences in the strategy needed to be adopted by companies to
manage a crisis situation
Hypotheses b
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163
There are new practices that could be established and followed by companies
that could assist in avoiding the increase social media influence during a crisis
situation
From these, to properly develop and address the findings, this project will be
mainly focused on a qualitative research. In practice, however, it might have
some support of quantitative techniques especially related to select, analyse
and classify the volume of information. The method was chosen based on the
purpose of the research, the problem and the object of this study. A deep look
at the event to be analysed shows that many companies face the same problem in dealing with social media interaction during a crisis situation. Limited
literature was found aiming to fill the gap under this point of view or that
would be able to explain and put light under the practice. Besides, the development of this research will be able to assist organizations that or have already faced similar situation or, even, be used as a guide to avoid the occurrence of events like this. Günther (2006) defends that the researcher should
not chose between a method or another, since he/she is a participant in the
process of knowledge build; but, he/she should “use the distinct approaches,
qualitative and quantitative that are more appropriated to his/her research
question” (Günther, 2006: 207).
The prevalence of qualitative method is
strengthened by the definition of the research questions that will be answered
at the end of this study.
d. What are the most important communication elements (as time, type of
language, level of interaction and response to the public) that need to
be considered when managing a crisis situation strengthened/influenced
by social media platforms?
e. In what point is crisis management current theory outdated to social
media communication pattern?
f. How companies can participate in social media communication made by
their stakeholders in order to avoid the strengthening of negative outcomes and image loses in a crisis situation?
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
164
VIII. Methodology
“Research techniques are tools” (Barros and Junqueira, 2009, pp.44) used to
support the researcher during the process in ascertain the legitimacy of his
study. Günther’s (2006) strengths the idea about selecting the most appropriate research technique according to the subject and problem, instead of focus
exclusively on one type of methodology. Andrade (2001), cited by Carratore
(2009: 31), reinforces that methodology “is a path taken in the search of
knowledge”, assisting in developing procedures and behaviours in a specific
situation (Oliveira (1997) cited by Carratore, 2009: 31).
Narrowing the topic, to deep analyse information collected in a specific context, this project will mainly focus on a case study as the strongest methodology. However, as Günther (2006: 202) also emphasizes, it is important to mix
distinct techniques in order to deeply understand the situation and be able to
select the most appropriate tool to analyse each information required:
“When designing the research process as a mosaic describing a complex phenomenon to be understood is easy
to comprehend that individual parts represent a spectrum
of methods and techniques that need to be open to new
ideas, questions and data. Simultaneously, the diversity of
pieces in this mosaic includes open and closed parts, implies in predetermined and open steps, uses qualitative
and quantitative procedures”. (Günther, 2006: 202)
Barros and Duarte (2009) exemplify that quantitative methodology contribute
to qualitative as it assists in defining the problem and classifying the data. In
communication, both authors defend that this relation is even more representative especially related to the content of the material published in various
media.
The choice of strength a case study as the core technique was made firstly
considering the topic and, secondly, due to the possibility that this methodology gives in integrate the use of a range of tools to collect and analyse information (Duarte, 2009). Bruyne, Herman and Schoutheete (1991), cited by
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
165
Duarte (2009) also emphasize that it allows the research to understand the
whole situation since it brings distinct and detailed information by diverse collect techniques, either qualitative or quantitative; being an “open and flexible
plan, focusing the reality in a complex and contextualized perspective” (Lüdke
and André (1986) cited by Duarte, 2009: 218).
According to Yin (2001), cited by Duarte (2009), there are five purposes to
use “case study” as a research methodology. This project is justified under this
approach since it aims to highlight specific aspects within the event occurred
and explore a situation in which the object analysed does not present a clear
and simple result. Therefore, this project, even focused on a “case study” as
the main methodology, will develop a mix between qualitative and quantitative
techniques according to each research question designed: content analysis,
document analysis and interview.
a.
What are the most important communication elements (as time, type of
language, level of interaction and response to the public) that need to be considered when managing a crisis situation strengthened/influenced by social
media platforms?
Two main support techniques will be used to answer this question, providing,
at the end, a general overview about communication elements and processes
in a situation like this. Besides, it will complement another forms of data collection: content analysis. The first one will analyse three main types of documents: the press release due to the launch of the collection in the market, the
press release due to the collect of the collection from the market and 5 blogs’
posts or online news. These texts will be selected according to the focus of
the media, the importance of the medium to the target public and the crisis’
status; e.g., fashion and news blogs/ websites during pre-crisis moment; fashion, environmental and news blogs/ websites during the crisis and post-crisis
period. The definition of the specific blog or website to be analysed will be
make during the data collection. The analysis will give preference to mediums
that were involved in covering all stages of the crisis.
