Hogs and Facebook Ads?

There has been lots of buzz lately about advertising and marketing efforts across social networks like Facebook. According to many experts, these networks represent the wave of the future when it comes to reaching younger, segmented audiences that use the Internet to hang out with each other.

On the other hand, members of these social networks are growing wary (and frustrated) about becoming targets of unwanted advertising.

Of course, the owners of these sites can reap huge profits from advertising revenue -- sorry, folks, someone has to pay for the social networking services that we take for granted.

So what does the hog pictured here have to do with Facebook and advertising? Check out the recent blog post by Jason on calacanis.com for more about the debate over social network advertising.

Oink,
Mark

Oprah Does it Again!

As some of you know, my cat disappeared this past week, and I have been a mess. I thought for sure that she was dead. Well last night she showed up, she needed to be rushed to the Emergency Vet, and her leg needs to be amputated, so naturally I have been a mess over that too. Thank god though because she is alive and well, minus the major problem. So I apologize to you, my classmates and professor, as I have not actively participated this time around.

With all that being said... A sex scandal has emerged within South Africa. Oprah Winfrey's Leadership Academy for Girls has become a major news headline, as alleged sex scandals have surfaced. This is an important matter not only for the world, but also for this class, as this may be a venue for the NAAMHC public relations campaign. Luckily for IBM and us, I think Oprah Winfrey has done an amazing job handling this PR fiasco.

RESEARCH: According to Daily Mail on October 29, 2007, Oprah Winfrey has made multiple (at least two) personal appearances at the school over the past few weeks. She has spoken with all the girls and parents to figure out exactly what has happened. "She organized an independent investigation headed by Richard Farley, a Chicago detective who specializes in child abuse," according to AdelaideNow. According to Yahoo News, Oprah also encouraged counseling for all students, and encouraged them to come forward. Currently there are only 7 formal complaintants. Unfortunately I can't remember the television program I watched on this, but it did say that Oprah also gave each girl in the academy a cell phone to call her directly if they wanted to talk to her.

PLANNING: Oprah Winfrey made lots of plans. Her first step was to contact the police, and hire a private investigator. She was told not to communicate to the public until investigations were ended, so she did not to jeopardize the case. She also began removing all matrons from the school, as they had hid details and allegations of abuse from her. Basically every single employee was being replaced. She also planned how to speak with the American public, as well as the parents of these kids. Her press conferences were to be held in America and in South Africa.

COMMUNICATION: Oprah Winfrey did an amazing job communicating to her publics. According to WBZTV (Which also has a nice video that I couldn't get into this post), Oprah held press conferences and apologized to the parents and students, as well as her fans. She claimed she was devastated from this scandal, and she is doing everything to correct it. She took full responsibility for what happened, and stated that there was a flaw with her hiring and screening process, even though she did not hire the faculty, she still took responsibility for it. News anchors, such as the one featured on WBZTV's site, praised Oprah and said that politicians and other celebrities should learn from the way Oprah communicates.

EVALUATION: I think Oprah did an amazing job handling this case, which is a good sign for our NAAMHC case study. She held nothing back. She took responsibility, personally handled investigations and telling the police, communicated with the students, parents and fans, and kicked PR butt. Oprah is a classic showing of good PR. She handled it well when she found out the author of A Million Little Pieces lied about his "Autobiography" and she apologized them as well. She is really a great example of a truthful, honest, and great public communicator. Lets all take a hint from her in the future with our handling of PR fiascos.

Merck on Vioxx: "We May Have Killed Thousands, But We're Still On Top"

Pharmaceutical company Merck has found itself in some hot water recently since its popular drug Vioxx has been linked to the heart attacks, strokes and deaths of several patients around the world. Merck has agreed to pay almost $5 billion to settle various lawsuits.

One such case is Carol Ernst, whose husband died after taking Vioxx, as featured in the New York Times article.

Merck stopped selling Vioxx in September 2004 following a clinical trial that showed that it raised the risks of heart attacks and strokes. Despite all these troubles, how is Merck somehow coming out on top? Merck's stock has risen 2.3 percent since the news has broke, which is pretty much unheard of.

Research: I'm sure that Merck conducted copious research on the Vioxx drug before it was released to the market, and surely before the FDA. It is the practice of all pharmaceutical companies to do so because, quite frankly, a mistake on their part can and will cost them someone's life. However, it is hard to do research on humans, for obvious reasons, and if research is conducted on animals certain problems that will only occur in humans will never be found. I'm not exactly sure what the solution to this dilemma is but perhaps the use of an animal that is genetically more similar to a human would be more practical. Also, is there a possibility that human cells can be tested using this drug? The smartest minds are at work on projects such as these and I feel there must be a more logical explanation to this.

Planning: There is also a great amount of planning that goes into the launch of a drug. A company like Merck has to plan all of its messages about the drug, including messages about crises such as these. Because of the regularity that these cases have, Merck and other pharmaceutical companies build their public relations plans to allow for the possibility of possible lawsuits and other such problems. In addition, Merck is also committed to keeping their litigations public, as you can read further here. This does show Merck's commitment to the litigation, even though a more proactive approach could have been much more effective.

Communication: Merck's communication in this case was mostly legal. The company made a strong commitment to legally fight every claim followed by a blanket settlement with several, if not all, of the lawsuits raised against them. This sets the standard for other cases of this nature because it is more beneficial for the company than settling individual cases. This is most likely a public relations tactic that was decided by Merck ahead of time in the event of something like this. In addition, it is hard to prove that Vioxx in itself has caused these deaths. Merck's clinical trials did not take into account other factors that may lead to death, such as smoking or alcohol abuse in concurrence with regular use of Vioxx.

Evaluation: One thing that I did not see at all in this case was evaluation. At the end of the article, it was clear that Merck believed the only thing that mattered was that they had not lost money in the end. We all know it is the duty of a public relations professional to create plans that keep both the company AND its publics in mind. I doubt death is one of the values that Merck's publics holds dear to its collective heart. If Merck was more concerned with evaluation, they could plan for more research to be conducted in order for these tragedies to be avoided from the beginning. Although this would decrease Merck's revenue because of the increased budget for research, in the end it would save lives. It is up to Merck to decide which is more important. In addition, this attitude has spread to other drugs, such as Avandia, which is featured here in this video clip.

Don't Eat Your iPhone!

Greenpeace slammed Apple in a report released October 15, 2007, claiming the iPhone contains many toxic materials that the company promised to cut down on. Based on the study, another environmental group, the CEH, has threatened to sue Apple for violating California law. Others question whether it's logical to single out one device when so many consumer products contain toxic materials.

