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https://marist.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=679cf19f-c30c-4dc2-9904-ad180161e462

Discussion Questions:

1. Do you agree that WHO should have been quicker to release COMBI? Why or why not?

2. If you had been an Angolan resident, how would you have felt about the way the organization handled the virus at first?

3. Is it fair to expect an organization like WHO to consider traditions in such a dire situation?
OR
Do you think this case impacted the way WHO handled other countries with COVID?

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1. If this crisis happened in 2021, how differently would it play out? Would social media have any impact? How would the communication tactics be different?
2. Why is an understanding of culture important in public relations and communications?
3. In your opinion, were there any successes or failures from this case that were not mentioned? If so, why were they a success or failure?
https://marist.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=4710ba07-8f48-4134-b63d-ad1c01438243

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1. Yes, I agree that WHO should have released COMBI quicker, because it would have placed the relationship between the organization and the communities being affected would have been prioritized. From there, communication would have been smoother and easier to transfer.

2. I would have been pretty offended with how insensitive the organization was regarding traditional customs.

3. I think it is fair for the organization to consider traditions in such a dire situation, however they have to consider them equally; fully understanding the impact those traditions and customs have on the culture of the people, and understanding what impact would be created if they were not consistent.

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Discussion Questions:
1. Should any of these organizations have used other communication tactics (face-to-face, news media, advertising/promotional)?

2. How could these organizations have used the proximity to the other cases to their advantage?

3. Do you think these advertising mishaps have hurt their reputations permanently or do you think consumers have already moved past the incidents only a few years later?

Bonus Question: Should Kendall Jenner be held responsible for the Pepsi commercial? How much responsibility does she hold for the messages of the commercial?
https://marist.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=f844e26f-0ff1-4d9e-9a1c-ad1c01798e73

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Great presentation!

1. I think social media would have heavily impacted this case.  I think word about the wrongdoings of Disney in this case would have spread all over social media making the situation far worse.  There would have been more activists involved campaigning for labor rights and animal rights for sharks.  I think Disney’s reputation would have severely decreased due to this situation had it happened in 2021.  I think Disney would have released statements via social media and performed more outreach to its target audience had this happened in 2021 due to the severity of the situation.

2. Understanding culture is very important so you do not offend a client or make them feel uncomfortable.  You want to have an open and healthy relationship with your client.  You could lose them if you do not understand their culture, which in turn could severely affect your reputation as well as your organization’s reputation.  It is best that all employees and organizations take the time to learn more about their potential client’s culture before making them an official client.

3. I think a big success in this case was Disney consulting Chinese “masters” for the “feng shui” of the park.  You did touch on it a little in the successes portion when you said Disney researched before opening the location, I believe this was a huge success as it showed that they did truly care about making visitors feel comfortable in the park.  Bringing in the “masters” changed the whole orientation of the park and “ensured harmony with spiritual forces,” making the park very comfortable for its visitors.

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I thought you had a great presentation!

1. I think these organizations could have used news media or advertising tactics when it came to their apologies.  I think the statements a few days after receiving backlash helped and hurt, as the statements took a while to release but the apology was effective.  I believe the companies should have taken to the news media to further apologize and make it more genuine.  Fixing the ads and republishing them would have helped as well.

2.  I think it could have helped the organizations learn from each other.  It made it easier to see what other organizations did in this type of situation and how they reacted to this type of situation.  I think it would have made navigating this ordeal easier on the organizations who put themselves in this situation later on.  That is really the only way they could have used proximity to their advantage.

3. It depends on the severity of the situation.  I have not heard much about the Wells Fargo post or the H&M post since it occurred, but I still hear people bash Pepsi and Dove every now and then for the incidents that took place.  I would not say it permanently hurts an organization’s reputation, but it does cause organizations to lose many consumers.

Bonus: I think she should have known what she was getting herself into.  She should have thought of the backlash it may have received.  She most likely did it just for the money did not care, so I guess I just convinced myself she should be held responsible to an extent.  She was the face of that horrendous commercial, so she should share some of the blame for just associating with it.  I would give her some responsibility, but I’m assuming it was Pepsi’s idea, not her’s, so Pepsi gets most of the blame here.

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This was a great case study presentation!

1. I agree that the WHO should have been quicker to release the COMBI.  I think releasing COMBI quicker would have improved the relationship between the organization and the communities that were being affected as it showed that the organization truly cared about the communities and wanted to help them first.  Then it would have eased the situation and communication would have been much faster and much more clear.

2. I would have been very angry as an Angolan resident.  I would have felt like the organization did not care for me or my family or my country in general.  I think it showed that this organization did not care for my culture at all, which is very sad.

3. I think an organization should always consider traditions in a dire situation.  They should know how much culture means to someone and should come up with a way where the solution does not ruin the culture.  I think it is a fair way to operate.  I think this case also impacted the way the WHO handled the situation with COVID.  I think they saw the damage this case did and they did not want to put themselves in a similar situation.  So they definitely looked back at this case before proceeding with navigating the COVID pandemic.

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Great job!

1.I think there is benefit in saying that the more communication tactics the better, especially with such serious issues exemplified in these cases. When various platforms are used it is clear that a message needs to be sent and an organization is serious about getting the apology or response out to as many people as possible.

2. It is clear that these communication teams were not environmental scanning and understanding the issues addressed in cases prior. One of the most important elements of communications, is scanning publics and other communication tactics to see how they can better reflect their own publics. There is a clear trend that these companies were not educated on racism and their diversity team overlooked very harmful messages, or worse, did not even look. These issue areas should have been addressed, but even more so at a time when there is no excuse for complacency as a company and an opportunity to learn from other harmful companies' messages.

3. I think it definitely impacted their reputation initially but I do not think these followed their companies in a harmful way. If anything, I feel as though it put their messages under an additional level of accountability for them to prove they have learned and vowed to do better.

Bonus Question: I think it is incredibly important people are held to the messages and actions on which they partner with. Although the commercial was not written or designed by Jenner, she has the ability to decline this offer or quit when realizing the harm it causes. People are responsible for who/what they associate themselves with and I think it is harmful to let her off without any accountability.

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1. I feel that WHO, if they are able to respond so quick medically, as a global organization should have been able to respond quicker and more effectively. It is important to always be culturally aware, especially with tradition, before coming into a community one is not part of. They should have been quicker with COMBI.

2. I would have been very angry. It would have been hard to feel that WHO had good intentions when they were impacting the transition of the spirits of their family, friends, and greater community. Although they were educating and treating Angolans, they needed to build trust and make connections rather than coming in and disregarding traditions.

3. I think because WHO is a global organization, they should be aware of cultural traditions and that is something that should always be referenced. I know this was a dire situation, but in such a scary situation it is that much more important they educate themselves so they can quickly build trust in these communities.

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Good presentation Grace!

