An oopsie at the oscars

Some things got awkward during this year's Oscars when beauty advice website, Total Beauty, tweeted a major “oops” by mistaking two celebrities for each other. Total Beauty tweeted “We had no idea @Oprah was #tatted, and we love it. #Oscars”, along with a picture of Whoopi Goldberg on the red carpet. First off, Oprah Winfrey is not #tatted. Shortly after twitter fans began to point out the mistake, Total Beauty deleted the tweet. Later, they sent an apology tweet and offered to donate $10,000 to charity to make up for the mistake.

Not only does sort of mistake insult people, but it also can negatively impact a brand. Handling a PR crisis such as this is vital for a brand.

In every profession, there is a need for damage control at some point. Typically this is done to fix someone else’s mess. In most cases, everyone will have to make up for someone’s brain fart at some point. In the field of Advertising and Public Relations, there is a misconception that ALL we do is damage control as people working in this field, but that simply isn’t true. Yes, screw ups
happen and yes you need to fix them. In PR, the conflict management model (proactive, strategic, reactive, recovery) is practiced. These strategies together are used by the public relations professional to develop communication strategies and processes. These are used to influence the course of conflicts to benefit the organization.

The proactive phase – this phase includes activities and thought processes that are able to prevent a conflict from starting or getting out of hand.

The strategic phase – this phase looks at an issue that has become a conflict, and it is decided that it needs action by the PR professional.

The reactive phase - this phase takes place when issues critically impact the organization. The PR professional will react to these conflicts as they unfold.

The recovery phase – this phase takes place after a crisis occurs. The organization will use strategies already chosen to repair the situation and reputation of the organization.

It sounds like Total Beauty could use some advice of their own and take a look at the conflict management strategies. Those of us in the PR world can all learn from this mistake...
1.) Be Transparent – brands that want to survive a scandal must be honest and straightforward.
2.) Be Proactive – Proactive brands “kill the monster while it’s small”
3.) Be Authentic – Brands that admit flaws, don’t pretend to be perfect, and strive to be better are capable of creating strong relationships with their customers.
4.) And lastly, know what you’re talking about before you hit “send”. 

Lauren Weaver is a public relations student in her junior year at GVSU. New this year to GrandPR, she is excited for the opportunity to implement the skills she is learning in her classes. She is a member of Sigma Sigma Sigma National Sorority, PRSSA, and an intern for West Michigan Therapy Dogs. Outside of school, Lauren enjoys volunteering, spending time with her sorority sisters, binge watching Friends and playing with dogs.