The disgrace of Tiger and the never-ending freefall of Toyota, while seemingly unconnected, are in fact – from a brand perspective – very similar.
When word broke of Tiger’s infidelities, the world was shocked. Throughout his career, Tiger had painstakingly cultivated his image as a fierce competitor, shrewd business man, generous philanthropist and private family-man (portrayed as a dedicated husband and father.) Tiger really was, well…a tiger.
For Toyota, its name has become synonymous with quality. Toyota grew over the decades through truly innovative manufacturing processes and a unique companywide organizational culture, the likes of which had never been seen before. Yet over the course of just a few months, the Toyota brand name has been battered about, causing the company’s once-impeccable luster to lose much of its shine.
Could Tiger or Toyota have prevented their brand names from morphing into entities that none of us could have imaged? Absolutely. No one but Tiger could have stopped his actions. And no one but Toyota could have seen and fixed its problems. Indeed, both Tiger and Toyota have a long way to go to get their houses in order. Yet both Tiger and Toyota could have kept much of their respective brand names in tact by having a better communications strategy to the public.
While each crisis is unique and has its own set of challenges, if Tiger and Toyota had followed the following fundamental communications rules, I think the public would have been much more forgiving, and the media scrutiny much less intense. In short, the Tiger and Toyota brands would not have been as severely damaged as they are now. Both Tiger and Toyota now face the daunting task of rebuilding their images and regaining the public confidence they had spent years carefully cultivating.
To other Tiger and Toyota brands out there, heed the following in times of crises:
Be Quick – The Tiger imbroglio began on Thanksgiving eve, but Tiger did not make his public statement/apology until Feb.19. During this time, the media and others were doing the talking and the speculating. Tiger lost his opportunity to tell his side of the story at the beginning, thereby missing his chance to tamp down rumors and curry favor with the general public, including his fans, fellow golfers and sponsors. Toyota, meanwhile, has also been extremely slow in getting its highest level executives to discuss this situation. In fact, several long weeks had gone by before Toyota President Akio Toyoda spoke publicly in the U.S.
Be Human – People can have sympathy and empathy, but only when they feel a connection with their fellow human. Tiger’s well-rehearsed public apology, scripted and with note cards, did not convey an apology that was truly from the heart, thereby leaving a lot of people unconvinced or sympathetic. Toyota was dragged in front of Congress, thereby losing any sympathy they could have gained and looking like just another big corporate conglomerate with something to hide.
Show Regret – Did Tiger or Toyota come across as truly apologetic? During Tiger’s speech, he vaguely suggested that his fame and money contributed to, if not justified his actions. Toyota, meanwhile, is dealing with media reports that it may not have been overly concerned about its sticking accelerator pedals when the problem was first discovered. Do these actions show real regret or remorse?
Enact Reform – Both Tiger and Toyota have discussed what they are doing to fix their respective problems. Tiger is in rehab and “focusing on his family,” while Toyota has ordered new parts and trained all of its dealers in order to fix the recalled cars. Yet the public will continue to be skeptical if Tiger’s and Toyota’s reforms fall flat.
Provide Restitution – Toyota is providing restitution to those owners who were involved in accidents caused by their faulty gas pedals. But is it going far enough to appease a skeptical public that sees the organization as slow to react to this crisis? I’m guessing Toyota will probably need to do more in providing restitution as the crisis continues to move on without a clear resolution in place.
Be Honest and Transparent – Does more need to be said about the importance of these two things in a time of crisis? In the early hours after Tiger’s accident at his Florida home, media reports said his wife used a golf club to free him from his crashed SUV. In hindsight, no one now believes this was true. As for Toyota, more reports are coming out about a lack of transparency and honesty regarding their prior knowledge of the faulty gas pedals. As our parents told us, “no one likes a liar.”
So, what do you think? Beyond these thoughts, how else could Tiger or Toyota protected their brand and image in the hours, days and weeks immediately following these respective crises?
For more details on Toyota’s gas pedal issue, click on this link
http://www.autoweek.com/article/20100201/CARNEWS/100209999
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