ra edits--toyota crisis final presentation

7/22/2019 RA Edits--Toyota Crisis Final Presentation

1/40


2/40

Overview of the Crisis

The automaker Toyota worked for decades to build an image that equated qualityand reliability with the company name itself.

Sept. 10, 2009 - release of a 911 call of a crash that was due to uncontrollableacceleration and that resulted in the death of four people => By of Jan. 28, 2010Toyota recalled 9 million cars worldwide, due to floor mat problems associatedwith sticking accelerator pedals and braking problems.

Subsequently, the Department of Transportation and the National HighwayTransportation Safety Board increased scrutiny of Toyota. Congressional hearingswere held in March 2010.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report (NHTSA) found noelectronic defect in Toyota vehicles. The conclusion was that driver error or pedalmisapplication was the cause for most of the incidents.


3/40


4/40


5/40

January 31, 2010

Toyota ad

As you may have heard, in rarecases, sticking accelerator pedals

have occurred in some of our

vehicles. We believe we are closeto announcing an effective remedy.

And were temporarily halted production at some of our North American plants to focus on thevehicles weve recalled. Why have

we taken this unprecedentedaction? Because its the right thing

to do for our customers.


6/40

February 2, 2010

A first letter to customersran in major

dailies and Toyotas Web site

50-year heritage

Criticized, the letter is nolonger on Toyotas website


7/40

February 05, 2010

Toyotas second letter toconsumers also run in major

dailies like the Wall StreetJournal and USA Today as well as

on its web site.

But, once again, the letterdisappeared from their website.


8/40

February 10, 2010

Toyotas third letter toconsumers

Were proud of our heritage andrecognize that, lately, we havent

lived up to it. All 172,000 Toyotaemployees and dealership personnel

in North America are workingaround the clock to make thingsright for you and earn back your

trust.

And we believe that the bestcompanies learn from their mistakes.We know we need to do better. Weare committed to doing just that.


9/40

February 18, 2010

Toyotas fourth letter toconsumers

History shows that greatcompanies learn from their

mistakes.


10/40

March 02, 2010

Our Pledge to Toyota Drivers Ad


11/40

March 30, 2010

Toyota Answers ConsumerQuestions Ad


12/40

March 30, 2010

Toyota Answers Consumer

Questions Ad


13/40

Press Releases


14/40

Between September 2009 and June 2012, Toyota haspublished no less than 30 press releases related to the recalls.

Informative press releasesLots of technical informationCompliance with NHTSA requirements

Responses to negative media articlesHighlighting positive media articles

CEO Speeches from press conferences


15/40

Press Conferences


16/40

On February 5, 2010 Toyotas President Akio Toyoda spoke at a press conference in

Japan. " I apologize from the bottom of my heart for all the concern that we havegiven to so many customers ," he said.

On February 17, 2010, Toyota held another press conference in Tokyo, at whichAkio Toyoda, President of Toyota, and Shinichi Sasaki, Executive Vice President ofToyota, spoke about quality control throughout all of Toyotas work processes.


17/40

TV Commercials
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XH_fzCTiQE8


18/40
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XH_fzCTiQE8


19/40

Social Media Efforts


20/40

Social-media response room, staffed with six to eight peoplemonitoring the online conversation and responding at alltimes: answering consumers on its four Facebook pages; itcreated a Twitter chat with Jim Lentz, Toyota Motor Sales USApresident-chief operating officer; and it created two newplatforms, one with Digg and the other on Tweetmeme called"Toyota Conversations" to aggregate online chatter and allow

Toyota to respond directly.

Approached online brand loyalists and asked if it could reposttheir tweets, blog posts and videos on its platforms.

Increased the number of fans on its main Facebook presence and today it has almost 1,5 million fans.


21/40

Who does Toyota have to answer to and speak with: American consumers

- Complaints directly from American drivers Worldwide consumers

- No reports but should we start to worry aboutour car?

Companies endorsing Toyota- Dealerships

Companies manufacturing parts to Toyota- Are they making defected parts

Toyotas employees- Will there be layoffs at the factories that built the

recalled vehicles

Stakeholders


22/40


23/40


24/40


25/40
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49gj9OcJ-p0http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49gj9OcJ-p0


26/40
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIHgB6GHTwQhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIHgB6GHTwQ


27/40


28/40

Reputation Impact

72% of Americans have followed the recall Toyota newsstories "somewhat closely" including 31% who have followedthem "very closely".

Rasmussen poll, February 8, 2010:

59% of Americans viewed Toyota favorably 22% viewed Toyota very favorably. 29% view Toyota unfavorably. 23% believed the federal government is criticizing Toyota to aid

General Motors of which it is the majority owner


29/40

Most Trusted Automobile Brand

2009 #1 2010 #20 2012 #9

However... Toyota isnt in the business of being trusted,theyre in the business of selling cars.