The handset, according to the group, contains several toxic substances including brominated flame retardants as well as phthalates plasticisers and chloride, both substances characteristic of PVC (polyvinyl chloride). So far, it's been proven that the iPhone is only hazardous to one's health.. if you eat it. Who in their right mind would gnaw on an iPhone??

According to newsfeedresearcher, "Apple did not respond to inquiries for comment by press time, and the CEH said it had not heard back from the company as of yet."

Research: Apple took their time in addressing this issue. First, the price decrease of the iPhone that originally sold for $599, then this. Kudos to Apple for addressing the price issue in a timely manner. But unfortunately, Apple was not nearly as prompt in addressing this matter. They may have set themselves up by issuing a "green" statement (a promise to an environmentally safe phone) prior to the launch of the iPhone, then releasing a phone that is now reported as environmentally unsafe. Thus, this indicates that Apple did not engage in proper research.

In its defense, Apple responded to the report by reiterating its original "green Apple" statement, pointing out that the levels of chemicals in its products adhere to government standards. This statement does not fall in place with Greenpeace's findings. Also, it's hard to say what research Apple could have done prior to launching their phone, seeing that other competing manufacturers' products, such as Nokia and Sony, contain these toxins as well. Is Greenpeace targeting Apple?

Planning: Unfortunately, there was not much planning involved in this case because I believe Apple had hoped for the best and did not expect any complications in the launch of their iPhone. It is only for Apple to truly know whether or not they were releasing a phone that did not adhere to California state law and were simply hoping it would not be detected. To say that they could have planned for an escape route would be criminal, as this would have indicated a lack of civic concern. But, as the top innovators of technology, I'm sure they expected to be slammed in one way or another. It seemed they had a team of people on standby to address such a matter if need be.

Communication: Apple issued a statement on their website explaining their position on the toxic iPhones. They state that they will be removing toxic chemicals from their new products, but do not mention anything about a recall. No other methods or outlets of communication were found.

Evaluation: Apple should have conducted more research on the toxins within the iPhone prior to launching a "green" statement. By launching an environmentally friendly statement, then going out and releasing a product containing these toxins, diminishes Apple's credibility. But at the same time, I believe that Apple was doing the right thing by attempting to launch a "green" phone. Is it fair, or right, to slam a company for trying? So the iPhone contains potentially hazardous and cancer causing chemicals, I get that. But it's reported that peanut butter contains cancerous ingredients as well. Are they going to sue "Skippy", too?

It is difficult to measure the extent in which Apple has gone in order to clean up this mess and their image because from what I have researched, they have not utilized any other outlets other than their own, to convey their message of apology. It may have been far more effective for Apple if they had taken their stand on a few major networks.

Watch the CNN video of the toxic iPhone here.

NFL overseas

In week 8 of the 2007-08 NFL season the league attempted something that they had never done before. The NFL held a regular season game overseas at Wembley Stadium in London, England. The NFL wants to bring American football to several different foreign countries. This is a risky campaign but it is also genius as far as PR and marketing are concerned. The NFL wants to target foreign publics to increase awareness globally. Oh yeah, and to make more money from a booming sports industry.

R: The NFL had been backing an NFL Europe league from 1991-2007. They ceased operations on June 29, 2007 saying that it was a smart business move for the league, which it was. The NFL was losing nearly $30 million a year. The NFL decided to revamp their international strategy by holding regular season games in foreign countries. The league established a fan base in Europe with the NFL Europe league, but now they want to bring the American players to foreign fans. This would require some research on the NFL's part in order to ensure that this game in London would be a money making venture, but also to gain positive feedback from fans. Wembley Stadium holds 90,000 people while the largest NFL stadium holds 80,000. Over 81,000 people attended the Week 8 matchup between the New York Giants and the Miami Dolphins in London. Ticket sales+concessions+merchandise= a boat load of money, but the NFL had to antipate that there would be potential problems by holding games overseas. Although it is a good way to globalize American football, generate money, and increase the NFL's popularity it can cause some issues within the league. For example, Miami Dolphin season ticket holders aren't thrilled because the London game counted as one of Miami's 8 home games. Eventhough Miami and New York are both on Bye weeks in week 9 it took a toll on the players and coaches.

P: The NFL decided to expand its horizons in late June, early July of this year so they didn't have a whole lot of time to plan. The league planned this event in London very carfully for months and they pulled it off quite nicely. The NFL made a smart move by targeting new publics; new foreign publics. The N.F.L. brand itself skyrocketed after last weeks game in London. Outside of the stadium there was a 26 foot robot of Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor, so I'm sure that took some time to put together. Also, there was 30 minutes of warm up acts before the game even started with fireworks, cheerleaders, and all of that good American fun. According to the New York Times the NFL is far from subtle and this event in London proved that if the Super Bowl half time show with Janet Jackson didn't do that already. The Times article breaks down the game itself and also discusses the positive impact the NFL made in Europe. It is clear that there was a lot of careful planning put in to putting on a great show in London.

C: The NFL communicated on a global level by holding a regular season game overseas. The league communicated with NFL organizations and American fans as well as European fans and representatives from Wembley Stadium. It was important for the NFL to communicate clearly the rules of the game to the European fans. A you tube video shows the 26 foot robot of Jason Taylor and on a 30 foot big screen television highlights of the real Jason Taylor. This gave fans someone to root for and allowed them to become familiar with NFL players. The man in the video explains the NFL rules while the highlights are being played. This was a smart tactic used by the NFL to educate European fans on American football rules.

E: The overall response from the NFL game in London has been mainly positive although there are a few areas to improve on. Giants head coach Tom Coughlin said that it was difficult for his players to adjust to being in London and fautigue was an issue. He also said that in the future better transportation plans have to be made on the NFL's part. An article from Guardian Unlimited discusses how fans were upset because tickets were being purchased and then sold on Ebay for more than face value. Also, fans were told a certain price range before buying tickets but once they bought them the price had risen. People still bought the tickets either way but they were frustrated that the NFL raised ticket prices so soon before the game. On the other hand, there was a great response from fans and others from overseas. The mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, is quoted as saying "What this clearly shows is that there is a huge potential in Britain and wider in Europe for American football to have a huge impact. We want to see the NFL coming back to London again and again." As part of the evaluation phase the NFL had 40 volunteers handing out Q&A's to fans to get their response to the game. They asked what the fans liked and what they didn't like as well as if they understood the game. An ESPN article explains the Q&A and also has quotes from Giants head coach Tom Coughlin, quarterback Eli Manning, and NFL VP- international Mark Waller. The NFL has even discussed having a Super Bowl overseas in the future, but I feel as though many people will have a problem with that. Super Bowl Sunday has become a national holiday in America surrounded by advertisement dollars, tv deals, pizza and chicken wings. There is no way that they can take the Super Bowl out of America. I think the NFL did a great job executing their PR plan and feel that games in foreign countries is a great idea. I also think that they should be careful when trying to expand, and not to move too quickly. What do you think? Good or bad move for the NFL?

