Case Studies – Claire Lee Hawkins

NASCAR: Leading a Marketing Transformation in a Time of Crisis

October 29, 2020by clairehawkinsLeave a Comment

Please download and read the following case study and respond to my discussion post.

I believe NASCAR’s “closed culture” is likely a turnoff to stakeholders. Interacting with consumers is an expected aspect of operating such a large, respected organization in today’s world. If NASCAR had maintained better consumer loyalty by being more involved with their fans and other stakeholders, they wouldn’t have faced such a downfall. For example, if they hadn’t had such poor collaboration and listening skills during the Car of Tomorrow development, maybe they would have seen more success instead of frustration from their stakeholders. Ultimately, it hurt their brand image when Kyle Busch stated that the car “sucked” on live TV. It would have been better and in everyone’s best interest if NASCAR would have done proper research, played a role in the development, and spoke with its drivers about what attributes they had hoped for in the car.

Case Studies

Uber, USD, & The American Heart Association’s COIVD-19 Communications

October 17, 2020October 17, 2020by clairehawkinsLeave a Comment

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I decided to center my discussion around my discoveries and observations of three different communication forms about the Coronavirus. The examples I examined include Uber’s “COVID-19 Resources” page, USD’s COVID-19 communications, and The American Heart Association’s response to COVID-19.

I will begin with my analysis of Uber’s communications about the Coronavirus. When scrolling through Uber’s COVID-19 resources, my initial observation was they clearly showcased how they were proactive with communities. They have an entire portion of the page that is designated to communicating how they are “committed to helping,” and were “pledging 10 million free rides and deliveries of food for frontline healthcare workers, seniors, and people in need around the world”. Below that statement they include links to other pages that go more in-depth about how as an organization they are supporting healthcare workers and local restaurants while also prioritizing feeding first responders and delivering essential goods across US and Canada with Uber Freight. Although this portion stuck out to me the most, as I continued my search, I discovered Uber included many other elements the Harvard Business Review article suggested. For example, they have portions designated to communicating with their employees, customers and shareholders as well. The only suggestions I have for Uber’s COVID-19 response are to include an article or page that provides their crisis-response team and how they can be reached, and to utilize the textbooks crisis response strategy of “victimage.” After really digging through their site, I found a link to an Uber blog post that shares their financial assistance plan to ensure their drivers are being taken care of during this tough time. It would be beneficial for Uber to showcase this more by not making it so hidden on their COVID-19 resource page.

The next example I have is our very own USD COVID-19 communications site. Putting bias aside, I truly believe The University of South Dakota has done a good job of communicating with its students and faculty during this global crisis. Their COVID-19 dashboard shares “real-time data indicating the number of known cases of COVID-19 for students, faculty and staff,” they also make sure to note that the “data will be updated as frequently as possible.” The University’s response is spot on with the Harvard Business Review suggestion to be “as transparent as you can.” I have no advice for this example other than to keep it up! Unlike Uber, USD provides a tab that lists their taskforce, and knock each of the five steps includes in the case study out of the park.

Lastly, I chose to share my observations about the American Heart Associations’ response to COVID-19 and what they are doing to make an impact during the pandemic. The first thing I noticed and appreciated immensely when looking at their communications is that at the top of their site, they provide a “COVID-19 Live Chat.” I hadn’t seen this before and thought it was a great resource for anyone searching for reliable information. They state, “If you need current, science-based information about the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re here available to help via live chat or call our Customer Service at 1-800-242-871.” I had difficulty determining whether the American Heart Association’s communications followed the case study or textbooks suggestions more. I am not sure being a nonprofit plays a role in this, but I know their communications weigh more because their target audience is at high risk if they contract the virus. Overall, as I scroll through their site, I lean more on the case study side. The AHA has the live-chat option, but also the latest news page to communicate with its audience. They also have a link specifically for heart patients that explains what they can do to help. Lastly, they include a “We Need Your Support” tab that asks for your support during this crucial time while they are “dedicating news resources to COVID-19 while helping keep patients informed and safe.” This is another example of the victimage response strategy; only this time, it is a nonprofit rather than an organizational example.

To conclude my discussion post, I would like to state my opinion on whether these responses were examples of good or bad crisis communications. I believe all three of these forms of communication were good examples. However, I was pretty clear about how impressed I was with USD’s communications. I think that if other organizations were to follow more of a guideline similar to our universities, they could exceed their audiences’ expectations for communications about the Coronavirus. I realize that this is not necessary, but by going the extra mile and being even more transparent, their reputation will benefit greatly.

Case Studies

NASA After Challenger: Restoring An Image

October 16, 2020October 17, 2020by clairehawkinsLeave a Comment

Please download and read the following case study and respond to my discussion post.

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An aspect of this case study I would like to discuss with all of you is National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s public relations effort following the explosion of the Challenger. After the Apollo 13 crisis in 1971, we read that news organizations were impressed with NASA’s crisis communication efforts, and they were even nominated for a Pulitzer Prize! Although the positive feedback continued for 15 years, this response was not the case following NASA’s communication practices over the Challenger explosion. I believe NASA’s public relations succeeding the Challenger disaster is considered an example of crisis communication failure.

According to the text, Ongoing Crisis Communication by W. Timothy Coombs, common negative effects from crises include a decrease in revenue, cutbacks and/or layoff. Loss of corporate reputation, increased media scrutiny, increased government scrutiny, decreased share price, and increased social media discussions. When NASA failed to make a statement directly after the event occurred, they faced major scrutiny from both the media and the government. Waiting nearly five hours to respond was one of many mistakes they made that led to the crisis communication failure. Another mistake I found was not providing sufficient information when they spoke out about the disaster. We learned that in the aftermath of the Challenger disaster, NASA officials reported that they didn’t have evidence on what caused the explosion. I believe if NASA officials hadn’t distanced themselves from the media and presented a constant flow of information from the beginning they would not have had as many complaints from the media.

With that being said, I want to ask whether you all agree with my opinion that if NASA had practiced what they learned following Apollo 13, these mistakes would have never occurred. I would also like to ask what other mistakes you found in NASA’s public relations efforts, and what about their response made it an example of crisis communication failure?