And the Camry is still number one!


30/40

Toyota implemented a rebuilding strategy: Improve organizations reputation Actions to benefit stakeholders Offset negative effects

Message: Full Apology: Toyota accepted full responsibility for

the crisis. Compensation: Toyota offered to fix the cars or full

reimbursement for the damaged vehicles.

Assessment


31/40


32/40

Crisis event Once the crisis started, Toyota didnt recognize it. It did recall

millions of vehicles, but its communications efforts wereconsidered to be too little, too late. It didnt address the realissue customers emotions, anger and desire to bereassured. Instead, it focused on technical aspects of theproblem and reiterated its long term heritage.

Cultural differences also played a big role in the handling ofthe crisis: while in Japan it is considered wise not to talk to thepublic in the case of a crisis as long as the company does not

have facts or answers, in the U.S. it is a whole different story.Toyota should have reached out to an U.S. PR company thatwould have suggested how to communicate in the North-American market.


33/40

In the era of the Golden Few Minutes, a.k.a. Social MediaEra, Toyota missed its chance of establishing itself as the

authoritative source of accurate, confirmed information,because it took the company too long to respond and when iteventually did, it was considered too little, and non-empathetic. Toyotas President was not available to themedia, which increased speculation. When the Presidenteventually spoke at a press conference, his response was notconsidered to be as much about the victims, as about thecompanys financial loss and well -being. Furthermore, hisapology on Feb. 5, 2010, was not done in a timely fashion andwas not considered as having any sense of remorse.


34/40

Post-crisis Some of the companys response strategies were based on

rebuilding, but some of them were based on diminishing ofthe crisis.

Toyota did learn from the crisis situation. It did a good jobespecially in social media.

Communication: Expressed concern for the stakeholders safety Informed public about the reason of the problem

Informed stakeholders of the actions taken to correctthe problem

Informed stakeholders what is being done to avoidfuture problems.


35/40

Toyotas recall crisis was a predictable and preventable one

both in the case of the technical crisis, as well as in terms ofpublic relations. The company should have done a better jobin assessing the reputational threat.

Although the company did issue a good number of pressreleases, they were mainly addressing the technical aspects ofthe crisis. In terms of addressing the real issue emotions dueto death of people and fear it may happen to any of us, the

company adopted a silent strategy. This usually leads tonegative comments. The company should have taken controlover the situation and establish itself as the credible source ofinformation.

Recommendations for Managing More Effectively


36/40

During the recall, the Toyotas spokesman gave suggestions for theconsumer to diagnose the car problem. Also in the same statementhe mentioned that the problem with the specific accelerator pedalwas assembly from a specific supplier. The company should havecommunicated to the consumer that they will no longer bepurchasing parts from the specific company.

Along with the newspaper ad Toyota could have developed acreative commercial using employees on what steps are being takento improve Toyotas performance

Dont state you acted too quickly and can assure it will neverhappen again

Respond quicker and take more decisive action



37/40

Learning from the Audi case Toyota should have anticipated

more claims of sudden acceleration that were simply drivererror. Toyota could have more actively educated the public onhow to avoid this problem (weather it was a real threat orsimply a fear in the minds of the consumers).

Toyota should have fought back against their attackers. Inmany of the cases of reported sudden acceleration the driverswere participating in unsafe activities such as texting whiledriving or even being under the influence of marijuana.

The company could have shown a bit more empathy withaccident victims. Some press releases were a bit dry.



38/40

Discussion Questions Do you think it was a wise decision for President

Toyoda, of Toyota to not attend the congressionalhearings in the U.S. stating to leave that to his U.S. -based executives while he focuses on improving qualitycontrols.

Do you feel that this ad shows that Toyota was takingnecessary action to regain their consumers trust? Didyou feel that Toyota is taking the blame or pointing thefinger elsewhere?

Why was Toyota able to so easily recover from thiscrisis when Audi was nearly destroyed by a similarproblem?

