Detroit’s Big Three – The Power of PR and the Burden of Corporate Culture
Big Three Automakers CEOs before Congress
If there ever was a case to be made that image matters, it was back in November, when the CEOs of Detroit’s Big Three flew on their corporate jets to Washington, DC asking for billions of dollars in bailouts for their troubled companies. Talk about an industry black eye.
That Ford, Chrysler and General Motors made a PR blunder of the highest magnitude goes without saying. What is less clear is how many of us PR professionals would have anticipated Congressional reaction and advised our management before hand to do the following:
Do a “Capraesque” Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Be an everyman Jimmy Stewart character and drive to Congress in our experimental hybrid car to demonstrate our concern for the little guy and our commitment to frugality and innovation. Along the way we can stop and meet with car dealers and customers to hear their concerns. We will show our understanding about new communications by blogging or Twittering and chronicling our trip on YouTube to reach younger audiences.
I am a big advocate of new media with a political background, and I am not sure I would have made the recommendation — after the fact yes definitely, in a PR vacuum for sure, but in an office of a GM, Ford and Chrysler CEO, maybe not. But can you imagine the PR benefit if you had?
Old habits die hard. I can recall listening to a displeased CEO who had to wait an extra half hour at Dulles Airport even though our flight actually arrived earlier than the one from National. So I can only imagine the response if I had made the suggestion in a company with multiple corporate jets.
Given that BIg Three CEOs are 1) fighting for their companies’ survival, 2) stretched for time, and 3) accustomed to big time perks, it seems unlikely they would willingly, for example, drive a Chevrolet Volt hybrid protoype that GM CEO Rick Wagoner used for his second trip before the Senate Banking Committee.
[I understand that two of the CEOs did drive to Washington, but only when they had already squandered all their PR capital.]
So let’s put aside individual personalities. Forget scheduling for a moment.. It comes down to corporate culture. If the underlying DNA does not embrace change, it is unlikely that PR can make up the difference.
This past Friday the Wall Street Journal reported that the Big Three are using YouTube, blogs, Twitter and Google search to make their cases to the public.
It is interesting to note that many companies turn to new media when they are in crisis as a way to signal that they are listening, that they get it. If you are willing to invest in social media in a time of crisis, it certainly makes sense to invest in social media in calmer times when the stakes are not as high and when credibility can be banked, not spent.
In all fairness, however, new media is not new to the auto makers.
General Motors employs Christopher Barger, Director Global Communications Technology while over at Ford Scott Monty heads up its global digital and multimedia communications. GM’s corporate FastLane blog is one of the first successful corporate blogs.
In a recent speech to the Public Relations Society of America in Detroit, GM Vice Chairman and FastLane blogger said of new media:
“But it’s so much more than that, I’ve come to realize. It’s an opportunity to have a real dialogue with our customers and potential customers. It’s an opportunity to put our message out there, unfiltered.”
As I have long maintained, social media is at one level a series of tactics to deliver your message. At another it reflects a deeper commitment to your customers and a willingness to see them as partners in your business.
Putting aside the Big Three, all the blogs and social networks in the world are not going to improve a company’s image if management really doesn’t want to or is unable to tap the power conversations and engagement to deliver better products and services.
Let me get back to you.
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