1. If this case were to occur today, a lot would have happened differently. Social media plays a huge role in activism today and I think organizations, advocates, and people in general would have reacted very strongly with viral posts, videos, and photos. I think additionally, Disney would have made a larger effort to make a statement on where they stand globally rather than just in terms of their Asian amusement parks. I also feel as though activists, specifically environment advocates would have made more efforts to make policy change.
2. Understanding culture is incredibly important in communications. The role of public relations is to act on behalf of publics. In order to best advocate and act on behalf of publics, one must understand them and their perspective. To do that, and be successful, one must fully understand culture.
3. I think a success not mentioned was the cultural education done prior to the Shanghai park. Not including the shark fin soup, Disney did do a good job in effectively combining cultures whether that be language, food or culture. As a global organization, Disney must appeal to many traditions and cultures. The shark fin soup was a failure for Disney, however I agree there is major success in knowing they took their lesson and were able to effectively incorporate those into the Hong Kong location.

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Allison, you did such a great job! I really loved the layout of your presentation.

1. Honestly, I don’t think it mattered what these companies did in an effort to fight the backlash because the damage was done and in some cases was irreversible. These companies are also so huge that it would have been somewhat worse if they spent more time on it by conducting face to face interviews or new ads because it would have been admitting fault. In a strictly PR viewpoint, these companies “apologized” and moved on which is somewhat of a reason why we still see them today and why they weren’t blacklisted.

2. They could have and should have used the proximity to the other cases to their advantage. Learning from others past mistakes is part of what makes a good PR team and since they didn’t do that the backlash they received was warranted and shouldn’t have been surprising.

3. I definitely think these advertising mishaps have hurt the companies. Some people may have accepted the apologies and moved on but others it was too damaging. However, I didn’t even hear of the Heineken advertisement so I am curious if it depends on who the target audience is if that made a difference on the amount of backlash and the damage after the fact.

4. Kendall Jenner, as much as she is a celebrity of caliber, still has a contract and may not have been able to say no. With that being said, she still has a lot of pull and should have spoken up by saying this is not right and definitely should have taken more of a stand after the backlash of the commercial. However, I don’t blame her nor should the public, it was Pepsi’s idea, name and execution not Kendall.

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Adrianna, great presentation and aesthetics!

1. Yes I wholeheartedly agree that COMBI should have been released much earlier than 2012. Taking seven years to release a helpful toolkit for outbreaks is not only damaging but dangerous. This would have helped many countries and communities since the outbreak in Angola and yet it took them seven years to bring it out and use it to help.

2. I think that it is hard to put myself in their shoes but I believe I would have been deeply hurt if they didn’t try to respect the traditions or at least understand them. It was as if they didn’t care about the people, only the virus and that was extremely disrespectful.

3. It is fair, however, when situations are progressing so rapidly there is only so much you can do before things get away from you. If the disease is still spreadable after death than it is unreasonable to expect them to let the body be seen by families however, if it wasn’t contagious after death than being able to honor those traditions would have gone a long way in helping aid the country.

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1. Social media would have changed the timeline of the case in that when social media is involved, consumers become aware of organization’s wrongdoings much faster, and when news spreads faster it generally gains traffic and support. With this involvement, activists who are not geographically involved in a case have a platform to voice their opinion and become involved in cases, even if they are not physically there. Perhaps the biggest difference would have been how quickly Disney spoke and acted on the issues.

2. Understanding culture is so important for PR representatives because it is the only way for organizations to develop a healthy and honest relationship with their publics. When an organization from another place in the world enters a new geographic location, it is so important for them to understand and respect cultures and norms of that location they are entering. Making that public comfortable through their societal norms is the more effective way to develop a relationship with them.

3. There was obviously some research done prior to the new Disney opening that contributed to some success. In terms of their development, Disney made some efforts to respect the cultures of that location. Their “Feng shui” design was a successful attempt to welcome Chinese culture, and if it had been accompanied by other culture cognizent tactics, would have resulted in a far more positive reaction.

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Grace, I really enjoyed your presentation!

1. If this were to happen in 2021, the social media backlash would have been astronomical and probably would have forced Disney to do more in regards to how they handled the backlash. They would have had to maintain their image as quickly and efficiently as possible because word spreads on social media so quickly.

2. Understanding culture is extremely important to PR and communications because if you don’t you seem disrespectful and insensitive. The consumers will remember any disrespect and it will follow the company around forever, especially if it demeans a culture or doesn’t take the time to understand it. Disney basically whitewashed this situation but profited off of Chinese individuals.

3. In my opinion, because Disney was/is such a huge name, a success of theirs was actually the silence they gave. In this case, by apologizing once and removing the menu item, they did enough to combat the backlash without admitting fault and causing a loss of profit. It may not have been ethical, but it was beneficial in the long run.

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1. It would have greatly helped the case if WHO had released COMBI sooner in that it would have prioritized the areas that were most likely being affected by showing them they are in focus. In turn, this would have created a better relationship and allowed a more consistent and honest flow of communication.

2. I would have been very mad if I were an Angolian resident because from their perspective, it feels as though the organization does not prioritize them or their beliefs. In this sense, the organization failed to support the community that perhaps needed it most, and contributes to a brand that is not supportive of other cultures.

3. Considering cultural traditions and norms in dire situations like this one is important in that depending on geographic location, different communities will react differently to situations. If they choose to respect cultural traditions, however, it is important that these traditions are met with a consistent intention, and that they are respective of native people.

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1. These organizations could have utilized other communication tactics throughout their apologies to reach a broader audience. When a brand makes a mistake, it is important that they address the mistake to the public so that the last thing the public remembers about your organization is not the mistake but rather the apology. By utilizing news media, they could have reached the greatest number of audience members.

2. These organizations could have used their proximity to the other cases to their advantage in that organizations learn from one another in the PR world. Looking at the way one organization handles an issue and comparing it to the way another will helps brands decipher what the most effective forms of communication and apology really are.

3. These advertising mishaps can sometimes have longterm effects on both brands and celebrities involved when not handled properly. Although there is constant noise in today’s environment that pushes out yesterdays news and brings focus onto new topics every single day, certain situations stick with brands when apologies are not made effectively and in a timely manner.

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Hi Allison! Great presentation! To answer your questions: 
1. I think that they definitely could have used more communication tactics, because the more communication the better. It shows that the situation needs to be taken more seriously and is being taken seriously. Especially when the case involves something serious that needs an apology, mass communication of that apology is necessary. 
2. There could have definitely been more proactive research on behalf of these organizations that could have helped them out in the long run. Prior cases had similar issues that these organization could have learned from and shaped their communication tactics from. It would have been very easy if there had been proactive actions. 
3. I do think that these mishaps have hurt their reputations permanently in one way or another. I don’t think people really fully move on, especially in this day-in-age with social media and the response that jokes about incidents get on those platforms. These companies definitely haven’t been hurt reputation-wise but these incidents do follow. 
Bonus: I do think Kendall should be held responsible for the Pepsi commercial. Not enough celebrities get help accountable for their actions anymore while other people get cancelled for much less. Kendall chose to be part of this advertisement and she went through with it all the way to the end, even after finding out what it entailed. I don’t think she saw a problem with it and that’s something she should be educated on. 