Staph Infection Break Out

A major concern regarding a deadly staph infection known as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is crossing the country. This particular strand of staph infections does not respond to antibiotics and can become fatal. There have been several outbreaks of the infection in schools and is becoming an increasing problem. I will look at one school's public relations response to an outbreak of MRSA, according to the methods of Guth and Marsh. Staunton River High School located in Bedford, VA, was one of the first schools to have a student die from the infection, 17-year-old Ashton Bonds died Monday, October 15, 2007 from the infection. You can read a full article about the case here.

Research: Although I could not find evidence that the school did conduct formal research, I can guess that some research was most likely done by school officials. They probably would have gathered as much information on the infection in order to effectively handle both the students, parents and media. The school provided useful information on their website to their audiences about the staph infection that came from medical sources.

Planning: This school did not seem to have a contingency plan immediately in place regarding the staph infection outbreak. School officials attempted to reach out to students, parents, and community members, but failed to address the sanitary issues in the school. In response to a protest by students on Tuesday October, 16, the Bedford County Public Schools Superintendent closed all 22 schools for a thorough cleaning, The extent of the cleaning is described in this article. The school also plans to regularly clean the school in order to prevent any future breakouts of infection.

Communication: The school communicated effectively to the responses of the students, parents, and community members. They posted important announcements and information about MRSA on their website. The Superintendent made formal announcements in a news conference as reported here, and the Principal is also featured on this video found online. Tactics that school officials completed in response to the case were also shown on television and in print media. The school and district officials listened to their audience's concerns and were able to communicate through a variety of tactics and communication channels.

Evaluation: Short term evaluation of the school's actions are shown in this article which states attendance at Staunton River High School was down on Thursday, October 18, when the school reopened after the cleaning. The case is new, therefore, any long term evaluation, like the upholding of regular school cleanings, will have to be evaluated at a later time.

Overall, I think that the Staunton River High School responded to the MRSA outbreak well. It is difficult to plan for something so unexpected, however, by creating many communication tactics and channels to pass on information about both MRSA and what actions the school is taking against the outbreak, the school was able to keep their audiences up to date. By also immediately taking action to the student's protest, students felt as though their concerns and opinions were taken seriously which will create respect for school and district officials.

This case also warns of the dangers of MRSA. Remember to take your hygiene into careful thought in order to prevent this outbreak within our own Marist communinty and also seek immediate professional medial assistance if you show any signs or symptoms of this infection.

Hingis tests positive for drugs and retires

I don't know if everyone follows sports but I guarantee that you are all familiar with Martina Hingis, an all-star tennis pro. Hingis is a five-time Grand Slam champion and former Wimbeldon winner. BBC News has reported that the athlete tested positive for cocaine at this year's Wimbledon. Hingis denies ever taking drugs and has decided to retire from tennis because she does not want to spend the rest of her career fighting with anti-doping authorities. Read more about Martina's case here

Let's take a look at this case according to the public relations process of Guth and Marsh.

Research: The research that has taken place in this case had been conducted by Hingis and her attorney. Although not mentioned in the article, one can only hope that Hingis' attorney or manager did some research on the International Doping Tests and Management (the company that conducts and processes the drugs tests) in order to confirm the company's credibility. Most likely Hingis and anyone advising her in this situation would have looked back on other cases of athletes testing positive for drugs and evaluated how they handled their cases.

Planning: In this particular case Hingis probably had been given advice from lawyers and public relations practitioners on how to handle the results of her drug test but the planning ultimately was Martina's personal decision. She planned to confront the issue head on by issuing a statement and retiring from tennis all together.

Communication: In order to communicate her plan to the public Hingis issued a personal statement. In her statement Hingis claimed after receiving the first round of positive results she took the advice of family and management and took a hair test, which turned out to be negative. An attorney was then hired and advised Hingis that fighting a drug test could take years. Hingis then decided to retire from the game and left fans and audiences with this concluding remark "Therefore, there is only one more thing to do - to thank all of you for your many years of goodwill, and also yo assure you: I have never taken drugs."

Evaluation: In my opinion, I find Martina's decision to be sudden and not very well planned out. If the tennis pro was in fact telling the truth that she has never taken drugs and her heart was still in the game, why retire all together. However, one can only assume that somewhere along the line she had done drugs, hence the positive results. If this was the case public relations practitioners did a good job of preserving her image. Her statement provides insight as to why she didn't want to spend the rest of her career in a courtroom when it should be on the court.

This case provides us with good public relations tactics regarding quite a hot button issue, professional athletes and the use of illegal drugs. The placement of these substances in various cases can make for one heck of a job for public relations practitioners. Usually honesty is the number one priority in PR but often times athletes and celebrities lie through their teeth about their use of illegal substances. When taking this into consideration perhaps the public relations practitioners did a really good job in handling the case of Martina Hingis. She bowed out of the league gracefully to avoid more conflict and accusations but assured audiences she had never done drugs.

Oops, what did I just...STUMBLE on?

Have you ever came home after a long day of classes, went straight to the internet to look up more information about that wonderful discussion you had in class? If not, you must be one of those people who goes to www.dictionary.com just to learn new words, right? Ha, if only that were the world today's kids lived in today, we'd probably already have the cure for cancer or something. Well instead of your typical Myspace or Facebook, how about something that leads you to websites cued by your interests? Huh huh?! I got you guys at the edge of your seats right?!

Well, our commonly known web browser, FireFox, has recenrecently added a new tool bar, and what better name to call it other than STUMBLE? We all know that the best way to procrastinate is the internet, so instead of goggling for the coolest new site or trying to see what goggle comes up with when you type in 'Old Lady Wearing Funny Hats in Milwaukee'
in the image search bar, why not go and download stumble which can bring the sites to you!

Alright, so enough of the tease, stumble is a tool bar based application that you can download right on your Firefox tool bar. It takes up no more than 209 KB (for your non-computer goers, that's not a lot ;). With this application, you are able to first, fill out an interest section, which fliters through a different websites based on what you clicked. Since I'm already a member, however, I'm not able to get you going on what interest they have, BUT you can sign up yourself here. Once you get all signed up and ready to go, you can start to stumble.

