What brands can learn from Taylor Swift’s reputational crisis
Last week provided an example of one of the most unexpected reputational crises of 2016: the unmasking of pop star Taylor Swift as a person behind the product which, says Soraya Calavassy, provided relevant lessons for brands on how to cope with challenges to their story.
The public feud between Taylor Swift and Kim Kardashian has branded Swift a liar and master manipulator. As a result, her carefully cultivated good girl image was shed in the blink of an eye, or a series of 10 second Snapchat posts.
Swift and her ‘Squad’ proceeded to very publicly speak out against West’s song to the media and on their own social channels. The drama culminated at the Grammy Awards where, in her acceptance speech, Swift implied West was trying to take credit for her success.
In defence of her husband, Kardashian released a series of damning videos to her Snapchat account showing a conversation between West and Swift.
Not only does Swift consent to the line in the song: she also voices her appreciation of being asked for approval.
Swift’s response to this very public slandering was fiercely anticipated. For communications professionals and brands alike there’s a lesson to be learned from Team Swift when it comes to the management of reputational crisis.
PART 1: Kanye calling Taylor Swift to tell her about the #FAMOUS lyrics. Courtesy of KKW. pic.twitter.com/TIiqxxzLUh
— TeamKanyeDaily (@TeamKanyeDaily) July 18, 2016
Assemble your team and react quickly
One can only assume that within seconds of Kardashian pressing ‘My Story’ and ‘SEND’ members of Swift’s team were on high alert for the media storm that would follow.
Making headlines within minutes, Swift and her team of experts did what any communications professional would do in this situation: sit down, assess the impact for Swift and her future, and devise a strategy.
Time is of the essence when it comes to crisis communications, and even though this story broke at 10:00pm Pacific Time on a Sunday Swift’s team were able to take stock, strategise and respond to the situation within hours.
This quick action worked to limit risk and allowed them to have input before the world and media could spend too long speculating and drawing their own conclusions on the situation.
Own your channels and your response
Swift has the ability to broadcast to millions of people with the click of a button via her database, social platforms and profiles. While the world waited with bated breath for a response from Swift, she and her team chose to release the same carefully crafted message across her Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.
Having full control of these channels allowed Swift and her team to own the message. Her overarching response to the situation (specifically mentioning Kardashian and West) was read and quoted in its entirety by media and also gave her dedicated fan base the opportunity to visit each of these channels and see her response firsthand.
While your brand might not have the same volume of followers and media probably won’t be visiting your social pages looking for content in the same way as Swift’s, there’s still something to be learnt from this experience.
Brands have the ability to be selective about who they choose to speak with, and when they choose to share their response during a crisis. Using experts to manage media, determine the best outlets to speak with who will share a balanced view of the story and who will be able to monitor interviews and control the message will provide the best result for your brand and could be the saving grace of your reputation.
Owning this response by sharing a complete statement on your own channels and referring media and consumers back to this is also a way to ensure your words don’t get twisted and can be used as a reference point for both consumers and media.
Don’t get hung up on, or caught out on, a technicality
One of the hardest types of crises to come back from are those that impact reputation. Product issues can be solved, people can find ways to forgive design flaws, distribution issues and even illness as a result of a product.
However, misleading the public and appearing openly deceptive can be kryptonite for any brand and there is no quick fix for this.
Swift’s lie caused a problem for her team: do they opt to take ownership and act with integrity, or try focus on a technicality to ease the blow?
In this instance Swift’s team attempted to run with option two, noting in her official response that West had not requested approval for one specific line in his song which Swift took offense to, despite video footage of her agreeing with other components of the song.
This is where the crisis has been mismanaged by Swift. Already people had lost faith and trust in Swift, and already she had been publicly branded a liar. In any crisis, consumers value when brands recognise their faults and communicate honestly.
Swift’s refusal to take any ownership in the situation and her attempts to position herself as a victim of Kardashian and West have injected more tension and created backlash from even the most dedicated of fans.