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The content analysis will be used to elaborate ideas and inferences (Junior,
2009) about the most frequent communication elements and messages in an
online crisis strengthened by social media platforms since, as Lima (2001),
cited by Junior (2009), highlighted, “social media changes some core characteristics from traditional communication”. Some elements as key-words used
by the press during the different crisis’ stages, positive and negative common
words used by different stakeholders, brand online presence/ brand sentiment
before and after the event will be quantitative or qualitatively analysed. At this
stage, an investigation related to the content of social media publication will
also be carried at two main sites: Arezzo´s facebook official profile and the
boycott profile created and twitter. The main hashtags used, key words
adopted and other characteristics will be established further, during the research step.
b.
In what point is crisis management current theory outdated to social
media communication pattern?
To compare the current theory and the changes promoted by social media
communication pattern in order to establish whether exists a gap among theory and practice and in what point it would be necessary an update in research
field, a literature review in social media and crisis management fields will be
conducted as the main methodology. As Stumpf (2009: 53) highlights, this
technique motivate the research in “clarify an issue insufficiently investigated”.
A document analysis (using the findings from the prior question) will also be
carried trying to establish a gap between the practice and the literature.
In crisis management, the project will highlight issue’s management principles, since “the most effective crisis management occurs when potential crises
are detected and dealt with quickly” (ICM, 2012). The situation will be specially analysed under Hainsworth (1990) and Meng (1992) issue´s lifecycle
model due to a holistic view between issue’s and crisis management this approach brings. As Colley & Collier (2009), cited by Buehner, Palenchar and Veil
(2011), highlight “the news of a crisis can be shared and reshared, reaching
millions of people without the intervening presence of journalist. Word of
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167
mouth news is tremendously influential and even perceived as more trustworthy than mainstream media in some instances” and due to the power of social
media in human behaviour (Mayfield, 2006; Marken, 2007; cited in Buehner,
Palenchar and Veil, 2011) it is necessary to emphasize the role of a two-way
model of public relations (Lauzen, 1997) before the process of issue´s management; in this case, an environmental scanning and a strategic issue diagnosis (SID) are considered to “seek information about events and relationships
in a company´s outside environment” (Aguilar, 1967; cited by Lauzen, 1997:
69) and establish “the importance and impact of those issues on the organization” (Lauzen, 1997: 71).
Finally, on the other hand, social media’s theory will specially strength the role
of the “timing” in this medium, since “the speed of the communications revolution demands a substantial re-thinking of disaster plans” (Security Director´s
Report, 2009). The report raises the point that online mediums as blogs, networking sites, RSS feeds, texting, microblogs and others, are already changing
the way crises are communicated and responses are coordinated. According to
it, there are both positive and negative aspects, since “if companies don´t use
social media in a crisis, employees will be using them to get their information
from other sources” (Security Director´s Report, 2009: 3). Not only employees, but customers, clients, suppliers and public sector representatives. In a
better perspective, these platforms “are an avenue for connecting with employees, providing instructions and correcting misinformation. They also provide a means for jointly responding to employee questions and coordinating
internal and external emergency communication” ” (Security Director´s Report, 2009: 3).
c.
How companies can participate in social media communication made by
their stakeholders in order to avoid the strengthening of negative outcomes
and image loses in a crisis situation?
From the findings in the previous questions and still focused on a literature
review, this project will develop some suggestions to answer the problem
above. In this new communication context, social media platforms assumed a
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168
role that is socially much more important to different societies when comparing to traditional media. It gives people freedom of voice and the opportunity
to share important information to their pairs, actively participating in reality
construction by engaging with key leaders in the community (a company, a
person, a public organization, etc); e.g., “new media tools have much potential for encouraging preparedness, knowledge, and involvement in crisis response by making the topic visual and interactive. Social media can invite individuals to self-identify as supporters of the organization” (Buehner, Palenchar and Veil, 2011: 112).
Besides these already structured methodologies, this project might also use a
last one: interview. In this case, it will be designed as a semi-structured and
recorded one. This technique will focus on a primary source from the company, if needed to elucidate and check data related to strategy adopted by the
company or other information.
IX.
Literature review
Online interaction represents the connection among people in different places
of the world; sometimes, replacing face-to-face interactions, being recognized
as “valuable, meaningful and convenient” (Blanchard, 2011) and linking all
humans in the same “global village” context highlighted by McLuhan at the
end of the 1960’s. However, the TV was replaced by internet as the aggregating component of this network.