Sources


39/40

Mittal , V. (March 9, 2010) Does Media Coverage of Toyota Recalls Reflect Reality? "HBR Blog Network / Research." HarvardBusiness Review . N.p., n.d. Retrieved on 27 Apr. 2013 from http://blogs.hbr.org/research/2010/03/does-media-coverage-of-toyota.html

Ohmae, K. (25 Feb. 2010) "Toyota, Computers and the Human Factor." The New York Times . Retrieved on 27 Apr. 2013 fromhttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/25/opinion/25iht-edohmae.html?scp=1

Steinmetz, K. (9 Feb. 2010) "Toyota's Safety Problems: A Checkered History." Time . N.p.,. Retrieved on 27 Apr. 2013 fromhttp://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1962218,00.html

(24 Feb. 2010) "Toyota CEO Apologizes for Recall, Accidents." YouTube . Retrieved on Web. 27 Apr. 2013 fromhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIHgB6GHTwQ

Wasserman, T. (Sept. 1; 2011) How Toyota Used Social Media To " Digg" Itself Out of a PR Nightmare Mashable.com. Retrievedon April 26, 2013, from http://mashable.com/2011/09/01/toyota-digg-recalls/

Toyota Crisis PR Resource. The Hoffman Agency . Retrieved on April 26, from http://www.crisis-pr-toyota.com Kwai Chi (Nov. 16, 2012) Toyota recall is a Social media nightmare. The Social Partners . Retrieved on April 26, 2012, from

http://www.thesocialpartners.com/2012/11/16/toyota-recall-is-a-social-media-nightmare/ Bush, M. (March 1, 2010) The Cult of Toyota. Advertising Age . Retrieved on April 26, 2013, from

http://adage.com/article/news/social-media-cult-toyota/142335/ (Feb. 2, 2010) Toyotas Digital Disaster The Daily Beast . Retrieved on April 26, 2013, from

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/02/03/toyota-s-digital-disaster.html Tabushi , H. (Oct. 3, 2009), President of Toyota Apologizes. The New York Times Online . Retrieved on April 26, 2013, from

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/03/business/global/03toyota.html?_r=0&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1367116705-k51+clydv7lgBTE3798fBw

Toyota USA Newsroom. Retrieved on April 26, 2013, from http://pressroom.toyota.com/ Belsie , L. (January 22, 2010). Toyota recall January 2010: Is your car on the list? Heres what to do. Retrieved on 26 April

2013 from The Christian Science Monitor. http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/new-economy/2010/0122/Toyota-recall-January-2010-Is-your-car-on-

Ahrens, Frank. "Toyota Demo Counters Claim of Electronic Acceleration Glitch." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 09 Mar.2010. Web. 29 Apr. 2013. .

Fuemento, Michael. "Toyota Hybrid Horror Hoax." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 12 Mar. 2010. Web. 29 Apr. 2013..

