Call it the Battle of the Terrible T’s or How to Bungle Your Brand. However you bill it, the PR question of the moment is who handled things worse – Toyota or Tiger?
While one is a car and the other a golfer, there are painful parallels.
Both brands were riding very high before the fall. And as we all know, the higher they fly…
Almost incredibly, they both followed the same ill-advised but well-worn path in how they confronted their falls from grace. There appears to be only two possible explanations:
- the world’s leading car company and its biggest sports celebrity got and took the same incredibly bad crisis communication advice
- they decided independently on an approach guaranteed to take their bad situations and make them worse
Admit the problem, apologize, focus on the fix and move on. Little kids learn this stuff the first time they get caught with their hands in the cookie jar.
Instead, what we got was delay, deny, downplay, and the drip, drip, drip of another defect, another affair. The monologue writers on the late-night talk shows had such an abundance of material they didn’t know where to start.
What’s next?
Will Toyota retain/recover the industry-leading brand loyalty that was built on a reputation for excellence? Will Tiger retain/recover the devotion of fans who placed him on a pedestal of human perfection?
In the courtroom of public opinion, the jury is still out. And much rides on there being no repeat performances. But if I had to bet today on the final outcome, I’d say both still have a reasonable shot at redemption.
I would, however, give a slight edge to Tiger in the image rehabilitation race. If statistics and history are to be believed, more people can secretly identify with – and possibly forgive – a recovering cheater than a corporation guilty of dangerous product defaults.
What’s your opinion? Who gets your vote for the PR Bungler Award – Tiger or Toyota? Post a vote and/or comment.
Remember, you’re not voting on the offense but on the handling of the aftermath. Unlike political elections, this is a topic you are likely to get to vote on more than once this year.
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