Lima (2001), cited by Junior (2009), believes that social media changed some
characteristics from traditional media: unidirectionality and massification.
Nowadays it is “the core of human communication, possessing characteristics
of participation, openness, conversation, community and connectedness“
(Mayfield, 2006; cited by Buehner, Palenchar and Veil, 2011: 110). It gives to
people from all over the world, economical situation and social behaviour the
chance of become sources of information online, share knowledge without externals interferences, “sharing opinions, insigts, experiences and perspectives
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
169
with others” (Marken, 2007; cited by by Buehner, Palenchar and Veil, 2011:
110).
In this scenario, communication practitioners need even more to understand,
know and interact effectively with their environments. In a crisis situation,
more and more commonly strengthened by different social media platforms,
many companies face difficulties related to the communication pattern and
speed in these mediums; leading to negative consequences as loss of corporate positive image. On the other hand, few are capable of note and deal with
the positive effect of social media during a crisis. Buehner, Palenchar and Veil
(2011: 112) assert that “new media tools have much potential for encouraging
preparedness, knowledge and involvement in crisis response by making the
topic visual and interactive. Social media can invite individuals to self-identify
as supporters of the organization”.
Until recently, many communication practitioners believed in mass media as
the main power of corporate communication to different stakeholders. Wordof-mouth was mainly restricted to face-to-face interaction and companies had
not, most of the times, the chance of substantially take advantage of this type
of interaction. During decades, investments in corporate communication
meant a considerable amount of money but in a one-way or two-way asymmetric (Grunig, 1984; cited by Lauzen, 1997) model with low involvement between publics and companies. This perspective lead a huge number of companies to a pattern in which, in a communication scenario, the action and reflection practice over the strategy is not constant; dealing to a incomplete knowledge and learning cycle, as Freire (2006) conceptualized.
Nowadays, as Winer (2003; cited by Wright and Hinson, 2008: 3) remembers,
social online platforms are more than unique, but revolutionary; “where your
ideas can stand alone without interference. It gives the public writer a kind of
relaxation not available in other forms”. These platforms are also impacting
the process of traditional communication models and theories, particularly
two-step flow theory, the conceptual model, agenda setting theory, spiral of
silence theory and excellence theory, as advocate Wright and Hinson (2008).
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170
More than never, such technologies are changing the way PR is practiced;
since 72% of practitioners believe that they and traditional media are complements to each other, serving as dog-watch for traditional mainstream media (61%) and impacting in corporate and organizational transparency (76%)
(Wright and Hinson (2008). Besides, the transition already cited, also reflects
in issue´s and crisis management strategies. The Security Director´s Report
(2009) highlights that it is necessary to “re-think” the way disaster plans and
interactions are conducted during negative situations. It is especially truth due
to social media connectedness characteristic.
The situation described above is mainly strengthened by distinct characteristics of social platforms when comparing to traditional media, as its omnipresence 24/7 in many technological devices, its freedom of speech with no filter,
the opportunities to communicate that represents (Wright and Hinson, 2009;
cited by Buehner, Palenchar and Veil, 2011: 110) and the value of conversations connecting people through a chain that is valuable, meaningful and convenient to its members. Blanchard (2011:6), emphasizes that “the emphasis
on human interaction is the essence and the elusive ´secret sauce´of the social media”. However, even considering positive perspectives, they also face
practitioners to a challenge: how to discuss and develop new strategies to disaster situation in social media sphere? When the crisis management cycle is
analysed under this social media perspective, it is noted that social online platforms influence from the beginning of the set (issue´s identification) to its
monitoring and analysis; being capable of leading to a serious crisis situation
with considerable image and/or market losses. One way to avoid and efficiently monitor an issue since its beginning would be by spanning boundaries
in the relation between public relation and issues management, influencing in
the final decision-making process (Lauze, 2009). This approach would only be
possible since “managers are able to provide a check on internal analyses of
issues by providing the decision-making team with external perspectives”, as
Lauzen (2009) highlights.
Grunig (1984; cited by Lauzen, 2009) reinforces that a two-way symmetrical
PR model would support a mutual understanding between organizations and
publics. When considering social media platforms and them engagement pattern it is possible to conclude that issues and, then, crisis processes could be
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
171
managed by an effective bilateral public relation system strengthened by environmental monitoring, researches techniques and issues detection and diagnosis (Lauzen, 2009).