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Hi Adrianna! I enjoyed your presentation! Here are my thoughts on your discussion questions: 
1. I do agree that the WHO should have been quicker to release the COMBI, because it would have shown more responsibility and respect for the community on behalf of the organization. Releasing the COMBI quicker would have given a more positive relationship and communication with the community. 
2. If I had been an Angolan resident, I would have been very upset and disappointed. The way this organization navigated this case, it shows that that didn’t have much respect or care for the community. If I was a member of that community, I would be very upset with the organization for that reason. I would feel unappreciated, uncared for, and like I didn’t matter. 
3. I think an organization like WHO should consider traditions and cultural situations in a dire situation. It’s fair, in my opinion, because anything else wouldn’t show respect and care for other cultures. And I do think that this case impacted the way WHO handled COVID in other countries. They did some proactive environmental scanning and saw how to better handle a situation like that. 

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Hi Grace! Great job on your presentation! To answer your discussion questions: 
1.  If this crisis happened in 2021, it would have played out much differently due to the use of social media. It would have had an enormous impact of the case, especially by amplifying the voices of the activists to a higher degree. I think communication would have ended up being more primarily on social media and communication would have been faster and possibly even more deadly for Hong Kong Disney. But the organization could have probably better communicated than they did with Publics.
2. Understanding culture is so important in public relations and communications so there is a respect between an organization and publics. It also prevents crises from happening and when something does happen on occasion, there is a positive relationship with Publics set in place. Everyone should be treated with respect, and that encompasses culture. 
3. The case didn’t go too into depth on it but I did mention in my case reaction form when I chose this case that there was success in the research that was done. Hong Kong Disney did do some research on culture and tried to implement it, such as the fengshui and other elements of asian culture. These kind of led into the failure but the effort was there. 

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Hey Allison,

Great presentation!

1. This is a tough question because I can see the merit on adding more communication tactics to their response, but I also think an argument can be made that more communication tactics would have done more harm than good. I think overall, using social media to respond to the backlash was a quick and effective way to communicate with their audiences and allowed the organization’s to respond and move on. While other communication tactics may have demonstrated a more authentic apology, it also would have caused the public to focus on it for longer.

2. Learning from other situations and how other organizations respond to backlash is one of the most important aspects of any communications team, and the organizations involved in these crises were not proactive and preparing themselves with knowledge of how to respond to backlash should a crisis occur. Their proximity to other cases should have been an advantage, but because of poor preparation and research, the organizations weren’t able to use the advantage.

3. I think it depends on who the target audience was for each of these organizations. Personally, I don’t recall ever really seeing or hearing about the Wells Fargo or Heineken incidents, so for me there wasn’t that much of an impact. However, I do recall the other incidents and I know that even today the Pepsi situation is still brought up and talked about. Overall, I think there’s a lasting impact in terms of the level of scrutiny the organization’s now face in their communications and advertisements, but I don’t think the reputations of the brands have been too severely affected long-term.

Bonus Question: I think that Jenner should be held responsible, at least to some degree. If a celebrity partners with an organization, it is up to them to understand the messaging that they are helping to promote. While I understand that there may have been contractual obligations preventing her from leaving the commercial, she still should have spoken out and taken more of a stand after the commercial. While it was Pepsi’s idea and execution, Jenner still attached her name to the message and should, therefore, be held at least partly responsible.

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Hey Adrianna,

Awesome job!

1. I definitely think that WHO should have released COMBI much sooner than they did. Releasing COMBI earlier would have improved the relationship between WHO and the communities it serves and would have allowed for easier communication. Additionally, taking so long to release a tool kit that could have helped so many is not just damaging to the organization’s reputation, but it endangers all those it could have been used to help.

2. If I were in their shoes, I would have felt extremely disrespected and frustrated at how the situation was handled. I think I would have felt that WHO did not care about my culture or my people, and despite any help given in treating the virus, I think I would be very sad and upset about the whole situation.

3. I think it is absolutely fair to expect an organization like WHO to consider cultural traditions even in such a dire situation. For a global organization, understanding the cultures they interact with is key to build trust with those communities and should be done no matter the circumstances. However, I can also understand that in dire situations it may not be feasible or safe to observe certain cultural traditions, but the effort should always be made to keep to the culture/tradition as best as they can.

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Hey Grace,

Great job!

1. If this crisis occurred in 2021, I think it would have been very different because of the use of social media. I think the situation would have spread much farther and more quickly and there would have been a lot of activism on social media. Dependent on how Disney formulated their response, I don’t know that they’re reputation would be any worse off today than it was when the crisis first happened. I think that today’s communication opportunities and tactics would have given Disney ample opportunities and resources to respond to any backlash and take corrective actions.

2. Understanding the culture of the communities an organization operates in is incredibly important because it allows an organization to communicate more effectively. Understanding a culture helps an organization avoid engaging in disrespectful actions and avoid making clients uncomfortable. The role of public relations is to be advocates for the community and serve the public, which can be an incredibly hard job if you don’t actually understand them.

3. I think a failure on Disney’s part was their lack of learning after their missteps with Disneyland Paris. One of the biggest issues with Disneyland Paris was their lack of cultural understanding and preparedness in moving the theme park to Europe. I think Disney partially learned from this experience, as there was clearly an effort to better understand the culture in Hong Kong, but as shown in this case, they still made some mistakes.

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Finding Authentic Moments: Avoiding #EpicFails Case Study

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Finding Authentic Moments: Avoiding #EpicFails Case Study

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Amazing job Allison!

1. I think that more news media in these particular scenarios may have been more harmful to the brands and companies involved in these cases, specifically Dove and Pepsi. I think Dove vocalizing their commiseration and taking immediate action to remove their offensive advertisement was tactful because they didn’t wait for the situation to escalate. In my opinion, more media coverage may have heightened and worsened the extent to which the case reached nationally, and taking a minimalistic approach may have been the best solution to suppress even more negative backlash. Maybe they could have vocalized their apology on more social media platforms, not just the Facebook page to have a wider audience outreach, but they were even able to rectify their issues of producing a “tone-deaf” advertisement by partnering with “Steven Universe, a cartoon Network hit series that embraced diversity and reached a young audience” (501). In my opinion, taking the less is more approach when fixing advertising mistakes when they are made is better, and I believe brands should spend more time focusing on rectifying behavior and using diversionary tactics to rebrand and reconvene with smarter strategies.

2. I think that ultimately these organizations could have learned from each other based on the failed cases and tactics used to recover in each scenario. I think that these companies could have learned from each other by being aware of scanning their environment and implementing proactive outreach. I also think that learning from the depths of some of these cases, the brand and organizations involved in this case could have taken the time, especially Dove and Pepsi, to bring about more diversity in their staff and to prevent certain advertisements from coming off as “tone-deaf.” They are responsible for their messaging, so having a diverse multicultural range of expertise and opinions is another way that these organizations could have used the proximity to the other cases to their advantage. Having a wide perspective, makes you not only aware of your environment but socially adaptable.

