Area 224 Managing Principal Dave Van de Walle has been part of crisis communications teams at Aon Corp., TransUnion and U Sphere. He was also Sports Information Director at Chicago State University in the mid-1990s. Here are his thoughts on the Tiger Woods accident and the aftermath:
If you think this is a complex crisis communications problem – the one being faced by Tiger Woods, uber-golfer, the first billion-dollar athlete, spokesperson for Gillette, and multi-ethnic role model of epic proportions – you might be under-estimating how complex it is.
There used to be a maxim about crisis communications: “tell it all, tell it early, tell it honestly.” These are organizational communications rules – but not personal brand management communications rules. BIG difference, and one that Tiger must confront head-on.
He’s his own team.
Seriously, as much as you might THINK he and his caddie (Steve Wiliams) are a team, or he and his wife, Elin, are a team – the reality here is it’s just Tiger Woods.
Now that everyone has a theory, what’s the world’s most famous athlete to do?
Tiger issued a statement asking for space, saying that “my family and I deserve some privacy.” Given the fact that golf reporters respect the guy for his class and dignity and how he treats them, I’d be inclined to cut him some slack.
Let’s borrow rather liberally from the playbook of another World-Class Athlete, Michael Phelps. Remember him? When he won all those gold medals, he grew a large Facebook following. VERY LARGE. 2,800,000+. He engaged with them as much as an athlete of his stature can – not a ton, but you felt like he was at least spending some time interacting.
When Michael Phelps had a problem, he confronted it head-on, through Facebook friends. Apologizing for letting them down. Then he went back to business, and his support kept growing.
He took control of the story, sure; but he engaged the masses where they were. He worked with the Groundswell. Not against it.
[Remember: after Michael Phelps did all this public apology and sorry I let you down stuff, he had a minor fender-bender? He got out in front of that story, too. On Facebook.]
Meantime, back to Tiger. His site is one-way — comment on the site, but don’t talk with Tiger. In fact, the one-way nature of his site is part of the problem: his is a brand, and it’s personal, but it’s not, well, personal. You feel like you’re interacting with a corporation. Which you are.
Not a regular guy who dominates but doesn’t have too much time for the little people.
How to confront this head-on? Through social media? Some advice for Tiger:
Engage. The masses, the little people, your favorite reporter, another golfer. Someone.
Comment back. Please, give us a token “hey Bob129, thanks for your support! Elin and I are doing well, we’re both a little jarred by the accident.”
Tweet. Seriously, Twitter got out in front of this story and it took on a life of its own. You can start taking it back through a verified account, a little interaction, and some honesty. Even if all you want to say is “my face hurts.”
Tiger, I’m with you on the respect for privacy stuff. I’m sorta with you on the “I’m human” stuff. I’d really like to believe your story — when and if you share it. So long as you start talking with the gallery.
The gallery is out here, on Social Media.
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You are so brill, hon. This gets my Quote Du Week. Maybe Du Month: “The gallery is out here, on Social Media.”
Thanks for the comment!
What’s really interesting: Michael Phelps swims in a pool and could use that as a barrier between him and fan interaction. But he doesn’t.
Golf, being the sport where the fans have the most access to the stars, invites such interaction…
Dave – you are so right…I hope one of Tiger’s handlers sees this and suggests the immediate change. We were just talking about this last night and the only reason it’s become a story is because he hasn’t gotten out in front of it. We all make mistakes. We all have relationship issues that embarrass us later. We will all be forgiving if he just engages and apologizes and moves on.
Great tips…and great writing, as always.
Great blog, Dave. Maybe somebody who has Tiger’s ear is reading…he clearly could use the help.
Gini – What puzzles me about all this is that Tiger and/or his handlers have fashioned him as man of the people; a few well-placed Facebook messages or Tweets and he reinforces that image. “The brand is out of your hands” is one thing we often tell folks, and, in this case, it’s way out of his hands — but he could rein it back with a little authenticity.
Thanks, Carroll…
Note that I put Tiger in my personal “Top 3″ of golfers — with Lefty and Stewart Cink as the other two. Stewart has the Twitter thing down — maybe Tiger could ring him up?
Great post Dave. Complete with grammar, punctuation, et al. I’m gonna have to learn how to write some day.
Do you think every celebrity should socialize? Some celebrities are real jerks. Could being social hurt their fame??
Thanks, Gary.
You raise an interesting point: Ty Cobb would probably not have many friends on Facebook these days.
When this first broke, I made the comment that Tiger deserved to have some slack because of how he treats the press; he is seen as gracious and knows that he needs the media to help him foster his image.
Tiger can communicate any message he wants – in any manner – and the world will hear it.
This is a tactical conversation. Not sure what difference it would make if employed social media. Without the right content, it’s just another communications vehicle.
The bigger issue: Tiger doesn’t seem to have a message — or a strategy. Clearly he has received counsel for attorney’s who are more concerned with him triggering clauses in sponsorship clauses than in him effectively preserving his brand/reputation.
Until he realizes *everything* will come out eventually, he is going to fight a losing battle with the media. He’s already lost a golden opportunity with this charity tournament cancellation. Would have provided the perfect setting to set the record straight – with Elin by his side – both being there for the benefit of the kids they champion.
Oh, well. Hope he likes being on TMZ every day for 6 months…
John – Absolutely great point on the charity golf tournament opportunity. If indeed this was a little fender-bender with nothing else to it, then we’d be able to see the family and gauge the authenticity of the message. If not, we’d see right through it…
Thanks for the comments!
Someone on my always colorful Facebook Wall responded to this post, which I’d posted there too, with this gem, “His wife’s communication tool was more effective.”
As a PR student we have been taught about the effectiveness of social media. In Tiger Woods situation he should take full advantage of the crisis communication tools that are made available. Have you had a chance to look at his apology statement on his Web site? He addressed the situation admitting the mistake he made; however, his apology only informed the public. It would have been more affective if he took action and performed his apology. When I say “perform” I mean reaching out to those affected by his actions. Social media can definitely be the place to reach out to his fans.
Good comments, John. Thanks for sharing!