The Institute for Crisis Management (2012), describes “crisis” as an event that
1) disrupts the way an organization conducts its business and 2) attracts significant new media coverage and public scrutiny. Many researches (Seeger,
Sellnow &Ulmer, 1998; cited by Veil, 2011) highlight that it is an unexpected
event that create high levels of uncertainty to an organization. Being expert
and acknowledging multiple issue arenas (Luoma-aho and Vos, 2010) – combined with a two-way symmetrical PR system – could positively contribute to
environmental monitoring and analysis (Lauzen, 2009) and avoid the emergence of a crisis situation.
Latour (2005; cited by Luoma-aho and Vos, 2010) noted that heterogeneous
networks are more important than stakeholders when considering issues establishment, since all human relations are influenced by different factors in
distinct arenas. Could this situation focused on this study be avoided if a
symmetrical PR system had been linked to an environmental scanning, monitoring and analysis in different important arenas to the company? The answer
is: probably. Firstly, as Luoma-aho and Vos (2010: 319) highlight, “on issue
arenas, ideas and issues are discussed that are of interest to both stakeholders and the organization”. Secondly, the Learning Barrier Model (Veil,
2011), and its warning signals could support companies in identifying potential
crisis in their routine process.
However, as public opinion is composed by several distinct actors; the strategy demanded has also to be unique; since “if an organization fails to give its
point of view, some stakeholders’ opinions quickly dominate the arena”
(Luoma-aho and Vos, 2010: 319); especially considering anti-corporate
movements by distinct groups that dynamically come together and join largescale campaigns (Karagianni and Cornelissen, 2006; cited by Luoma-aho and
Vos, 2010). In this case, moving from the Learning Barrier Model to the Mindful Learning Model (Veil, 2011), embedded in a “learning and constant cultural
adaptation” (Veil, 2011: 137), could represent an opportunity to finally absorb
the Freirian knowledge and learning cycle then, when a crisis occur it is no
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
172
longer addressed exclusively as a stressful period to the company but, also, as
a learning opportunity and a moment to re-think strategies and the current
approach developed by its corporate communication team.
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
173
X.
Dissertation’s timeline
Year
2012
Month
Sep
Oct
Nov
2013
Dec
Jan
Feb
March
Apr
Activity
Reading of sup-
port materials
Collect informa-
tion and docu-
ments
Documents’
analysis
Content analysis
Interview with
client to collect
and clarify data
Writing process
Proofreading
Submit the final
document
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
174
May
XI.
Contact details
Student
Name: Alyssa Marjorye Hopp
Phone: +55 62 9637 6234/ +55 62 3218 2393
E-mail: [email protected]
Skype: alyssa_hopp
Supervisor
University: Leeds Metropolitan University
1st supervisor: Richard Bailey
E-mail: [email protected]
University: Hanze University of Applied Sciences
2nd supervisor: Erik Kostelijk
E-mail: [email protected]
Client
Name of organization: Arezzo
Internet address of organization: www.arezzo.com.br
Department: Press assistance and communication
Name of Company Supervisor: Caroline Muzzi
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
175
E-mail of Company Supervisor: [email protected]
Phone number of Company Supervisor: +55 11 3083-6667/ +55 11 6645
2572
Job-title of Company Supervisor: Public Relations
Risky times. How social media is changing the rules of crisis management
176
XII. Bibliography
Barros, A.T. and Junqueira, R.D., 2009. A elaboração do projeto de pesquisa.
In: J. Duarte and A. Barros, ed.2009. Métodos e técnicas de pesquisa em comunicação. São Paulo: Atlas, pp. 32-50
Blanchard, O., 2011. Social Media ROI: Managing and Measuring Social Media
Efforts in your Organization. Boston: Que
Buehner, T., Palenchar, M.J., and Veil, S.T., 2011. A work-in-process literature
review: incorporating social media in risk and crisis communication. Journal of
Contingencies and Crisis Management, vol.19, n.2, pp.110-122
Carratore, L.R., 2009. Pesquisa científica em comunicação: uma abordagem
conceitual sobre os métodos qualitativo e quantitativo. Comunicação & Inovação. V.10, n.19, PP. 29-35
Duarte, M., 2009. Estudo de Caso. In: J. Duarte and A. Barros, ed.2009. Métodos e técnicas de pesquisa em comunicação. São Paulo: Atlas, pp. 215-234
Freire, P., 2006. Pedagogy of the Oppressed: 30th anniversary edition. London:
Continuum.
Gregory, A., 2010. Planning and Managing public relations campaigns – a strategic approach.3rd edition. Kogan Page: London
Günther, H., 2006. Pesquisa qualitativa versus pesquisa quantitativa: esta é a
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