Though I'm no expert on this subject matter, I have did my research. Since we all know Firefox to be as innovative as the next guy, we know that they're always looking for ways to make their website browser more user friendly and attachable (meaning you have everything right there on your browser page). They have recently added stumble upon to facebook, youtube, ebay and wikipedia (just to name a few). With these sites, once you download stumble upon, you can go to common search engines like google or yahoo, type something in the search bar, and see whether or not people rate it as a good site or not. Is that cool or what?

Although this may sound like an amazing idea, not every one agrees to it. According to a blog by the stumbler creator Geoff Smith, not every one is enjoying how the great new application is being destroyed by the Firefox updates. "Well, the latest compulsory Firefox update, has declared Stumble Upon tool bar incompatible for Firefox and simply deleted it for me!" Says member 'plplouise.' The issue at hand here is that Firefox needs to make sure that their updates do not mess with any of their previously added applications. Though this maybe a great application to have, if you can't use it with the new Firefox, it isn't worth much any more.

But, that's expected to happen with any new technology, I mean look at the iPhone (thanks Dan!). Though they may have gotten bad blogger post, Firefox has been in the news about this new application. Recently in the Wall Street Journal, an editor writes, "Next time you want to wander the Web, forget about Googling it. Stumble it." We all know how creditable the Wall Street Journal is and with that type of publication backing you, you stand to be creditable. But that's not all, according the BBC World, "Stumble Upon is a brilliant downloadable tool bar that beds into your browser and gives you the chance to surf through thousands of excellent pages that have been stumbled upon by other web-users."

So with over 2 million users to date, Stumble upon has been used and website have been browsed. But, with it's new add-ons, you can now share websites with your friends, search video games, videos, and other amazing things, and even a blog (this is all you professor VanDyke), Stumble upon has thought of it all! I think they hit a very good audience with the new wave of web 2.0. It also has linked itself with very popular sites such as ebay, facebook, myspace, and others, which has increased its awareness. Though their plan may not have been completely outlined, It's difficult giving you too much information without taking away from the great distraction it will and can be. So go ahead, sign up, and STUMBLE!

Dog Is In the Dog House

A&E's hit show "Dog the Bounty Hunter" is currently experiencing a difficult situation. The show is in its fifth season and is one of A&E's top rated programs. Duane "Dog" Chapman, the star of the show, was recorded during a private telephone conversation with his son using racial language. He used the "N-word" repeatedly while talking to his son about his girlfriend, who Dog urged him to break up with.

In a situation like this, what research can be done? The video clearly shows what Dog said, but people have questions as to why and how it happened. The conversation was recorded and posted online by the National Inquirer. During the recording, Dog states that it is not about the race of the person, but about their character. David Perel, the Enquirer's editor-in-chief said, ''There's no problem with how the tape was obtained and Dog has acknowledged its authenticity, and admitted to using the racist language." He would not comment on how the tape was obtained because it is its contents that matter.

A&E has taken control of the problem. They have already suspended the show and plan to do an investigation. Dog is planning to meet with his spiritual adviser, Rev. Tim Storey, who is black, and hopes to meet with other black leaders, including Rev. Al Sharpton, in order to learn who he truly is and how to make things right.

Much communication has been done to the media. Dog has issued many statements apologizing, for example: ''My sincerest, heartfelt apologies go out to every person I have offended for my regrettable use of very inappropriate language. I am deeply disappointed in myself for speaking out of anger to my son and using such a hateful term in a private phone conversation" and, ''I know that all of my fans are deeply disappointed in me, as well, as I have tried to be a model for doing the right thing ... I did not do the right thing this time, and hope you will forgive me." (You can view these and other heart-wrenching apologetic statements in this The New York Times article and this CNN.com article.) As pervisouly stated, A&E has suspended the show pending an investigation. A&E spokesman Michael Feeney said, "We take this matter very seriously" and when the "inquiry is concluded, we will take appropriate action."

Seeing as this case just hit the news today evaluation has not taken place yet. Everyone who watches the video will have their own evaluations, I'm sure. Hopefully A&E will take appropriate action so as not to be associated with any form of racism.

So far, I think A&E is handling things very well. Suspending the show was necessary; however, I don't know what excuses could possibly justify putting it back on. Dog has done the right thing by apologizing, but what were his other options? Ironically, the video clearly shows that exposing his racist beliefs was solely what he was trying to prevent. Too bad. I think people will find it hard to sympathize with him after such remarks and actual effort to conceal his beliefs. I would recommend that the show not be put back on. Even if it were, it has already lost a huge fan base. Would you watch his show again?

India's Kids Fall Into the GAP

No two words can scare a company or business more than "child labor." It's a hot-buttoned issue that brings controversy and emotions around whenever it is uncovered. Recently, a British news source broke the story of international retailer GAP using child labor in one of its Indian factories to produce clothes and accessories that would have hit the stores just in time for Christmas shopping. It should be clear that the GAP isn't directly responsible but an independent subcontractor is to blame for the hiring (most children weren’t paid) of children to do the work. Nonetheless, GAP faces a crisis just weeks before its most important time of year.

Going back to Guth and Marsh, this case can be evaluated using the RPCE formula.

Research- GAP did its research. They “launched an immediate investigation” as soon as the story about child labor violations within their company broke. They determined that one of their vendors that is responsible for a small portion of their orders was indeed using children as its main means of labor.

Planning- They have dealt with this situation before, so they seem to have been relatively prepared for the situation if it happened again. According to the press release published on GAP's website, they had a few tactics already planned. First, they cancelled the work order from that specific vendor. They also ensured that none of the clothes that came from that vendor would ever sell in stores. Finally, they called a meeting with all the suppliers in that region to go over and reinforce their child labor policy. This economic times article goes on to say that GAP also called a meeting with their domestic vendors. GAP has 90 people working for them to enforce their labor laws and last year alone stopped doing business with 23 companies for violating the rules they set forth.

Communication- As said, the GAP issued a press release on its website discussing the recent news. This is a good way to reach some of its publics. I was unable to find whether or not GAP was issuing a statement or release using any other means (postal mail, email, etc) to reach even more of its constituents. My guess is that they will.

Evaluation- Overall, I think the GAP did a pretty good job with the handling of this case. Their number one advantage was that this had happened before, and they were prepared for it. They stopped the shipments, called meetings to reinforce their policies, and got right to the problem as soon as it occurred.

