167: Can a New Business Name Get Rid of an Old PR Crisis?

What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Unless it's the rancid smell of a crisis. Welcome to a podcast that uses current events and tested media and PR strategies to help you manage a crisis and build an indestructible reputation. As someone who is always on the lookout for that next big PR crisis, I am laser focused on the response. Because every move, every communication tactic has serious reputational risks, but also the chance for reward. Now, some organizations and companies out there have gone through so many issues that their name is essentially mud. They can't get out of it. And if your name is primarily associated with a negative connotation, it can be very, very difficult to shake. So in some cases, you may want a fresh start to your business by going a new direction. And maybe that new direction is a name change. So in this episode I'm going to share with you some takeaways about using a name change to get out of a crisis. Is changing your business name a crisis communication to tactic? Now, Crisis communication is one of the most vital skills that a CEO needs in their leadership toolkit. You cannot always maintain that pristine reputation. It's how you manage the dip in your reputation, the challenges, that's what really counts. With the right reputation management strategy, you can overcome almost any PR crisis. But the right strategy, knowing what it is, is the key in some cases. However, some think that changing the name of the company and rebranding quickly after a crisis might be the key to solving the reputational problem. But it can also easily backfire. So let's discuss why changing your company name may not be the answer. So this is how not to do it. These crisis name changes One of the most controversial company name changing examples comes from fairly recent news. Back in October, Facebook changed its name to Meta. If you remember the announcement, it was met with some bewilderment, amusement, and outright angered other people. Social media had a field day. That day I was on a field, a soccer field. I was at my daughter's soccer game and my phone just had one of those blow up moments where I can tell something's happening and it's happening on Twitter. And it was when Meta came out. I was being tagged on the meta news. Now, the name change was said to reflect the company's growing ambitions beyond social media. That's how they were spinning it. The rebranding was timed as the company was going through a lot of negativity. There was a barrage of negative news reports, and Facebook was constantly dealing with negative pr, negative publicity. So I'm going to use Facebook as an example to go through three reasons why name change is often not the most effective crisis communication strategy. Number one, name changes can be seen as shallow. Facebook's name change was part of an attempt to rebrand the company after a whistleblower exposed some of the social harms caused by Facebook's apps. The whistleblower, Frances Hagen, released documentation that Facebook was aware of these harms and chose not to address them. Maybe you saw her interview on 60 Minutes. These harms include disproportionately silencing users who are people of color and or part of the LGBTQ community. Facebook's rebrand to Meta and their advertisement of the Metaverse did little to shift anyone's attention away from these reports. Because consumers aren't stupid. They can tell the difference between a distraction ploy and a truly well thought out and necessary rebrand. Number two, public perception takes a long time to shift. Go back to the time when Facebook changed its corporation name back in October. Have you since then started referring to the company as Meta? Unless you work in tech or own Facebook stock, I'm willing to guess that you probably haven't. The only person who I know refer to Facebook as Meta is my friend who works for Meta. They're the only person who does it. Everybody else still says Facebook. Because when a company has a strong pre established brand, people's minds are going to resist changing their perception of it. For instance, here's an example straight from my neighborhood, Dunkin Donuts. The company officially changed its name. Do you know when you would think it was 2020? That's what I would think it was. 2018. So we're going on four years ago now. So it is still quite common to hear someone call the coffee chain Dunkin Donuts. I live in the heart of Dunkin land. I even have friends who own a Dunkin Donuts. And I'm thinking, have I ever heard them call it Duncan? I actually don't think I've ever heard them name the business they work for it. They work, my gosh, blood, sweat and tears for the company. Hmm. But I'm thinking of everyone I know in the area. I don't think anyone calls it Dunkin Donuts. I still call it Dunkin Donuts. Anyway, the point is consumers. It's a great example of consumers resisting changes. Drastic name changes confuse the public and may even provoke more animosity in the wake of a crisis. I don't think anyone had a problem with Duncan per se. But it takes a long time to shake, especially if there's some negativity attached to it. Negativity like number three, when deflection looks dishonest. I've already mentioned that consumers can usually spot a shallow distraction ploy. It's also worth noting that modern consumers do not not take kindly to dishonesty, as you've heard me say over and over again. Because in today's social