Sources
http://blogs.hbr.org/research/2010/03/does-media-coverage-of-toyota.htmlhttp://blogs.hbr.org/research/2010/03/does-media-coverage-of-toyota.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/25/opinion/25iht-edohmae.html?scp=1http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1962218,00.htmlhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIHgB6GHTwQhttp://mashable.com/2011/09/01/toyota-digg-recalls/http://www.crisis-pr-toyota.com/http://www.thesocialpartners.com/2012/11/16/toyota-recall-is-a-social-media-nightmare/http://adage.com/article/news/social-media-cult-toyota/142335/http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/02/03/toyota-s-digital-disaster.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/03/business/global/03toyota.html?_r=0&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1367116705-k51+clydv7lgBTE3798fBwhttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/03/business/global/03toyota.html?_r=0&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1367116705-k51+clydv7lgBTE3798fBwhttp://pressroom.toyota.com/http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/new-economy/2010/0122/Toyota-recall-January-2010-Is-your-car-on-http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/new-economy/2010/0122/Toyota-recall-January-2010-Is-your-car-on-http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/new-economy/2010/0122/Toyota-recall-January-2010-Is-your-car-on-http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/new-economy/2010/0122/Toyota-recall-January-2010-Is-your-car-on-http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/new-economy/2010/0122/Toyota-recall-January-2010-Is-your-car-on-http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/new-economy/2010/0122/Toyota-recall-January-2010-Is-your-car-on-http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/new-economy/2010/0122/Toyota-recall-January-2010-Is-your-car-on-http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/new-economy/2010/0122/Toyota-recall-January-2010-Is-your-car-on-http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/new-economy/2010/0122/Toyota-recall-January-2010-Is-your-car-on-http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/new-economy/2010/0122/Toyota-recall-January-2010-Is-your-car-on-http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/new-economy/2010/0122/Toyota-recall-January-2010-Is-your-car-on-http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/new-economy/2010/0122/Toyota-recall-January-2010-Is-your-car-on-http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/new-economy/2010/0122/Toyota-recall-January-2010-Is-your-car-on-http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/new-economy/2010/0122/Toyota-recall-January-2010-Is-your-car-on-http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/new-economy/2010/0122/Toyota-recall-January-2010-Is-your-car-on-http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/new-economy/2010/0122/Toyota-recall-January-2010-Is-your-car-on-http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/new-economy/2010/0122/Toyota-recall-January-2010-Is-your-car-on-http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/new-economy/2010/0122/Toyota-recall-January-2010-Is-your-car-on-http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/new-economy/2010/0122/Toyota-recall-January-2010-Is-your-car-on-http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/new-economy/2010/0122/Toyota-recall-January-2010-Is-your-car-on-http://pressroom.toyota.com/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/03/business/global/03toyota.html?_r=0&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1367116705-k51+clydv7lgBTE3798fBwhttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/03/business/global/03toyota.html?_r=0&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1367116705-k51+clydv7lgBTE3798fBwhttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/03/business/global/03toyota.html?_r=0&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1367116705-k51+clydv7lgBTE3798fBwhttp://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/02/03/toyota-s-digital-disaster.htmlhttp://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/02/03/toyota-s-digital-disaster.htmlhttp://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/02/03/toyota-s-digital-disaster.htmlhttp://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/02/03/toyota-s-digital-disaster.htmlhttp://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/02/03/toyota-s-digital-disaster.htmlhttp://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/02/03/toyota-s-digital-disaster.htmlhttp://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/02/03/toyota-s-digital-disaster.htmlhttp://adage.com/article/news/social-media-cult-toyota/142335/http://adage.com/article/news/social-media-cult-toyota/142335/http://adage.com/article/news/social-media-cult-toyota/142335/http://adage.com/article/news/social-media-cult-toyota/142335/http://adage.com/article/news/social-media-cult-toyota/142335/http://adage.com/article/news/social-media-cult-toyota/142335/http://adage.com/article/news/social-media-cult-toyota/142335/http://www.thesocialpartners.com/2012/11/16/toyota-recall-is-a-social-media-nightmare/http://www.thesocialpartners.com/2012/11/16/toyota-recall-is-a-social-media-nightmare/http://www.thesocialpartners.com/2012/11/16/toyota-recall-is-a-social-media-nightmare/http://www.thesocialpartners.com/2012/11/16/toyota-recall-is-a-social-media-nightmare/http://www.thesocialpartners.com/2012/11/16/toyota-recall-is-a-social-media-nightmare/http://www.thesocialpartners.com/2012/11/16/toyota-recall-is-a-social-media-nightmare/http://www.thesocialpartners.com/2012/11/16/toyota-recall-is-a-social-media-nightmare/http://www.thesocialpartners.com/2012/11/16/toyota-recall-is-a-social-media-nightmare/http://www.thesocialpartners.com/2012/11/16/toyota-recall-is-a-social-media-nightmare/http://www.thesocialpartners.com/2012/11/16/toyota-recall-is-a-social-media-nightmare/http://www.thesocialpartners.com/2012/11/16/toyota-recall-is-a-social-media-nightmare/http://www.thesocialpartners.com/2012/11/16/toyota-recall-is-a-social-media-nightmare/http://www.thesocialpartners.com/2012/11/16/toyota-recall-is-a-social-media-nightmare/http://www.crisis-pr-toyota.com/http://www.crisis-pr-toyota.com/http://www.crisis-pr-toyota.com/http://www.crisis-pr-toyota.com/http://www.crisis-pr-toyota.com/http://mashable.com/2011/09/01/toyota-digg-recalls/http://mashable.com/2011/09/01/toyota-digg-recalls/http://mashable.com/2011/09/01/toyota-digg-recalls/http://mashable.com/2011/09/01/toyota-digg-recalls/http://mashable.com/2011/09/01/toyota-digg-recalls/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIHgB6GHTwQhttp://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1962218,00.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/25/opinion/25iht-edohmae.html?scp=1http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/25/opinion/25iht-edohmae.html?scp=1http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/25/opinion/25iht-edohmae.html?scp=1http://blogs.hbr.org/research/2010/03/does-media-coverage-of-toyota.htmlhttp://blogs.hbr.org/research/2010/03/does-media-coverage-of-toyota.htmlhttp://blogs.hbr.org/research/2010/03/does-media-coverage-of-toyota.htmlhttp://blogs.hbr.org/research/2010/03/does-media-coverage-of-toyota.htmlhttp://blogs.hbr.org/research/2010/03/does-media-coverage-of-toyota.htmlhttp://blogs.hbr.org/research/2010/03/does-media-coverage-of-toyota.htmlhttp://blogs.hbr.org/research/2010/03/does-media-coverage-of-toyota.htmlhttp://blogs.hbr.org/research/2010/03/does-media-coverage-of-toyota.htmlhttp://blogs.hbr.org/research/2010/03/does-media-coverage-of-toyota.html


40/40

Thank you

ra edits--toyota crisis final presentation

Documents