PR in a Digital World
Social media has indeed broadened an organization’s
accessibility, but it hasn’t come without challenges. Public relations
officials must be very diligent in the way that they communicate with outsiders
of the organization. Before social media, any outside communication was left strictly
to a PR representative. Now outsiders have the ability to use social media to
reach out to senior managers in an attempt at avoiding the middle man and that
leaves them vulnerable to misrepresentation. This could happen anytime a senior
manager interacted with stakeholders, the media, and the public. In terms of
accessibility, Microsoft, along with other brands like Nike, offers a support
system on Twitter that consumers can ask for feedback on and have responses. “I
feel it’s a fantastic way of using social to both deliver customer service and
drive brand loyalty, though it obviously requires a huge investment in staff
and training” (Moth, 2013).
From seeing the powerful and immediate impact that Twitter can bring, leads to a 2011 example between then Pittsburgh Steelers football player Rashard Mendenhall and Hanesbrand, Inc. Hanesbrands and Mendenhall were in a talent agreement at the time of the tweets as Mendenhall was under an endorsement contract with them. Mendenhall had been on record prior to this specific incident stating that he uses Twitter to “be himself, to express his opinions, and to foster debate on controversial and non-controversial issues” but after issuing a “series of tweets concerning the public celebrations of Osama bin Laden’s death” (Chaney & Liebler, 2014), Hanesbrands, Inc. decided to terminate his exclusive endorsement contract. A few of the tweets read: “What kind of person celebrates death? It’s amazing how people can HATE a man they never even heard speak. We’ve only heard one side… For those of you who said we want to see Bin Laden burn in hell and piss on his ashes, I ask how would God feel about your heart? There is not an ignorant bone in my body. I just encourage you to #think… We’ll never know what really happened. I just have a hard time believing a plane could take a skyscraper down demolition style” (Chaney & Liebler, 2014). Hanesbrand viewed these tweets as causing a public outrage or scandal, and per their contract where it stated that if Mendenhall commits or becomes involved in a public dispute, scandal, or insults the public or any protected class, then termination will take effect. Hanesbrand released a statement afterwards that elaborated on their view of Mendenhall’s breach of the morals clause in which they stated that their company supports the armed forces and the decisions of America in response to the terror attacks. Although they stated that they respected Mendenhall’s right to express his thoughts, those thoughts did indeed violate their contract. The ethical implication here is that while people do have the freedom of speech listed in our constitution, they still have to abide by the rules and guidelines set forth by their employers.
Rashard Mendenhall Tweet 1
Rashard Mendenhall Tweet 2
Rashard Mendenhall Tweet 3
Rashard did make a small attempt at saving face and furthering his own PR through these tweets shortly after:
Rashard Mendenhall Tweet 4
Rashard Mendenhall Tweet 5
But shortly after those, on that same day, this tweet came out:
Rashard Mendenhall Tweet 6
Possibly a jab at Hanesbrand?
Reference:
Liebler, R., & Chaney, K. (2014).
Here We Are Now, Entertain Us: Defining the Line Between Personal and
Professional Context on Social Media. Pace Law Review, 35(1), 398-545.
Moth, B. D. (2013). How Microsoft
uses Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google. Retrieved October 11, 2016, from https://econsultancy.com/blog/62485-how-microsoft-uses-facebook-twitter-pinterest-and-googlehttps://econsultancy.com/blog/62485-how-microsoft-uses-facebook-twitter-pinterest-and-google