climate, people expect more transparency and accountability from brands than ever before. It is no longer enough to simply provide a product or service. Brands now need to do their part to make the world a better place, support causes of social justice, and treat their employees and customers with respect. No, it is not wokeism, it's that people are looking for respect. Respect your customers, respect your employees, and in turn they will respect your business without it. Nowadays, that can usually be the combustible arena to create a crisis. Because going back to Facebook, their name change came at a time when they were likely at their lowest rating ever in a survey. I'm sure they did on their name and how people associated their name with honesty. Especially around that whistleblower incident that was a massive hit to the brand, a massive hit to the reputation. They probably thought, now is the time. It's a fundamentally dishonest practice to hide things from the public. So the Internet users, social media, they did not like that one bit and they let them know. Now, how can you do it right? How do you do crisis communication? Right, let's discuss the best PR strategy. The first thing that you know that you need to do is you have to address it openly. The right way to handle a press conference during a crisis is to make it look like you have nothing to hide. You can be tactful, but you cannot make excuses. The indestructible PR response. The first step is owning it. You have to accept accountability. If the court of public opinion has already decided that you've done something wrong, the truth matters less than how you address their allegations. Always try to appear sensitive to the group of people who you feel wronged them. Remember the cancel culture. It is oftentimes not because of the act, it is a result of the lack of the response or the lack of accountability because of the act. Now, at the same time, you don't want to admit so much guilt that you end up with additional legal repercussions. It's not about saying absolutely everything. That's not the practice. If you're facing legal action, you have to handle it swiftly and then you have to make things right. With the public. If you need to rehabilitate the name, you want to take off the tarnish, buff it off and make it look like new. Ideally, that's what we want to grow. We want to grow from the ashes, if you will. Your name is mud. Your name is tarnished. Whatever analogy that you use, you want to clean it off, you want to buff it off because people want to see how you came back, how you recreated yourself because of the crisis. Now, there are some examples of a smart name change. Here are two examples that are more successful than Facebook's recent attempt. Note that both of these changes, I don't think either one of them was impulsive or shallow. The first one is WWE. Now, until 2002, WWE was known as WWF the World Wrestling found. That name change came about after a lengthy legal battle with the World Wildlife Fund wwf. So in order to save themselves from a long and expensive legal battle, the WWF became the WWE World Wrestling Entertainment. I remember when this happened. Do you remember when this happened? This was a wise name change because the World Wildlife Fund did have a legitimate claim to the acronym wwf. The WWE would have lost money and fans if they didn't back down. They needed to make the change. So rather than using a name change to deflect attention away from the problem, the WWE used a name change to solve the problem entirely. It's a textbook example of a wise name change because they were now telling the world what they were. Which I remember at the time, moving from entertainment also suggested that wrestling was a form of entertainment. But it fit the direction that it was going because people understood that wrestling was entertainment. Another example. I remember this one too. I think that's a sign that I'm getting up there in years. AirTran Airways. Do you remember 1996 ValueJet Airlines? The flight that crashed into the Florida Everglades, which in the history of airline crashes that I remember this one stuck because I thought of how horrible it was to remember the footage. The television news footage, Cable news. Very early. Was it cable news? Yeah, I think it was cnn very early. Remember the plane and the tail in the swamp and the adjacent stories about what is in the everc. The. The wildlife. Oh gosh. This story. But the crash killed over 100 people. No survivors. So after the crisis, the Federal Aviation Administration FAA ruled that ValuJet had been knowingly flying unsafe planes. The airline was grounded for several months. Now in order to bounce back from this PR crisis, a huge PR crisis, ValuJet acquired a smaller airline called AirTran Airways. When they were allowed to fly again, the company took the name AirTran. So this is an example of a wise name change. Because it was not impulsive, valujet had to wait months and undergo extensive safety testing before they could fly again. This rebrand was attached to safety. Only after doing its proper due diligence was AirTran able to reap the benefits of a new name and a fairly blank sleep. Communication is the key. So hopefully this episode helped you understand the nuances of crisis communication and why a name change is often not helpful, especially if you're trying to hide something. There are a lot more successful tactics you can use to manage your reputation. Now, in the beginning I asked the