3. I think that these cases are definitely memorable, as they have caused a huge uproar in the past, but ultimately I do not think that these advertising mishaps have permanently affected these brands nor the relationships that they have possessed with their consumers. I think issuing timely apologies was a huge part of the reason for salvaging their reputations, and acknowledging the lack of cultural awareness is another reason why the advertisements do not continue to haunt the brands. I also think that consumers have already moved past the incidents because the companies expressed vocal commiseration, and the communication offices finally received the “‘🤬’ about avoiding racist messaging in commercials” (501). Prevention is key in these cases, and because they are not repeated offenses and were taken as a learning opportunity, I think that the brands were only able to recover.

Bonus: In my opinion, I do not think Kendall Jenner should be held completely responsible for the Pepsi commercial. Yes, she had the option to decline the offer to appear in the commercial, but ultimately just like many other people, she most likely did not consider the repercussions because she was not culturally aware of her environment, just like Pepsi was not. I saw a lot of heat that she got for being a part of the commercial, but just because she is a celebrity doesn’t mean that she can see what is wrong with the project from the very beginning, just like the other background actors that participated in the advertisement did not either. I think Kendall learned from the advertisement backlash, but she did not create the messages behind the commercial and thought she was behind a message to implement change, so I believe the responsibility lies on Pepsi.

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Containing the Deadly Marburg Virus… Case Study

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Containing the Deadly Marburg Virus… Case Study

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Great presentation Adrianna!

1. I do agree that WHO should have been quicker to release COMBI because it would have established stronger communication and loyalty efforts with the key publics. It would have also displayed a level of loyalty, respect, and awareness for the cultural limitations presented within the case. Community engagement and trust were something that was missing at the beginning of this case, as the biggest concern was containing the virus, so there was no compassion shown, which ultimately sparked the backlash, to begin with. If the strategic measures they took to ease the backlash from their cultural insensitivity was implemented from the start, the scrutiny could have most likely been prevented, because WHO would have involved the communities instead of leaving them in the dark. “Many of the case studies in the COMBI show community engagement and trust, combined with culturally sensitive interventions, [which] can be crucial in preventing behavior that would spread the disease” (510).

2. I would have been scared especially because they were not taking the time to build trust with the Angolan residents, they were just trying to contain the virus. I know if I was in this situation I would be confused as to what was going on, and being left in the dark about a situation as serious as this one is detrimental to the entire community and environment, especially when we do not know the proper precautions or protocols to take. Being in a pandemic right now, there are so many similarities to this case, especially in the beginning where families were watching their loved one’s die, and couldn’t give them proper burials at the risk of the coronavirus, and visitation was not allowed and restricted for family members to see their elderly parents and loved ones. The way the organization handled the virus at first can make anyone fearful because they were not taking the time to express condolences for the Angolan resident’s loss, nor were they trying to respect their culture until they received the backlash, so I would have also been frustrated with the circumstances.

3. This is something that I also went back and forth with, as the biggest issue was containing the virus, and preventing the spread, just like it is now in the pandemic we are living through, but I think that they still have a right to the Angolan residents to respect their cultures and express condolences for their loss. Bringing people in white hazmat suits without any proper background knowledge or education for the residents creates fear, and they were eventually able to implement the necessary precautions to prevent the disease, by respecting the Angolan culture and creating informational pamphlets in multiple languages, so yes they are expected to consider traditions and cultural barriers in a situation as dire as this.

BONUS: I think that this case may have impacted the way WHO handles other countries with COVID because they were able to learn from the cultural insensitivity that they imposed on the Angolan residents at the beginning of the case and possibly take preemptive actions on breaking down the extent of the virus amongst various cultures. The way they handled this case could have played a key role in how WHO was able to break down language and culture barriers around the COVID crisis, in terms of containing the issue as well.

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Shark Fin Soup: Hong Kong Disneyland Loses Magic… Case Study

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Shark Fin Soup: Hong Kong Disneyland Loses Magic… Case Study

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Fantastic job Grace!

1. I think if this case played out in 2021 there would have been more backlash and scrutiny from the public, especially coming from social media and living in an age where we face many environmental crises. Due to the extent of the case, given that it was proposed in 2021, I do not think giving out information leaflets would have been enough to support it, and there would have been more national attention and coverage drawn to it by protestors, due to many controversies that emerged when environmentalists began protests, such as air and noise pollution, labor issues, wild dogs, and overcrowding. This could have severely damaged Disney’s reputation in this day and age because people are not as merciful as they were in the past, nor forgiving.

2. I think that an understanding of culture is important in public relations and communications to have multiple perspectives. In any crisis, we need to have a diverse understanding of the multiplicity of the target audience we are trying to reach. Understanding different demographics of people, gives us the upper hand on how to appeal to their emotions and interests, and allows for wider outreach messaging and damage control to be done. Without a proper understanding of culture, insensitivity comes into play, and reaching a wide variety of consumers becomes limited. Being able to understand and implement change based on multiple perspectives is an asset because it teaches us to appeal to a plethora of people, not just one category or genre.

3. I think that the main failures were stated in the case, and in my opinion, it did not have too many successes with the cultural aggression claims and environmentalist backlash, but I think that another failure was not taking more respective action on the case. I think Disney just let the case play out, and I think that they missed the message behind all the backlash they were receiving. Sending out leaflets at first was not enough, and I think the biggest failure was not being more equipped with Chinese culture because the parks were blinded by bringing in consumer profit. They were also not respectful to environmentalists, as they could have conducted more background research on the Shark Fin Soup. I think an ultimate failure was not investigating the repercussions of the case and taking strategic action to better their expertise in the field. They did take the time to do the research they sought necessary, and bring in professionals for the “feng shui” design, but giving the resources at their disposal there could have been more done in my opinion especially when trying to translate a foreign culture into a western tradition.

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1) Social media would have had a huge impact on this case. For starters, it could have given the employees the opportunity to be more vocal about the mistreatment they faced. I am honestly surprised that I did not hear more about this prior to reading the case. If environmentalists would have taken to social media, I believe that the story would have had a wider spread. I believe Disney would have most likely used social media to communicate with the public. Also, they would have responded quicker due to the fast-paced nature of social media.
2) It is crucial to understand  various cultures prior to expanding one's company. The world, as we know, is extremely diverse and people react differently to certain things. Companies need to ensure that they are not offending their new target audience, but they also need to make sure the new audience feels included. It would be wrong for Disney to treat their Hong Kong location the same as their Florida one because they are so different from one another.
3) As others have stated, I believe that the prior research Disney did was successful for them in regards to culture. I also thought that their involvement in the community prior to the opening of the park was a success. This demonstrated to the public that Disney did not want to invade, they wanted to be a part of the community.

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1) I do believe WHO should have been quicker to release COMBI. Although the situation was dire, it is still important to understand the cultures and rituals of different areas. In doing so, the residents would have been more trusting and respecting of WHO's efforts. Releasing the kit late left room for more people to be angered that their customs were not being thought of.
2) I understand completely why an Angolan resident would have been upset with how WHO handled the virus.  In an already upsetting situation, it must be frustrating to just be looked at as a patient rather than a person. It must have been traumatic for those who lost their loved ones to not say goodbye to them properly.
3) I truly do not know if it is fair to ask WHO to consider traditions when dealing with a dire situation. On the one hand, these traditions are very important and should be followed. However, WHO's number one priority should be the safety and wellbeing of others. I believe this case study could help WHO greatly with future issues and will give them time to come up with better solutions.