It’s pretty simple: don’t try to divert attention from your own crisis by slamming individuals, competitors or other parties involved.
In the 12 hours following this initial news breaking, a series of stories were placed in media outlets (assumed to be by Swift’s team), indicating Swift had intentions of suing West and Kardashian over the legality of the phone call recordings and introducing the spectre of defamation to the scenario.
This public declaration of legal action from Swift has highlighted her guilt in this situation. It’s also helped fuel the fire, build the story and has continued to paint a negative picture of Swift in the eyes of her fans and media worldwide.
One of the most important things an individual or a brand can do when in the midst of a crisis is behave ethically, act with integrity and ride out the storm. Ceasing to do this and pinning blame elsewhere can more harm than good for a brand and its reputation.
Can she really ‘Shake it Off’?
We all know that every media story has a lifespan and as long as you stop adding fuel to the fire, it will more or less disappear. In the case of Swift, it’s not quite the same.
The 26-year-old has had her fair share of negative publicity over the years and many stories have been continually resurrected no matter how big her achievements, hits and accolades. It must also be mentioned there is nothing in her past that rivals this level of personal backlash.
While we can only assume Taylor’s crisis will blow over eventually and her talent will allow her to continue to build her own success and increase her profile, this experience is an important lesson for communications professionals and marketers.
Firstly, no matter how big your brand and the number of consumer advocates you have, there’s always the chance the public will turn.
It doesn’t take much for people to lose faith, loyalty and change their opinion of something they have been fans of for years.
Should this happen, for any brand, business or identity in the midst of a crisis, it’s important to remember that it’s not always the crisis itself but how it’s managed that sticks in the mind of media and the public.
No matter the size or type of crisis, the impact to others, and the impact to your reputation, you can always come back from the negative backlash.
Provided you meticulously manage your message, respond quickly, take ownership and act ethically, your reputation can always be rebuilt and your brand can recover, make a comeback and regain consumer trust and sentiment.
Soraya Calavassy is co-founder of Neon Black, a PR and creative communications agency
Embarrassingly-bad article. Taylor Swift didn’t object to a ‘technicality’ but instead objected to the claim that Kanye West “made her famous” and was insulted that Kanye called her “that bitch” in front of the whole world. Kanye didn’t ask permission to do either of those things. Taylor has worked very hard for her accomplishments so obviously she would object to someone claiming that they were instead responsible for her fame and that she is merely a “bitch”.
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I’m confused by the reports that I am reading in the media stating that Swift has been exposed as a liar, that her reputation is in tatters, etc.
What part of this story have I missed?
Swift was announced as a winner of a 2009 MTV VMA, and West stormed the stage to say someone else was more deserving. The behaviour was despicable, and West rightly apologised to Swift. Swift accepted his apology. West apologised again and Swift accepted his apology again. West apologised a third time, and Swift accepted his apology a third time. West sent Swift flowers, and Swift posted a photo of the flowers on her social media page to express her gratitude.
Fast forward 7 years, and West writes his song Famous, including the words “I made that bitch famous”, referring to Swift, as well as “I feel me and Taylor might still have sex”. This despite having had no hand whatsoever in assisting Swift’s career, as well as being a married man with 2 small children.
Then we learn that West phoned Swift in advance of Famous’ release to discuss the lyrics. He does not disclose the exact lyrics to Swift, and from West’s side, the conversation is recorded, unbeknownst to Swift. Again Swift is polite and accommodating, thanking West for the phone call, expressing gratitude at having been called.
West then releases his song, together with its video, which as well as the lyrics above, includes a naked image of Swift, with breasts exposed, lying in bed beside West.
West’s wife then releases the tape recording of the phone call on social media, and in response Swift posts a message which expresses her desire to be ‘excluded from this narrative, one that I never asked to be a part of, since 2009.’ As always, she is polite.
Shortly after, Swift uses her Grammy acceptance speech to encourage other young women to remain focussed on their work and not be sidetracked by those who try to undercut their success or take credit for their accomplishments. Again, sound words, delivered respectfully, walking the walk by staying focussed.