Recommendation- I have a few recommendations for this case with GAP. First, they should put a link to the press release on their gap.com site so that public can be made aware of what happened. Second, they should launch investigations into other factories to make sure they don’t get hit with another bombshell in the coming weeks (reporters will be looking for a story). Last, since GAP owns Banana Republic and Old Navy, they should have a plan in case one of those stores comes under scrutiny.

JetBlue's Valentine's Day Blues

Many of you may remember the JetBlue snow storm crisis from this past Valentine's Day.

If you happened to miss the disaster, let me recap it for you. On February 14^th, 9 JetBlue planes full of passengers were stranded on the tarmac at the JFK airport for more than six hours each, as a wicked ice storm froze the plane’s wheels to the tarmac and much of the equipment that helps move and de-ice them. JetBlue was the only airline not to cancel flights. The planes couldn’t take off and there were no open gates to which they could return, so passengers sat on the planes for as long as 8 hours! Some of the planes weren’t heated, while others ran out of food, and the toilets got unbearably filthy. It was one of the worst cases of passengers being stranded on tarmacs in recent years.

A little background on JetBlue is that the airline began business in 1999 and quickly shot to the top of customer satisfaction surveys conducted by J. D. Power and Associates. For 2007 it was the top pick among low-cost carriers. This disaster was the first major crisis for the young company.

JetBlue had no previous planning in place for such an event, therefore, they had no contingency plans in place. However, once the disaster took place, it didn’t take long for a plan to come into effect. According to Guth and Marsh, this process of identifying issues as they emerge and preparing a timely response to address them is known as issues management (2005, p 7).

In David Weinberger’s book titled “Small Pieces Loosely Joined”, he says “companies talk in bizarre, stilted ways because they believe that such language expresses their perection...This rhetoric is as glossy and unbelievable as the photos in the marketing brochure. Such talk kills conversation. That’s exactly why companies talk this way.” JetBlue however did quite the opposite.

As for communication, JetBlue’s target message was clear and simple: the company had made a mistake. Many other companies use these long, complicated, and drawn-out statements to make an apology. JetBlue took the more traditional route with issuing its apology. The PR spokesman simply said, “what happened on Wednesday was totally unacceptable”. Their main goals were to satisfy disgruntled passengers, get people to understand the company made a mistake, and change the cancellation policy for future flights.

David G. Neeleman, chief executive of JetBlue, said he was personally overseeing the airline’s recovery efforts this week and also acting as chief apologizer. This was a smart and strategic PR move by JetBlue. It showed that the most powerful person in the company was very concerned about what had happened. He promised that JetBlue would have to be better prepared to deal with freakish weather in the future. “We will change our operational strategy based on this,” Mr. Neeleman said. “We would prefer to be in control of how we compensate customers we have inconvenienced.”

Neeleman released a video clip outlining all the changes that JetBlue would be making in the days following. He said, “we are going to make some major changes in our organization to make sure this never happens again.” For JetBlue to state that the company made a mistake and then shows how they will overcome the mistake gains credibility.

Neeleman did an interview with NBC Today, explaining why JetBlue had such a big problem with this compared to other airlines.

The day after the storm, JetBlue announced that passengers traveling on the airline from February 15^th to February 19^th could voluntarily choose to rebook a different flight for travel through May 22^nd. If customers chose to rebook the same route for different days, JetBlue would waive all change fees and fare differences. This helped ease the blow of many angry passengers.

The Tuesday following the disaster, JetBlue announced a new Customer Bill of Rights. This was a great move
by JetBlue because it shows that the company had long-term goals for this
situation. According to Wilson, strategic planning and management needs to be built around long-term thinking as opposed to short-term (2000, p 8).

The evaluation can be put into tangible results through the number of customers that still use JetBlue. After reading several different blogs, including this one it is apparent that people are still choosing to the low-cost carrier. As you read, you will see that many people commented that the President’s apology on youtube and the simple fact that their flights are cheap are two good enough reasons to keep using the airline.

I believe that overall JetBlue did a good job handling the crisis. When it comes down to it, I would still fly JetBlue because of the low cost, but it better be sunny out! Would you fly JetBlue?

Stupid is as stupid does.

To begin this post, I would like to quote an exact line from the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff:

"I think it was one of the dumbest and most inappropriate things I've seen since I've been in government," Michael Chertoff (pictured on left) said. (CNN).

If you have not yet heard, watched, or read in the news, FEMA made a PR boo boo. Pat Philbin, FEMA's external affairs director, held a fake news conference to address FEMA's response to the victims of the wildfires in SoCal. "The agency — much maligned for its sluggish response to Hurricane Katrina over two years ago — arranged to have FEMA employees play the part of reporters at the event Tuesday and question Vice Adm. Harvey E. Johnson, the deputy director" (FOXNews).

To see the entire news conference, including questions from phony media personnel, feel free to play the video below, compliments of YouTube.



Now comes the exciting part. Utilizing our knowledge of Guth and Marsh's (2005) RACE and RECAP, let's analyze how FEMA has handled the national exposure of this case:

After reading both the CNN and FOXNews articles, it appears as if some informal research was conducted by FEMA Director David Paulison. Paulison probably did not have any time to engage in formal research, but he most likely questioned Pat Philbin to see what exactly happened and why the fake news conference even took place. Through their informal research, FEMA probably identified their key publics as the American public, including the media and FEMA employees. The CNN article suggests that more formal research will be conducted in the form of an investigation of this incident.

The research that FEMA conducted allowed them to formulate a plan to handle the situation. Their main goals were most likely to a) publicly address Philbin's (pictured on right) decision to hold the phony conference by removing him of his duties and b) regain their credibility by releasing video coverage of the fake conference to the media and disclosing all information about the case. The message that FEMA wanted to send out to America was that of disapproval and apology for Philbin's "error in judgment" (FOXNews).

FEMA communicated its messages via the release of an internal memo from David Paulison (check the left side of this NY Times article for the pdf. of this memo), and via their formal letter of apology. This memo communicated Paulison's (pictured on left) disapproval of the incident, and highlighted the mistakes that were made. This memo was intended to reach its internal audience, the FEMA employees; since it was released to the media, its scope then widened to address the American public. Overall, the main message of FEMA (their disapproval and letter of apology) were communicated by using the memo, removal of Pat Philbin, and letter as tactics, and the mass media and FEMA website as a channel of communication to its publics.

Since this event has just become public over the past two days, FEMA has not yet had the opportunity (in my knowledge) to evaluate the success of their PR strategy for this case.