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1) I understand the organization's lack of news media or promotional communication. Since these companies are so widely known, it may have been more efficient for them to handle the negative response with a quick apology and removal of the ads or products. If they had tried to do a more corrective action, it may have appeared insincere. However, a face to face apology could have gone a long way.
2) These organizations could have learned that they need to pay close attention to the material they put out in the world. From the failures of the other cases, the companies would have been more proactive by hiring a more diverse team to screen their products prior to advertising them.
3) If these advertisements did hurt these companies' reputations, it was only for a brief moment. I feel as though the world moves on fairly quickly from scandals, especially with larger organizations. If they continued to promote offensive material, then it would be a different story.

Bonus: I think Kendall Jenner should take responsibility for being unaware of the cultural and racial significance. She does need to accept the role she had in causing hurt, but to place the blame on her entirely seems unfair. I hope from this incident she is able to better understand that, as a celebrity, her actions have consequences and she needs be more socially aware of the roles she takes on.

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Hey Allison, great job  on your presentation.

1. Yes, I think this since these weren’t received well that these organizations should have attempted to rectify that by using other communications tactics in order to better communicate with the public about their true intentions.

2. I think that they should have done more evaluations of the other cases in order to figure out what to avoid or what to do. Using the other cases as reference would have allowed them to better evaluate how their ads would come across to the public.

3. I think that it hurt them at the moment and some like the Pepsi commercial will be long lasting as a joke, but I’m not sure that it has permanently damaged their reputation.

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Hi Adrianna, I liked your presentation!

1. Yes, I think that since there was such poor interaction with the community and this disease was rapidly spreading the chances of having a similar incident occur was high. Should they have released COMBI earlier than there would have been steps in place to prevent another instance.

2. I really would have felt disrespected and misunderstood. While I might be able to understand the job WHO had to do, it would still feel very disrespectful to my culture that manner in which they went about things.

3. I think that it is important to respect customs or at very least try and work with customs so as to lessen the offense people might feel. While they might not be able to respect all aspects of the traditions, it doesn’t hurt to try while maintaining efficiency.

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Hey Grace, Awesome presentation!

1. I think that social media would have been a bigger factor in this case if it were happening in 2021. Considering how large of a factor social media is in everyday life now, I would only assume that the social media would have contributed to this case being more public known than it was. I think that the negative parts of Hong Kong Disney and their faults would have made their way to social media. I think that would cause more of a backlash on their social media, and seeing the way Disney uses social media to communicate now, I would go so far to guess that they would try and use social media to communicate about their actions in this case.

2. Understanding culture is important because it helps to understand the client in which you are working for or the community in which you are trying to attract. In this case Disney worked really hard in trying to make their Asian guests feel like Disney respected their culture and included it in their decisions when creating Hong Kong Disney.

3. Their biggest success was paying respect to the culture they were trying to attract and a failure that I think would be bigger nowadays would be their handling of the wild dogs. I love dogs so that bothered me in how they just said they were trying to do the right thing, but still ended up killing a lot of the animals.

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Hi Allison! Great presentation. To answer your discussion questions:

1.) I do believe that these organizations should have used other communication tactics such as face to face, advertising, or news media. I think it would have been useful for them to take this approach because it would provide them with another opportunity to clear these controversial issues up with the public.
2.) These organizations could have used the proximity of these other cases to their advantage by watching how they went about solving them. These organizations could have used the proximity as a learning experience and used it to their advantage. It could show them what to do and not to do in the situation they were dealing with.
3.) I think that since these companies are popular name brands, consumers have gotten over these incidents over the last couple of years.

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Hi Adriana, awesome presentation! To answer your discussion questions:
1.) I do agree that WHO should have been quicker to release COMBI. The release of COMBI was a couple of years too late. The people of Angolan needed COMBI implemented during the time of the virus to calm nerves and to create an open space for conversation while they were in need of help.
2.) If I were an Angolan resident, I would have been happy that the organization was coming in and acting fast to contain the virus. However, I would have been upset and anxious knowing that our rituals and beliefs were not being implemented into this health crisis. I would have been nervous and felt lonely without the proper communication taking place.
3.) I wouldn't say that it is fair to have an organization such as WHO to be responsible for considering traditions in such a dire emergency. I think there could have been a plan or a system of people that was appointed to handle this aspect after doing some research and handling the virus for a couple of weeks.

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Hi Grace, great presentation! To answer your discussion questions:
1.) I think that this situation would have played out differently in this day and age. Social media would have been a huge factor in exploiting both Disney and Hong Kong residents for the harming animals in the process of making these dishes. I think Disney would have utilized social media to get their message out there and clear their name with the public. The communication tactics would have been different and probably would have been more reliant on social media. For instance, maybe a statement would have been made by someone from Disney's Hong Kong location and posted to Twitter or online in general.
2.) Understanding culture is extremely important in public relations and communications in order to accurately represent your client. If a PR firm is unable to understand their client then they are not able to successfully represent them and put forth the message that they are hired to release.
3.) I think that one of the bigger successes of this case would be Disney trying to incorporate the culture for the people of Hong Kong at this location. A failure would be the competition it caused amongst fisherman. For instance, taking the fin off the sharks and throwing their bodies back into the water to die.

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1. I think the organization should have used better communication tactics such as face-to-face. This would have been a better tactic for communicating to the public directly.
2. I think they should taking note on what other organizations did to solve other cases. This could have been helpful to analyze the strengths and weaknesses the other organizations had and used them in their approach to this case.
3. I think consumers have moved on especially since these companies are still very successful. I think since this case didn't have any harmful intentions it didn't have a sever impact on the companies.

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1. I think WHO should have released COMBI much quicker. If they released the information sooner, it would have left less people panicking and have a better communication and trust with the public.
2. If I was a Angolan resident, I would have been very disappointed and angry with WHO. They obviously cared more about their reputation than people's health which is very unsettling for people who are living through this to know.
3. I see both sides to this. I think its important to keep traditions in any aspect of life but in a dire situation like this, I feel like it can be broken. This case had to do with human lives and it is always important to be transparent about public health.

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1. This case would have played out very differently if it happened today.  Social media plays a huge part in how the public receives news and is the fastest sharable media out there.
2. Knowing an audience's culture is extremely important when developing a campaign. It is always important to be respectful and understanding when working with clients in a different culture and hear them out when discussing specific requirements.
3. I think the biggest success not mentioned was the research and education Disney did on Asian culture. It was obvious that the park added the soup to the menu in order to be inclusive of all cultures, even aspects that American's aren't familiar with. I think the biggest weakness is how the shark fin soup is sourced. Ethically, cutting just the fins of sharks and releasing their dead bodies back in the water is not a great way to source fish.

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1. I think the organizations in this case could have benefitted from expanding their media tactics to include more face to face communication. This could have left the public feeling like the apologies in question were more sincere.

2. The cases following the initial one should have learned from their mishaps. They should have enacted tactics of proactive research, and even just have more people look over the content they were putting out. So, overall, if each case learned from one another, some of these downfalls could have been avoided.