Rather than be applauded for her decorum in the face of adversity, the internet explodes, saying she has been exposed, that her reputation is ruined, and so on.
I am honestly confused. What part of this ‘narrative’ have I missed?Why have none of the major global media outlets called out West and his wife on this behaviour?? Why is it Swift’s reputation which is apparently in tatters?? Is the West-Kardashian juggernaut so powerful that media outlets will only write about them in positive terms, for fear of the repercussions?
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The technicality comes back to the statement that Taylor’s team released back in February 2016. This statement from her representatives said: “Kanye did not call for approval, but to ask Taylor to release his single ‘Famous’ on her Twitter account. She declined and cautioned him about releasing a song with such a strong misogynistic message.”
There is no denial that Taylor has worked hard and is an incredibly talented woman, however her initial outrage at the release of this song (as mentioned time and time again earlier in 2016) differs significantly from the recorded phone call that Kardashian released via Snapchat last week.
It was this vast change in attitude that propelled this into a reputational crisis for Swift and caused public backlash. While she maintained from the start she never approved the line “I made that bitch famous”, that’s just one small truth in a statement made to media and the public that was deliberately deceptive and the sentiment reiterated time and time again by both Swift and members of her ‘squad’; her other public mouthpieces. The only negative feedback recorded and shared with the public via the Kardashian Snapchat videos was “I’m this close to over-exposure” before Swift clearly thanked West for taking the time to call her.
This article doesn’t look at whether West/Swift/Kardashian was right or wrong, but looks at this from a reputation and crisis management standpoint and how it was handled and what brands can learn. There are definitely a number of learnings (some good, some not so good) that people can take from this very public crisis and consider should things heat up for their own professional reputation.
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The main issue the public took with Swift and the reason the story blew up in such a way that challenged Swift’s reputation comes down to a statement that was released in February this year. This essentially said that Swift had warned West not to release the song and it had a strong mysogynistic messasge etc.
You can read the full statement here: http://www.eonline.com/au/news.....o-his-fans
The videos that Kardashian released last week completely contradicted this public statement, the sentiment in Swift’s Grammy speech and things Swift’s ‘squad’ members had been publicly saying in her defence.
I’m in no way supporting the behaviour of West or Kardashian, nor condoning the song lyrics or deliberately controversial video clip, but the release of Kardashian’s videos has absolutely changed the perspective and perception of Swift to the general public and has challenged her seemingly spotless reputation.
There’s no doubt Swift and her team handled the crisis to the best of their ability given the magnitude of media attention and speculation, however there are absolutely a range of key learnings that brands, marketers and communications professionals can take on board and consider should they ever be faced with something similar.
The media storm that has surrounded this story has been interesting, as has the very valid point you make regarding the response of mainstream media to Kardashian/West.
I have no doubt that even more will unfold around this story over the coming months, especially as Taylor Swift is due to release a new album soon and with that comes more media and promotional activity to accompany it along with curated stories and PR activity.
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Taylor- talent, class and style. Kimye – no talent, no class, no style. Who would you rather your daughter listened to. All that needs to be said really.
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dear confused, you are exactly on the money, taylor swift has been ‘used’ her name, her popularity, just for media hype, website hits, by kimye. the two k’s like to boast they are in the exploitation business.
This is an excellent example of the kimye doing that.
Taylor,with or without lame media bullying, does not have to agree with the kimye selective interpretation of the phone call-because she did not agree in word or principle to the words of the song that kimye insist upon. Taylor found not agree on something that kanye never mentioned in the phone call!! duh kanye!!duh kim!!!
The west kardashian dumbness proves how many people are also that dumb to agree to the ‘no facts’ to the argument, for the sake of to forging a narcissism upon dragging another down.
If anyone should be singing the line i made that b$$ch famous it should be kim to kanye!!! 🙂
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Next time I have a shit I’ll try to give it
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