After analyzing this case in depth, I have a couple recommendations for how FEMA could, and still can handle this situation more effectively:

• The should have publicly addressed this situation much earlier. It took them six days to release their knowledge of this. A speedier response might have helped to better preserve their credibility. A speedy response is crisis management 101 (Seitel, 2006).
  
• FEMA should issue a formal, publicly televised statement of apology to the media, FEMA employees, and the American public. It was not until six days after the incident that FEMA issued any formal apology and that was only on their website.

Joe Torre Leaves the New York Yankees

Anyone who lives in the North East region, and probably most of those who don't, are aware of the man pictured to the left. This man is Joe Torre. He used to hold the title of New York Yankee's Manager; however, he most recently picked up one word in front of that title: former. For twelve years, Torre successfully managed the team leading them to three world Championships and numerous other titles along the way. Now, the challenge for the New York Yankees is to find someone who can replace the man who "is not just winning but a sense of attachment and identification that he effortlessly inspired among the fans and the players and the millions of sports bystanders." For an in depth account of Joe Torre and his New York Yankees team click here.

Now a big job for the New York Yankees is to find a new manager to replace Joe Torre and live up to his reputation. After Torre was upset in this World Series run, he decided not to take back his position of manager for the Yanks. (Okay Boston fans, that's enough!) Refer to www.newyorkyankees.com for recaps of the final games of the season and scores for the Series games.

Yankee fans say hello to your new team manager: Joe Girardi (to the right). The job of the public relations team is to inform the public that this is going to be the new manager and to get people excited for a new era of the New York Yankees.

The first step in the process by Guth and Marsh is research. The public relations team would have had to research to find the right audiences to pitch this story to. It is obvious that the Yankees would want to contact all major media outlets in the New York area such as this article in the New York Times. The Times being a very large publication would get the word out about this exciting event and to many different publics along the way. What the Yankees want is for the public to be excited about the new manager so that sports fans will attend Yankee games. They hope that a new manager means a new round of excitement for the avid fans. As far as researching to appoint a new manager. The team looked at different candidates, including Don Mattingly, and did an intense round of interviewing to chose the best new manager.

The next step is planning. I have not found much on how the PR team planned to get the word across about the new manager. However, it was just announced this afternoon that Girardi would be Torre's replacement. The did; however, hold one press conference when Torre decided to not accept the contract he was offered this year. This is planning on the PR teams part to announce that he was not coming back. I would assume that there is a press conference in the works to announce the new manager; however, I have not been able to find any evidence of one. The announcement is brand new; therefore, there are not any new plans yet.

In this video: Joe Torre announces at his press conference that he will not be returning to the Yankees.

The third step in the process is communication. The PR team has to find a way to communicate this event to its publics. Through press releases and different medias, they will get the word out that Girardi has accepted this position. Major press publications will cover the story such as the New York Times, Daily News, and many others all over the country. This is a topic that many sports fans, no matter what team you root for, are interested in. They also will get the word out to television media. Many news media will cover the story as well. They will set up interviews with important Yankee contacts and with Girardi to talk about his new position.

Lastly, evaluation must be done on this case. Since the case is so new, there is not much evaluating to be done yet. It is still in the beginning works, and there are many media channels that have not even covered the story yet. When they do end up covering the story, I am not sure how the Yankees will measure the success of their public relations dealings. They can see how many different publications cover the story, but until next baseball season, it will not be noticeable if the management change will help or hurt the Yanks.

For an unprofessional view of the press conference with Torre visit this website. It has one person's comments and criticism of the press conference as it goes on with a blog underneath.

As an endnote to the Yankee season:

Blog Discussion Period 2

Our second and final individual blog case study discussion begins on Monday, Oct. 29. I would like to kick off this discussion by addressing a unique example of how one person can inspire a world-wide movement through simple yet powerful communication strategies and tactics. I hope this encourages you to think out of the box in terms of public relations and have some fun with our discussion at the same time. Remember, for our discussion to succeed (and for you to achieve the desired outcome), each of you needs to post early, comment often, and invest creativity and intellectual energy in this assignment.

Searching Shel Holtz’s public relations blog, I found a reference to a social marketing campaign called Free Hugs. I started to collect information about the public relations aspects of this campaign by watching the movement’s video on YouTube. Click on the following image to watch the video, with theme music by Sick Puppies.




Inspired by the images and music on this video, I drilled deeper. I reviewed the Free Hugs campaign official Web site and discovered that the movement was launched spontaneously in an airport in Sydney, Australia by Juan Mann (allegedly a pseudonym for one man). Juan explained how his campaign began in the airport: “Standing there … watching other passengers meeting their waiting friends and family … faces, hugging and laughing together, I wanted someone out there to be waiting for me. To be happy to see me. To smile at me. To hug me” (Mann, 2007, paragraph 6).

Thus, Juan engaged in little or no research before launching his campaign – but this is understandable, since the campaign began informally. However, I would add that Juan probably engaged in informal research. For instance, as he was “watching other passengers” (Mann, 2007, paragraph 6), he was practicing empirical observation (see the Wilson, 2000 readings). When Juan decided to make a sign that read “FREE HUGS” and stand at a busy intersection in the airport he engaged in participant observation, which is also a form of primary research. Still, he did little to identify specific audiences, instead picking public places like busy airports and city streets to interact with people at random. He was interested, however, in finding out more about people’s interest – or stake – in hugging!

Likewise, I could find little evidence that he did any formal planning for his campaign. His campaign seemed to evolve from his first spontaneous encounter in the Sydney airport. As he repeated this social experiment in other locations around Sydney, he was told that he had to stop because he did not have the required insurance and other permissions for his public demonstrations. As a result, he decided to start a petition, with the goal to enlist supporters for his actions. His overall message seemed to be clear. From Juan’s Web site, I know that he believes in the power of the human spirit to overcome social ills and give us hope. According to Juan, “In this age of social disconnectivity and lack of human contact, the effects of the Free Hugs campaign became phenomenal” (Mann, 2007, paragraph 2).

Juan Mann’s communication and evaluation activities were the most interesting aspect of his public relations campaign. First, just Google free hugs and you will see 4,450,000 results! He has his own Web site, a MySpace site, numerous videos on YouTube, a long entry in Wikipedia, appearances on major news media outlets like the Oprah Winfrey Show, and an active blog. He has executed many other communication tactics across various media channels.

While I couldn’t find evidence of Juan having established any formal goals, he seems to have achieved phenomenal success in spreading his messages about hope, the human spirit, and physical contact. You can find evidence of this in his Google returns and the way his message has spread like a virus across the Internet.