3. I think consumers still turn to these companies for their products and services, but don’t forget what they did. For example, I often think about this Pepsi commercial and how baffled I am that it got put through to production. So, while I don’t boycott Pepsi, I still remember their failed advertisement.

4. BONUS: I don’t think Kendall Jenner herself should be held responsible, but maybe her team should take some accountability. Though it would be nice to think that she would read the script and think poorly of it, there is so much unknown on what goes on behind the scenes and how much she really knew going into it. But, I do feel both parties should hold some responsibility.

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This presentation was very interesting! 

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This presentation was very interesting! 

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1. Though it would have been beneficial to release it earlier, I’m sure they wanted to ensure they had all accurate information as to not land themselves in a similar situation. So, though it would have been useful earlier, the timing provided for more thorough help.

2. At first I would have felt that there was a disregard for culture. Though the stakes were high given the circumstances of the health crisis, in most cultures it can be understood that everyone is worthy of a proper funeral.

3. I think it should be expected that WHO would consider these traditions. Though it may be hard to have them be well versed, there could be an ambassador program from various cultures to ensure traditions are met.

4. I think this case definitely impacted how WHO handled COVID, as they probably worked hard to make sure they didn’t get themselves into this kind of mess again.

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This was a very interesting presentation ! 

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This was a very interesting presentation ! 

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1. I think social media would have had a big impact on this case. Specifically, nowadays it feels like tensions are very high with cancel culture. So, I could definitely see this becoming more blown up through platforms like Instagram and TikTok. If this were the case, the organization could have probably addressed the problem through social media to reach these groups.

2. Culture is very important in PR and communications in general. Being professional communicators calls for acknowledging and understanding what may be offensive or come off wrong. So, when these factors are taken into consideration it paves the way for more effective communications.

3. I think that all the successes and failures you mentioned in your presentation hit the nail right on the head. More specifically, I feel your success #1 is extremely important in this case. It reinforces that though this had the potential to be a large criss, Disney having such a large impact in many people’s lives managed to uphold their reputation.

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Hi Adrianna, great presentation!
1.  I do agree that WHO should have been quicker to release COMBI because it would have allowed them to gain the confidence and trust of Angolan people quicker and more efficiently.
2. I would have felt similarly to what many Angolan people felt because the way that death is handled has so much cultural significance in so many cultures. Seeing a loved one who has passed away be taken without any rituals performed can be hard on some communities. I would have felt disturbed if the organization handled the virus the way it did in the beginning.
3. I think it all comes down to whether or not certain practices can be tweaked in order to honor people's traditions even at a time where the situation is dire. I do understand why WHO did what it did but I feel like they could have researched the traditions and changed the way they handled the situation in the beginning to accommodate people's rituals.

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Hi Allison, your presentation was very informative!
1. Should any of these organizations have used other communication tactics (face-to-face, news media, advertising/promotional)?
Yes, I believe that these organizations could have used communication tactics such as face-to-face communication and direct communication through social media as it would seem more sincere and authentic rather than creating another promotional material to cover up their failures.
2. How could these organizations have used the proximity to the other cases to their advantage?
I believe that these organizations could have monitored how the organization dealt with the crisis and what communication tactics works and used it in order to build their own communication strategy. Also,having these incidents happen so close to eachother, they should have realized that the audience is no longer a silent consumer and will not tolerate content that is tone deaf.
3. I believe that these incidents haven't significantly hurt their reputation, although the incident will forever be attached to their name. I do think, however, that these incidents will keep coming up as long as the company doesn't show that they have changed and working to become an active participant in conversations of injustices.

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Hi Grace, great work on the presentation.
1. I definitely think if the crisis happened in 2021, social media would amplify the spread of the incident and inform more people about it. That being said, most of the organization's communication with the public might have also taken place through their social media platforms.
2. Culture is an important part of any field, but especially PR and communications because it a discipline that deals with sending messaged to the audience. For that reason, it becomes extremely important for companies to tailor the messages according to the audience that they are speaking to if they want to appeal to them. Also, it is important to realize that people have different experiences so they cannot generalize everyone into one category that would essentially only cater to the majority and leave out the experiences of minorities.
3. I think one of the successes would be that Disney tried to learn about the Asian culture and incorporate food items that would cater to their audience, however, it a weakness as people were sourcing the shark meat unethically which obviously raised a lot of ethical concerns

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1. Yes I think they should have used other communication tactics. When facing issues and backlash for a lack of authenticity, it is always a good idea to choose face-to-face tactics and other forms of news media or advertising to show a promise or dedication to doing better. Not hiding behind certain outlets of communication is the best way to be more genuine and commit to being more transparent and uphold better practices.

2. Organizations could have used proximity to their advantage by looking at similar cases and learning from them. Having that advantage could have changed or prevented negative outcomes or consequences.

3. I think people have forgiven but not forgotten. This incident is still highly discussed in the world of advertising but Pepsi and other organizations are not still facing the consequences of their previous actions. However, I personally remember when it happened and it will always stick out in my mind when I think of the advertising campaigns of these organizations.

BONUS QUESTION: I do think Kendall Jenner should have been held at a higher responsibility, however, I also know that it would have never happened because of her power in the industry and how much the public is willing to forgive her.

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1. I agree that WHO should have been quicker to release COMBI because it is always a good idea to give as much to the public as soon as possible to show transparency or reduce panic. There are much less incidences where it's a good idea to withhold anything from the public so the best odds are to release it as soon as possible.

2. If I were an Angolan, I would feel upset and angry about the way the organization handled the virus. I think due to the current times, we can all relate this incident to what is happening right now. In both cases, we can say that nothing good came from delaying the release of information or trying to stop the public from understanding what was going on.

3. I think it is fair for organizations like WHO to consider traditions IF that is what the traditions prefer. I think it is not in their hands to decide what should or shouldn't be considered by a traditions so it should be outlined prior so that organizations like WHO know what the traditions expect and follow it accordingly.

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Hi Grace, great job on your presentation! 1) If this were to happen today I think social media would have played a huge role for both the public and the park. More activists groups would have the chance to speak publicly about the issues at the park. This would have caused the park to get more attention and not in a good way. Although social media would have caused more backlash for Disney I think it also would have given them a bigger platform to publicly address how they were handling these issues. 2) Understanding culture is extremely important in public relations and communication. It is important for organizations to have a healthy and respectful relationship with its publics. Having a strong understanding of culture also allows for effective communication. This will also help to avoid any crisis. 3) I think the major success in this case was the research done prior. The research that was done made sure that the park appealed to different cultures. While they did great research in that aspect they missed the mark in others.

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Hi Adrianna, great presentation! 1) I agree that WHO should have been quicker to release the COMBI. Taking as long as they did to release COMBI showed their lack of awareness of the areas being hit the hardest. 2) If I were an Angolan resident I would have been very upset and angry. The way that the organization handled this showed their lack of regards for the communities affected. If I were a part of this community I would feel very frustrated and disappointed. 3) I think it is very fair to expect organizations like WHO to consider traditions in such a dire situation. I think that as a large organization it is important to be considerate of all cultures and traditions, especially in this situation.

