Over the weekend came reports of a tragic railway accident (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/02/24/ncrash424.xml) where a Virgin train was de-railed at 90MPH causing one woman to die and injuries to numerous others. Sir Richard Branson's immediate response was to come back to the UK from a family holiday and visit the injured in hospital. Branson took many media interviews and praised the bravery of the train driver. When one cynical Sky reporter inferred that Branson was just appearing as the CEO of a corporation who was trying to limit the damage to the brand Branson batted him away with dignity stating: "I am here as a human being".
I have long admired Branson (many people will know my Richard Branson story which I love telling repeatedly) but I have to say he set the perfect example of what CEOs should do at times of crisis - have a crisis plan, respond quickly, considerately and take visible immediate action.
When Bernard Mathews puts his feet up in his Norfolk mansion wondering what he could have been done differently then he doesn't have to look too far.
True, Branson is a different kind of CEO in charge of a different kind of company facing a different kind of problem, but his response is an excellent example of how to handle a crisis. Mathews may not have appeared in the media for several years, but when a company is so closely associated with one individual then for that person to remain silent when the worst happens is a mistake, from a personal and corporate reputation standpoint.
Mathews either chickened out (no pun intended) of the crisis spotlight, wasn't up to it, or was badly advised. Whatever the case, it seems like the Bernard Mathews company failed the first test of crisis PR - have a crisis PR strategy, and rehearse it. You'd think as one of the world's largest Turkey farmers Bernard Mathews would have rehearsed a bird flu outbreak. Maybe they did, just not very well.
Having said all of this, last year Cadbury's threatened the nation with salmonella chocolate bars and sales only took a short term dip. Bernard Mathews is such a recognisable national brand that I'm sure it'll bounce back in the same way.
Posted by: Carl | February 26, 2007 at 02:16 PM