It really surprised me today that our course leader Pam used the Chinese word “危机”meaning dangers and opportunities to start the lecture on Crisis management.
Pam also said: “One person's nightmare can be another person's everyday life”.
In the same way, one country’s ad may become another country's poison.
In the same way, one country’s ad may become another country's poison.
In a recent Citroen advertisement, it shows Chairman Mao’s picture frowning on Citroen’s new car, with a tag line "…but at Citroen the revolution never stops." The purpose of this advertisement was to show off Citroen’s technological prowess and make it the focus of their success.
Although this advertisement was shown in several Spanish newspapers, it caused a huge stir in the Chinese market. Soon after, Citroen decided to release the following statement: “French car-maker Citroen has apologised to China for running a full-page advertisement in several Spanish newspapers featuring a poster of late Chinese leader Mao Zedong pulling a wry face at a sporty hatch-back. “(Source: Reuters)
It is too complicated to explain the relationship between Mao and the Chinese people to a Western country, but according to BBC’ s research, the Chinese people believe that “it is not only insulting Chairman Mao, but the whole Chinese nation”.
In light of this PR disaster, I believe Citroen responded in a very professional way, dealing with the situation in an efficient and reasonable way. However, according to a Chinese news survey, 76% of participants will not buy any Citroen products.
What’s the next step after cleaning the mess up? I think that time goes on and campaigns need to be developed to mend the wounds. How do you put a price on the reputation lost and is there a set way of carrying out crisis evaluation and management?
With the gloablisation of information, multinational companies must take into account that information spreads faster than before. Cultural sensitivity is a key to developing a successful crisis PR plan in different cultures.
I’m sure that Citroen has their own PR teams, however their internal communication is neither global nor any good between the PR and Marketing teams.
Finally, it seems like Citroen is still having no luck with the Chinese people, although Chinese people supposedly have a good relationship with the French.
Good luck Citroen…
Although this advertisement was shown in several Spanish newspapers, it caused a huge stir in the Chinese market. Soon after, Citroen decided to release the following statement: “French car-maker Citroen has apologised to China for running a full-page advertisement in several Spanish newspapers featuring a poster of late Chinese leader Mao Zedong pulling a wry face at a sporty hatch-back. “(Source: Reuters)
It is too complicated to explain the relationship between Mao and the Chinese people to a Western country, but according to BBC’ s research, the Chinese people believe that “it is not only insulting Chairman Mao, but the whole Chinese nation”.
In light of this PR disaster, I believe Citroen responded in a very professional way, dealing with the situation in an efficient and reasonable way. However, according to a Chinese news survey, 76% of participants will not buy any Citroen products.
What’s the next step after cleaning the mess up? I think that time goes on and campaigns need to be developed to mend the wounds. How do you put a price on the reputation lost and is there a set way of carrying out crisis evaluation and management?
With the gloablisation of information, multinational companies must take into account that information spreads faster than before. Cultural sensitivity is a key to developing a successful crisis PR plan in different cultures.
I’m sure that Citroen has their own PR teams, however their internal communication is neither global nor any good between the PR and Marketing teams.
Finally, it seems like Citroen is still having no luck with the Chinese people, although Chinese people supposedly have a good relationship with the French.
Good luck Citroen…
1 comment:
While you can make fun of Blair and Bush in the West, you could be in prison by doing the same to the Chinese leaders. I like your way of thinking the Citroen issue. Indeed, cultural sensitivity weights heavier in PR plans than ever before. Whoever approved the Mao plan made a very careless decision and I doubt if he/she did a thorough research in the Chinese market.
But if it was Citroen’s intention to create a buzz in the Chinese market, that would be a different story.
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