“Pigs in a Blanket”: How BarkBox Saved Their Reputation in a Crisis
It is nearly impossible to talk about public relations today and not discuss crisis management. So much of a company’s reputation is built on how they deal with a crisis. When a company’s reputation is critical to positive interactions by stakeholders, the way a company decides to deal with its crisis is incredibly important (Coombs, 2007).
BarkBox, a company that I had never heard of, likely because of my lack of pet dog, found itself dealing with an Accidental Crisis in early November, where they found themselves unintentionally “operating in an inappropriate manner” (Coombs, 2007, p.168). This crisis alerted me not only to their existence but also of their amazing crisis management strategy. The crisis took shape in the form of a chew toy that has a less than tasteful design, and as those on the internet do, consumers were quick to point that out.
BarkBox had a few options when confronted with this situation. There were a few avenues that BarkBox could have chosen to deal with the crisis. They could have been on the offensive, employing what Smith calls “Offensive Response Strategies,” such as attacking those who were making fun of them (Smith, 2002, p.99). They could have tried denying the crisis as part of a primary crisis response strategy (Coombs, 2007). They could have also ignored the crisis altogether by employing “strategic inaction”(Smith, 2002, p.99).
However, they chose to use a “Diversionary Response Strategy” by offering the public a concession, a strategy that helps to rebuild the company’s relationship with the public by “giving the public something it wants” (Smith, 2002, p.102). In this case, I would argue that the public wanted to make fun of the company, so the company, in an effort to be mutually beneficial, decided to be a part of the joke. They embraced the onslaught of puns and double entendres and made fun of themselves while taking responsibility for the design.
By becoming part of the joke and then subsequently writing a blog post about the crisis, BarkBox was able to demonstrate that it was indeed an accident and one that they intended to take responsibility for. They were able to diminish the crisis, which is what Coombe suggests is the best response strategy when faced with an accidental crisis (Coombe, 2007, p.173). Indeed, BarkBox was able to take a crisis and not only effectively deflect any reputational damage, but perhaps even increase their organizational impression.
References:
Coombs, W. T. (2007). Protecting Organization Reputations During a Crisis: The Development and Application of Situational Crisis Communication Theory. Corporate Reputation Review, 10(3), 163–176. doi: 10.1057/palgrave.crr.1550049
Grissom, S. (2019, November 11). SO About Our “Big Honkin’ Pigs In a Blanket” Toy… Retrieved from https://barkpost.com/so-about-our-big-honkin-pigs-in-a-blanket-toy/.
Smith, R. D. (2002). Strategic planning for public relations. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