In terms of evaluation, it’s worth considering how Juan achieved this success:

1. Can we attribute this to excellent public relations, which is defined as management of communication between an organization and its publics (e.g., Grunig & Hunt, 1984)?

2. Or is the success due to an Internet-based viral marketing campaign? Public relations is often confused with marketing. The two practices are similar but have important differences. Cutlip, Center, and Broom (1999) wrote: “Marketing is the management function that identifies human needs and wants, offers products and services to satisfy those demands, and causes transactions that deliver products and services in exchange for something of value to the provider” (p. 7). Furthermore, Wilson (2000) (not the same Wilson from our readings) defined viral marketing as “any strategy that encourages individuals to pass on a marketing message to others, creating the potential for exponential growth in the message's exposure and influence. Like viruses, such strategies take advantage of rapid multiplication [and channels like the Internet] to explode the message to thousands, to millions” (paragraph 4).

Finally, thinking back to that petition that Juan planned in Sydney to allow him to continue his demonstrations, he obtained a very quantifiable 10,000 signatures, which enabled him to keep spreading his message.

Overall, I think this is a most interesting, worthwhile and successful public relations case. How about you? Also, what do you think about the public relations versus marketing aspects of this case?

Mark

P.S. If you liked the music behind the video, check out the Sick Puppies promotional music video, below. Oh, and how about a hug?

Armed Student Arrested at St. John's University

To no surprise, when typing in “St. John’s University shooting” into the Google search engine, an overwhelming number of hits came up on Omesh Hiraman, a 22 year-old freshman at St. John's University arrested for rifle possession on-campus.

On Wednesday September 26, 2007, a masked Hiraman was spotted walking through campus in a hooded sweat shirt, carrying a black-powder rifle wrapped in a dark plastic bag. When Christopher Benson, a cadet and student at the University, witnessed the man walking past in a Halloween-type mask, he immediately began following Hiraman. Campus security officers quickly approached the scene and with the help of Cadet Benson, disarmed the man and took him in custody. Police arrested Hiraman shortly after.

According to 7Online, Hiraman was carrying a .50-caliber rifle, loaded with exactly one bullet. Now my question is, why one bullet? Although this case isn't based around the fact that the suspect was carrying around a one-rounder, it's something I'd like to quickly address. His one bullet leads me to believe that he intended to use it on a certain victim. Why else would he walk around with exactly one bullet? (On a side note, it was reported Hiraman traveled to Poughkeepsie to purchase this rifle).

"Hiraman's father, Pat Hiraman, said the incident was "a misunderstanding" and his son, who lives at home near the school, "would never harm anyone."" (7Online). A misunderstanding? Right. I don't buy it.

Research: St. John's University addresses the incident by immediately issuing a Press Release. The main page of their website reassures visitors all is safe on their campus. The calming welcome note that reads, "Safe Outcome After Gunman is Apprehended at St. John’s University’s Queens Campus" directs visitors to the Release in which it comforts all students, parents, professors and anyone else potentially affected by this incident that the gunman matter is under control and nobody is hurt. The Release also provides Press Conference Photos for further reassurance that this situation is being dealt with in the most professional way possible.

St. John's also did their research prior to their gunman incident by acknowledging that the Virgina Tech shooting is likely to occur on their campus as well. They researched an alert system which would notify everyone on campus of an emergency, in which they implemented a "Text Messaging System".

Planning: With their research, came planning. As mentioned above, post the Virginia Tech tragedy, the University administered an Emergency Response Plan at the beginning of the 2007-08 school year. The plan includes its “Text Messaging System,” which notifies students of an emergency via text-message. The down side to this is that students must register, and those who failed to do so, did not receive the text-message. This is a good strategy that all bodies on campus should be required to sign up for.

Communication: I found a lot of evidence on the communication tactics dealt with this case. St. John's realized there was absolutely no delaying the communication of this matter, and updated their website with all sorts of information related to this topic. A Press Release was their primary message, in which contact information for Dominic Scianna, Director of Media Relations, was available for parents and media inquiries. Also, an information link is provided for updates on the incident reported as they become available. St. John's is continually updating their website and welcoming all questions and/or concerns.

The University categorizes website communication to news pertaining to prospective students, current students, faculty & staff and alumni & friends. All of whom are affected by this event.

Although I believe St. John's University did very well in communicating the problem here, they did so via Internet. The older population (i.e. grandparents) do not go online for their news source. Therefore, it leaves them in the dark. I am not certain on whether or not the University published the Press Release in major newspapers, but this would be a great alternative for these individuals.

Evaluation: I was unable to find any information that measured the severity of the gunman incident. Clearly, the University went great lengths to address this matter by utilizing the media outlets, as well as their own, to reach out to the public . I don't doubt that they may analyze the problems with on-campus violence in the near future and evaluate an action plan in minimizing such an occurrence from ever happening again. I hope to see a decline in on-campus violence over the next couple years.

Click here to watch the latest on the gunman: Video (I could not get the video clip to work, for some reason).

Security Breach for TJX Companies, Inc.

Many of us use credit cards to pay for everything. It is an easy, no hassle way to buy things online, from mail-order catalogs, or to use in stores to lessen the amount of cash you have to carry on you at all times. When you use your credit cards how often does the concern of identity theft come into mind? My answer, and probably most other shoppers, would be never. However, it can happen. The TJX Cos. Inc., which includes discount stores TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Bob’s Stores, A.J. Write, HomeGoods, and a few others, experienced a security breach back in December 2006. This has been an ongoing battle for the TJX Corporation, which fortunately came to somewhat of a close this week. This article found on CNNMoney.com reports that the customer lawsuit against TJX Cos. Inc. was settled this week.

Looking at Guth and Marsh’s PR process I have evaluated the case from the public announcement of the breach to the time of the settlement.

Research: There was a lot of information about this security breach online. Boston.com, a website connected The Boston Globe, has a complete time line of all the articles printed about the incident from January 2007 to now. TJX conducted a large sum of research in response to the breach. According to this press release, found on the TJX website, TJX immediately involved law enforcement officials to help identify the suspects, contacted General Dynamics Corporation and IBM Corporation to compile data and find affected information and contacted major credit card companies to attempt to find who’s information had be tampered with.

Planning: The company had to think quickly and handle the legal issues of this case immediately. The company did begin an investigation right away and some of the PR tactics used included press releases, developing a helpline for customers and updating their website with any news or important information relative to the case. With the recent settlement TJX has made the following agreements and promises to their customer. TJX was also very compliant to the news media. There are many newspaper articles that outline the updates of this case.