question, well, first arose by any other name, would Shakespeare have asked the question, oh Romeo, is there ever a good time to make a name change? Well, yes, Juliet When a business is moving to a new place, if it's either rebranding or expanding the business, think Alphabet now, the parent company of Google and Nest and other ventures. Or if you need to bring clarity to what the company does or what it represents. So if your company, or if a company no longer fits, fits what it's providing, or if there are trademark issues, or if you have moved into an entirely new direction to suit your customers needs. Like me, like my business for the last episode of the year in 2021 and oh, what a year. Oh, this was. Oh my gosh, 2020 and 2021. Whoo, what a year. Am I right for all of us? I thought, though, at the end of 2021, to signify, to salute to the success of my business and all businesses like mine and small businesses out there. If you got through it all and you found yourself on the better end, the sunnier end, the successful end, if you had a great year, which I did, it's a great time to update the company. That's why, starting now, the name of the podcast is changing from Confident Communications to Indestructible pr. I get a little sad even thinking about that. Saying goodbye. Saying goodbye to my friend, my little baby who's been with me for the past three years. What started as a simple audio extension of my work, helping leaders become more confident with communications and handling potential issues has always been a resource, though, to help people plan, manage and respond to a crisis. Confident Communications. The name worked, but it was too broad. It didn't fully represent why people listen to me, or hire me for that matter. So after three years of the podcast, reading reviews, talking to people who listen, looking at the number, finding out why People find me. Why do I help them? The feedback they gave me directly or that they've written to me, I wanted to deliver to them exactly what they need. And I felt like I needed a name that explained it better. I still have the same goal that I had from day one, and that's to help people and leaders become confident in their communication. But I have learned that my audience is made up of a lot of communicators, a lot of people just like me, and we're all speaking the same language. So I want to speak to what I do, which is creating this indestructible plan. It's the language of response. It's the language of pr. It's the language of crisis communication. It's helping people exactly with what they need. As I was working on the script, I got a tweet. I was tagged on a tweet from a listener who said, now a change of pace. This was his tweet. Now a change of pace. I was interviewed by CTV Ottawa a couple days ago. I'd like to thank Warren weeks and Molly McPherson. If not for their workshops, podcast, book and tweets, I would have zero confidence in my ability to to do it. That was from Thomas Watson CD on Twitter. That's it right there. He admitted to zero confidence and then he nailed the interview. That feeling is indestructibility. So indestructible PR is me. It's my brand. I want to help build indestructible reputations for people and brands by helping companies plan, manage and respond to a crisis. I help people respond to a media cris with confidence by providing indestructible PR practices, strategies and tactics. So that doesn't mean that people won't make mistakes. Happens all the time. But what it means is that no one person or one event will bring you down for good if you respond with accountability. It's the anti cancel playbook. So the podcast and the website will change. The goal behind it remains the same. The passion behind it remains the same. But now you can find me and this podcast@indestructible pr.com used to be mollymcpherson.com that website will still exist, but it's going to point to the new URL. So the website, the podcast, the indestructible online membership, my membership for PR professionals, communicators and managers to learn the methodology for handling unexpected backlash from the public and the press. Again, it's helping people become confident and indestructible. And there's one more thing the name of my company is changing as well. It's not because there's a crisis. I am not Facebook metaing my business. I just felt that the name of my business needed to reflect the team that work side by side with me to create these critical communication plans, these crisis communication templates, the workshops, the indestructible online. I work with so many people together and we are all building this brand and building this company together. So I am a we now. It's not just me and the company needs to reflect that. So the name of my company, it's Molly and Company. It's really Molly Communications and Company, but It's Molly & Co. For short, so it's exciting. I'm excited for 2022. I'm so excited. I have a huge smile across my face because things are just fantastic. 2020 and 2021, those were two rough years. I mean, really for all of us, but it was rough for me. But it was a growing year, and it was a year of really defining what my passion is, and that's helping people feel indestructible. I want to wish you all a happy holiday season. Thank you for being a part of my podcast, my social media network, my work. Thank you to my clients and all my workshop participants. Thank you to my community, my co. Happy New Year, everyone. From a very grateful Molly. Bye for.