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Hi Allison, loved you presentation! 1) I each organization had a lot to deal with in terms of backlash so I don’t know if adding many communication tactics would have made things better. I think social media was a great way for them to respond in a quick way as well as reach a broad audience. I think diving into other communication tactics could have potentially brought about more negative attention. 2) These organizations could have benefited from the proximity of the cases by watching how they handled their situation. This would give them the opportunity to learn from the things they did that benefited the organization and what hurt them. 3) I do think that some of these advertising mishaps have hurt the companies permanently. I don’t know if it still effects the sales of the certain products but I think people still remember them. One in particular that I always think of is the Kendall Jenner and Pepsi commercial even though it happened several years ago. 4) I think she should have been more aware of what the result of the ad could have been. I definitely think the most blame should be put on Pepsi rather than Kendall. There may be more background to the situation and I’m not sure anyone in the ad knew exactly how it was going to come off after being edited.

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1.I think these organizations would have benefited  from using other communication tactics such as news media or advertising in regards to the apology as it is always very important to communicate with the public about the situation. Additionally, a face-to-face apology would have been in my opinion the quickest most efficient way to handle the controversy. Utilizing social media is effective in reaching a wide audience but apologies face-to-face seem more sincere and genuine.

2.I think these organizations could have used proximity to other cases to their advantage by learning and monitoring how other organizations were dealing crisis response.

3.I think that these adversing mishaps have not hurt their reputations preeminently as the companies are still successful and have moved past the controversy. Their reputation was definitely hurt for a short period of time but in the long run they are still successful companies.

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1. If this crisis happened in 2021, I think it would've added more fuel to the fire that has been swelling in this past year. Especially with social media being a prominent source for information currently. That being said, I think using social media as a communication tool and as a vehicle for an apology would be their most useful tool even though it would also be the reason that the news of the issue spread quickly.

2. An understanding of culture is the most important trait in public relations and communications in general. It is important to make a message that appeals to an equal and diverse target. It is also important because it shows respect for other people and their cultures. To reach a human, it takes the ability to see them as human and respect their culture or traditions. A person in public relations can not expect to make a change or impact the life of other cultures if they choose to ignore or not understand them.

3. I think it was a massive failure overall. I think the situation could have been prevented with better research and more respect for other cultures. I do not think it was successful at all, however, it could have been if they were more mindful of the situation they were dealing with and had been better prepared.

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Hi Allison, Great Job!
1. I think in any situation the more communication the better. In order for an organization to get their message out to the public and to get their point across, they need to use any media outlet they can. Putting in effort to reach out to the public can show them how sorry the organization is for any wrongdoings.

2. Organizations could have used the proximity to other cases as an advantage by learning about them and preparing for any similar situation. Looking at any prior success or failures would have been beneficial and could have been used as a blueprint for any future plans. The most important thing to take note of is how these organizations faced backlash and gained back trust from the public. Communication tactics could make or break them in a situation and knowing what has and has not worked in the past would benefit an organization.

3. I think these mishaps have definitely hurt their reputation permanently. While some consumers may move on, there will always be some that will remember the poor choices and actions of an organization and wont let them forget about it in the future.

Bonus Question:

Although Kendall Jenner is old enough to know right from wrong and maybe could have seen why the pepsi commercial was wrong, she is working in an industry that is made to influence people and she herself could have been convinced it was a good idea due to the professionals around her. It was never anyone's intention to get her in trouble so she most likely trusted everyone she was working with. I think she deserves to take some of the blame but this isn't all her fault. From what I have seen she made it clear that she never meant to hurt anyone and has learned from this incident.

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Hi Adrinna, great presentation!

1. I definitely agree that WHO should have released COMBI sooner than they did. It would have made relationships stronger and they would have gained more trust from the public. Releasing the information earlier would have also benefited the people who needed it when dealing with the outbreak.

2. If i was an Angolan resident I would be frustrated and scared. The fact that WHO did not take their culture and beliefs into consideration is upsetting and disrespectful.

3. Although their main concern is to contain and stop the virus, I do think that it is important to respect the traditions of the people you are helping. They are not going to want your help if it means they have to break tradition and in the end will not support WHO or cooperate with them.

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1) I understand the association's absence of information media or special correspondence. Since these organizations are so broadly known, it might have been more proficient for them to deal with the negative reaction with a fast conciliatory sentiment and expulsion of the advertisements or items. On the off chance that they had attempted to do a more remedial activity, it might have seemed dishonest. In any case, a vis-à-vis expression of remorse might have gone far.

2) These associations might have discovered that they need to give close consideration to the material they put out on the planet. From the disappointments of different cases, the organizations would have been more proactive by recruiting a more assorted group to screen their items preceding publicizing them.

3) If these promotions hurt these organizations' notorieties, it was uniquely briefly. I feel like the world proceeds onward decently fast from outrages, particularly with bigger associations. Assuming they kept on advancing hostile material, it would be an alternate story.

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1. I figure WHO ought to have delivered COMBI a lot faster. On the off chance that they delivered the data sooner, it would have left less individuals freezing and have a superior correspondence and trust with people in general.

2. On the off chance that I was an Angolan inhabitant, I would have been exceptionally disillusioned and furious with WHO. They clearly thought often more about their standing than individuals' wellbeing which is very disrupting for individuals who are surviving this to know.

3. I see the two sides to this. I think its imperative to keep customs in any part of life however in a critical circumstance like this, I feel like it very well may be broken. This case had to do with living souls and it is consistently imperative to be straightforward about general wellbeing.

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1. In the event that this emergency occurred in 2021, it would have played out much diversely because of the utilization of web-based media. It would have had a tremendous effect of the case, particularly by enhancing the voices of the activists to a more serious level. I figure correspondence would have wound up being all the more basically via web-based media and correspondence would have been quicker and potentially significantly more dangerous for Hong Kong Disney. In any case, the association might have presumably preferred imparted over they did with Publics.

2. Understanding society is so significant in advertising and correspondences so there is a regard between an association and publics. It likewise keeps emergencies from occurring and when something occurs now and again, there is a positive relationship with Publics set up. Everybody ought to be treated with deference, and that incorporates culture.

3. The case didn't go too into profundity on it however I referenced for my situation response structure when I picked this case that there was achievement in the exploration that was finished. Hong Kong Disney did some exploration on culture and attempted to execute it, for example, the fengshui and different components of asian culture. These sort of drove into the disappointment however the exertion was there.

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Great Presention!

1.Social media would have had a huge impact on Disney's situation. Social media is the main way we communicate these days so people would have found out about this faster and could have been more vocal about the situation and how it is upsetting. Disney could have also used social media to communicate back to the public and posted official apologies on any social media platforms. Social media also does not let anyone forget anything, this incident would have been remembered even more and possibly still talked about often if social media played a part in this situation.

2.It’s important to have an understanding of cultures when working in pr and communications because you need to know your audience. There have been so many incidents in the past where organizations were not sensitive to peoples culture and ended up upsetting or offended a whole population. If you are going to incorporate someones culture you must educated yourself about the culture so that there will be no chance of offending people.

