PR Winners and Losers of 2017
In a tumultuous year marked by an ever-faster news cycle, there were plenty of brands and others who suffered reputation damage. Then there were those who took advantage of the moment and made the most of it with a sound reputation strategy — or maybe just good luck. Here are some PR “winners and losers” for 2017.
The Losers
United Airlines hit an air pocket with its disastrous handling of a passenger who refused to give up his seat. As video of the bloodied man being dragged from a plane went viral, the airline compounded the situation with a series of legalistic and tone-deaf public responses. The cultural impact was huge, yet the United crisis also shows business resilience, particularly in a consolidated category like air travel. United’s stock price took a hit, and CEO Oscar Munoz was denied a planned promotion to Chairman. Within weeks, however, the airline quietly reached a settlement with the wronged passenger and reported healthy quarterly earnings. The lasting impact was probably felt in higher customer-service consciousness across the major industry players. For the time being, the passenger skies are a bit friendlier.
The way Equifax handled its massive privacy breach will probably haunt it for months or even years to come. Not only was the credit-reporting giant negligent in maintaining security, but it waited months before informing consumers that their information might be compromised. Although CEO Richard Smith eventually rose to the occasion with a well-crafted apology, it was too little, too late, and he was voted out by the Equifax board. Its stock price plunged 15% after the breach was announced and has not yet fully recovered. Compounding the damage, Equifax insiders sold shares days after the breach was discovered, but before it was made public. Unlike United, Equifax faces regulatory scrutiny, more Congressional hearings, and a class-action suit by shareholders. What’s more, the ripple effect will be felt by the credit-reporting industry and others.
For Uber, 2017 was typical in that it sustained a series of reputation dings. In the first quarter alone it was accused of crossing a picket line, mistreating drivers, and using a secret app to avoid regulations. But the coup de grace came when Susan Fowler wrote a detailed blog post about her year at Uber and its toxic culture of gender bias and relentless sexual harassment. Fowler’s post was like a lit fuse, burning through the tech community and exploding into public consciousness over the summer. It was a searing indictment, yet the crisis gave Uber the chance to turn the corner on its troubles by replacing Kalanick with former Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Unfortunately, Khosrowshahi was quickly beset with a fresh crisis. Uber was hacked in 2016, and instead of owning up to the breach, it covered it up and paid a ransom to the hackers to delete the stolen data. Khosrowshahi’s blog post about the situation is a respectable first step in showing transparency, but he has a long way to go. Here’s hoping for smoother road next year.
Facebook continued to grow in 2017, but the year did bring a reckoning. When asked about reports that Russia had peddled “fake news” on the network to try to influence the election, founder Mark Zuckerberg was initially dismissive. But his comment that the idea was “pretty crazy” would come back to haunt him. Facebook eventually admitted that it sold more than $100,000 in ads to Russian accounts, and that foreign actors used its feed to spread false stories about election-year issues. It’s not alone among social media companies, but the brand has suffered from its handling of the situation. As The Verge put it, “Facebook’s inconsistent statements, its history of errors in reporting on its own ad platform, and its reluctance to share relevant data about Russian hacking have added to its credibility gap.”
Hollywood. The irony of Harvey Weinstein’s fall from grace is that it was so long in coming, yet the collapse was breathtakingly swift. As the dominoes fell in entertainment, journalism, and politics, each company and industry had to grapple with who knew what, and when. The results were often ugly. But the good news is that the awareness of systemic sexual harassment and misbehavior has reached a tipping point, and the cultural and business changes will be profound and in many cases, permanent.
Winners
Amazon hardly made a false step in 2017. It reveled in the pop-culture status of digital assistant Alexa, won plaudits for quality entertainment content, and laid the groundwork for rivalling Google and FB in digital advertising. But it was the reality-show-like search for its second headquarters that set it apart in 2017. The HQ2 sweepstakes netted Amazon 238 proposals from cities in North America and cemented its status as a sought-after corporate neighbor and employer.
NBC might have a terrible year given claims that it sat on the Weinstein story, followed by revelations of sexual misconduct that brought down “Today” show host Matt Lauer. But the network won PR kudos for acting decisively to root out the problem. Most importantly, Lauer’s colleagues Samantha Guthrie and Hota Kotb, handled the sudden announcement with grace and poignancy — in real time, on live television. It was a surprising win for the network and its flagship show, whose ratings are up sharply since Lauer’s departure.
Mainstream media may have had a similarly mixed year, but most national outlets posted a solid win in the ways that matter — ratings and readers. Although the MSM has been vigorously attacked by the president and public trust in media languishes at 41% according to Gallup, its credibility has actually increased over 2016. After Trump took office, many news organizations did a great job of reminding the public why they’re needed. Cable news — which expected a downturn after the 2016 election-year frenzy — experienced a huge boost in viewership. The New York Times reports a record subscription boom, and journalism organizations like ProPublica and The Center For Public Integrity are enjoying unprecedented support.
Bitcoin had a great year in 2017, breaking through the $10,000 price barrier and attracting the kind of media coverage, both positive and negative, that only enhanced its appeal. There’s no real reputation management here other than the sheer power of blockchain technology. Without a core of innovation, the bitcoin story would be just another fad. But blockchain is seen as “having the potential to reshape the global financial system and possibly other industries,” according to Bloomberg. Despite naysayers, it offered journalists and bloggers the perfect recipe of high-tech and high-risk.
#metoo. Who could have predicted the speed and ruthlessness of the #metoo movement? There’s a reason why Time magazine (which hasn’t been terribly relevant in years) elevated its own stature and that of the movement by naming “the silence-breakers” as its Person of the Year. It swept the country like a virus, and, despite concerns about negative effects in the workplace and late-year talk of a backlash, the impact was undeniable.
About the Author | Dorothy Crenshaw
Dorothy Crenshaw is CEO and Creative Director of Crenshaw Communications, a boutique PR firm focused on marketing and reputation building strategies for consumer and technology brands under the banner “Creative Public Relations for a Digital World.” She founded her firm after a 15-year career in marketing PR that included senior posts at Edelman and Grey Advertising’s GCI Group.