Communication: The main communication of TJX was to keep the customers happy and help them through the process, however, TJX waited a month to educate the public on the security breach. When they did finally address the ,they gave a complete overview of the case and issue at hand and how they planned on handling the crisis. TJX had a number of communication channels available to the public including, press releases, news media, and a helpline.

Evaluation: TJX believes to have done an adequate job in their crisis management. Their sales reports show that they have maintained customers and kept sales up from last year. Based on financial data TJX maintained their credibility and people continue to shop at their stores regardless of the security breach last December.

Personally, I believe that TJX could have done a better job at handling this security breach crisis. Waiting a month to inform customers of the breach is ridiculous. A month is too long of a time to allow people to be unaware of the dangers they may be facing in an event of identity theft. Also, waiting till the end of the holiday season to release this information seems a little too convenient. TJX may not, however, had had a choice in the wait to release information. The company may not have been properly prepared for a crisis of this size. If TJX had a contingency plan already in place for a crisis they would have been able to provide information much quicker. The company also should have planned for a longer time to work out the crisis. They reportedly spent over $25 million in investigations and damage control. With a thought out plan they would have been able to save money and come to conclusions quicker. This article shows that both customers and consultants also believe that TJX could have done a better job with communication and keeping the public informed. I do, however, have to commend TJX for making customer satisfaction the number one priority and for continuing to apologize for any trouble or harm this might have caused. This was a major crisis that TJX had to address and I believe that they could have been more prepared for the crisis and could have done a better job communicating to their publics.

Bad Newz for Michael Vick

As many of us already know, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick has been indicted on federal dogfighting charges. More recently, Vick is being indicted on those same charges in the State of Virginia. There are rumors that Vick could spend up to five years in prison but many believe that he will serve 12 to 18 months. This is an obvious time of crisis for Michael Vick and this is where public relations could help to one day restore his image. An article from CNN describes the recent State charges brought against Vick and says that Vick will be sentenced on December 10.

After orignally denying his connection to "Bad Newz Kennels" and the illegal dogfighting ring Vick took a guilty plea and admitted to his crime. All of us have learned that in public relations lying is the first thing on your list of things not to do. Although it would be kind of hard not to admit to dogfighting after your partners already gave you up. You can also get a look at the federal case against Vick as well as a timeline of Vick's case by viewing the CNN article above.


The PR process according to Guth and Marsh involves four steps: Research, Planning, Communication, and Evaluation.

Research: It was very easy to find news on Michael Vick's issue. Many of the sources had the same information so it was simple to compile the facts. What Michael Vick and company should do, and I'm sure already is, is take a look back on past situations regarding high profile athletes and the law. Learning from other peoples' failures and successes is crucial. As previously mentioned Vick had orignally lied about his involvement so that immediately put him in a hole. It was smart for Vick and whoever was giving him advice to come forward and admit to his crime. Now Vick's lawyers and publicists must start planning on how to restore his image.

Planning: I think that Michael Vick's lawyers are working hard to lessen Vick's punishment but more importantly is what Michael Vick's PR professionals are doing to improve his image. It is important to make sure that information about his issue is being released frequently to the public. Keeping people informed is a good start. Next, Vick needs to try and salvage any professional relationship that he has ever had. (i.e. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, and owner of the Atlanta Falcons Arthur Blank) Apoligies need to be made by Vick, and he needs to take a lot of time to reflect on his decisions, which shouldn't be hard sitting in a jail cell.

Communication: Michael Vick has been all over the news since the middle of summer and now that he is guilty of dogfighting it has stirred up a lot of emotion across the country. Vick held a press conference on August 28th, 2007. Many people who have gotten themselves in some trouble have usual spoke using notes or a speech during a press conference. Michael Vick explained how he wanted to speak from the heart and it sounded like it was. That was a very good way to start heading in the right direction for Michael Vick. He seemed sincere and the public will most likely respond well to it. He is cooperating and is accepting whatever consequences will be brought upon him.

Evaluation: It is a hard time for Michael Vick and restoring his image will be difficult, although it can be done. He may never redeem his spotlight status but he can change his life around. If you take the time to watch the video you can see how the press conference couldn't have hurt Vick's case in any way. The only thing wrong is that we haven't heard from Vick since the press conference. I feel like Vick and company have done all they could have at this point. Michael Vick will be sentenced on December 10, 2007. This is a current issue and will continue to be in the news for several months, therefore the entire situation can not be fully evaluated.

If you want to learn more about Vick's case you can visit ESPN's website.

Just when we thought it was over...

As we kick off things for the semester, we are bound to meet new people. From freshmen going out and seeing what it's like to not have mommy and daddy there any more, to the upper class-men finally seeing what it's like to live off campus, people are just asking for trouble. Recently at Lehigh University, a familiar school to most, 19 swimmers and divers were accused and arrested with alcohol charges.


Some what cliche of me to do a story on my fellow swimmers and divers, but lets see how the school is handling this situation:

Research: Looking around for this article was very hard. All the articles that I found were more or less the same and gave the same type of information. However, when I went to the athletics's website, I found more in depth decision about the situation. Also, it gives personal apologies from certain swimmers that were involved and personal statements from the Athletic Director and swim coach. However, when you go the school's main web page, there is nothing the school has done to acknowledge the situation aside from personal testimony's from past team mates (only after searching with their search bar).

Planning: Leigh's Athletic Director and Head Swimming and Diving coach met with all the members of the incident and decided that they would do the following: "One set of consequences is applied on an individual level to each of the athletes involved. Those consequences involve loss of participation privileges because we believe that participating in college sports is something that should never be taken for granted. Another set of consequences will be felt by all who are members of the swimming and diving team. At this point they have lost the opportunity of a team training trip at the semester break." This was from the most recent press release on the swimming section of their athletic website. It was posted only six (6) days later, which shows their immediate response and decision-making time. Though some students and parents may feel that the school's actions were a little harsh, I feel that they did the best thing to protect the image the college has for the university and their athletics.

Communication: I believe the college and the athletic department communicated very well to their respective communities. They got out what they needed to say and within a very good time span. I also thought it was a good idea that they used personal testimonies from the athletes to show that they had words for their families and communities as well.

Evaluate: Overall, I believe that the college handled this situation rather nicely. They kept it under control and did not let it turn into something bigger than it has been before with other university sports. The public relations person did well and used a channel to post the reaction of the college. Also, I think that not finding a lot of information on the situation helped their cause because it showed how intensive they were to keeping this rather low so it would not hurt the reputation of the school.