3. I think a success would be how Disney did price research and attempted to incorporate culture into their park. Their intentions were to support and celebrate different cultures. Although they failed and did not go about this in an ethical way for some parts, they did attempt to educate themselves.

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Great presentation! It was very engaging and informative:
1. I think if this crisis happened in 2021, Disney would have had a much more vast, widespread negative backlash mainly because of an increased social awareness and “wokeness” when it comes to cultural appropriation. Disney’s slow timing in a response, and their lack of accountability or concern for the issue at hand, would also not sit well with people today. I think social media definitely would have a strong impact in this case by allowing information to be spread incredibly quickly, and negative media attention and online backlash to boom, especially with  ‘cancel culture’ tendencies. Social media makes it easy for mistakes, scandals, wrongdoings, etc to go viral quickly and make it more difficult to control, manage, and move past a situation. For communication tactics, statements could be released on a variety of social media platforms, and face-to-face interviews with news outlets would be effective.
2. Having an understanding of culture is very important in public relations and communications. Without being informed on a culture that a company or brand is capitalizing on or from, it puts the company at risk for damaging their reputation and coming across as culturally insensitive and ignorant. It’s important to make sure a company is completely informed and educated in order to accurately portray a culture and not come across as offensive or as if they are just using a culture for profits.
3. I think another potential success would be Disney’s active role in the community, which shows their commitment to the community and those that live in it. By hosting or participating in different charity events, it shows that they are making efforts to give back to the community and culture. Another failure, which kind of goes off some of the ones you listed in your presentation, would mainly be that they sort of brushed past several issues, besides shark fin soup, without really paying close attention to them or taking the time to really listen to people who were concerned.

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Great job on your presentation!
1. I do agree that WHO should have been quicker to release COMBI because it would have been helpful in informing the outbreak response efforts, not just in Angola but in other countries with different virus outbreaks as well. It also would have prevented potentially traumatic experiences for the communities in different countries who had to endure the WHO’s response teams take drastic measures in order to contain the outbreak without any trust or communication with them.

2. If I were an Angolan resident, I would have felt incredibly upset, angry, and scared. It would feel sort of like an invasion to have WHO workers who don’t speak the language or know the culture to come in and start conducting containment work in a disrespectful manner. They failed to be respectful of the burial customs, did not communicate with families about loved ones who had died or their whereabouts, and were not at all concerned with listening to residents at first, which would have made me more fearful.

3. I think WHO’s primary purpose is to help control outbreaks as well as educate citizens on health issues and diseases. When a WHO team comes into a country to help control a drastic situation, it’s not entirely realistic to expect traditions to be honored in their entirety, especially when it isn’t safe to do so. So in that respect, I don’t think it’s necessarily fair to expect them to follow traditions, however I think it’s important that at least they acknowledge them and do their post to honor them. If they are not able to follow burial customs, it is important to communicate this inability to to the natives who value those traditions and expect them when someone dies. Without communicating, the WHO team was mishandling burial customs and disregarding the culture’s traditions. I think if there had been more communication about why they couldn’t follow tradition, there would have been a little more respect for the people of Angola.

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Really great presentation! It was very engaging and interesting:
1. I think these organizations should have utilized face to face and news media communication more. By apologizing face to face, it gives the sense that companies care and are taking the issue seriously and are genuinely listening to people’s concerns. By just limiting responses to social media platforms, particularly when it comes to issues such as racism, may not be received as effectively or in the way the brands are expecting it to be received as they attempt to distance themselves from accountability.

2. Considering the proximity of each of these cases to each other, these organizations could have examined what went wrong for each of the organizations and then used that to reevaluate their own messages that they are putting out. Learning from other organizations’ mistakes can be incredibly valuable in making sure that the organization doesn’t make the same mistake and works to do better and set a better example.

3. I don’t think that these advertising mishaps have permanently hurt their reputations, but I don’t think consumers have necessarily forgotten about them either. I think, if anything, consumers pay much more attention to the messages that a brand is communicating through their advertisements and keeps them in check by holding them accountable if something has not been communicated correctly or is offensive. For instance, with Pepsi’s strong brand reputation, I don’t think that commercial completely destroyed their brand and consumer base. However, for me personally, when I think of Pepsi I always think of that commercial. Although Pepsi has moved on as a brand, and consumers have too, I think it’s difficult to separate the brand form something as damaging as that commercial. I think it can definitely change people’s opinions on brands and cause them to watch them more carefully.

4. While I think most of the blame falls on the company and the creative/marketing/advertising team behind that commercial, I do think that some responsibility should be placed on Kendall Jenner. While the marketing team controls the messaging, Jenner agreed to be the face of that messaging and ultimately capitalized off of the message and its consequences. Her status as a celebrity also furthered the communication of that message. It doesn’t help that her image as a celebrity is one of extreme privilege and affluence. It’s not as if she didn’t know what the commercial entailed and the messaging it had before she walked on set. This might be a stretch, but it reminds me of when white actors voice characters of color. Obviously, this is offensive and definitely sends the wrong messaging, and those actors profited off of assuming a racial identity that was different from their own. Ultimately, Jenner should be held somewhat accountable — maybe not for the messaging itself, but definitely for her agency in deciding to be a part of it and her lack of social awareness.

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1.Yes, I do agree that WHO should have been quicker to release COMBI. If COMBI was released quicker, this would have helped the community and helped the relationship between WHO and the key publics. This would have made the community respect WHO more and showed that efforts were being made but the release happened many years too late.

2.If I was an Angolan resident, I would have been very unhappy with WHO. I would have also felt disrespect of the culture as death is handled in a very specific way to them and it is an important cultural practice for the Angolan people as they preform specific rituals. The way the organization handled the bodies showed a complete disregard for these sacred practices.

3.It is understandable that WHO wanted to have contingency of the virus in the quickest and most effective way possible so I think there is both sides to the case study. Taking public health into consideration I think WHO was put in a difficult situation as it is important to respect the cultures of others but it does come down to life or death. That being said, I do think it is important to acknowledge that they understand how important death rituals are for the Angolan people and communicate their remorse of the situation.

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1. If this crisis happened in 2021 I believe that social media would have greatly impacted this case. As social media plays a large part on activism word would have spread about the shark fin soup like rapid fire and organization for animals rights most likely would have gotten involved. I think also seeing photos and videos of the soup would have upset people as the practice of getting the fins is harmful to the shark. I think communication tactics would be different as Disney would have probably released a statement on social media regarding the controversy and this would have allowed the message to get spread quicker and more efficiently.

2. Understanding culture is important in public relations and communications as you do not want to be culturally insensitive or disrespectful to cultures outside your own. It is important to understand what is considered normal in another country may seem taboo in a different one. Understanding culture also prevents crisis and avoids making foreign clients feel disrespected.

3. In my opinion, the successes of this case was learning for future to understand the culture in Hong Kong and how it differs from western culture. Failures of this case was Disneys huge lack of understanding cultural practices and norms in China and moving the whole theme park.

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Hi Grace I really enjoyed this case and listening to your presentation!

1. If this crisis were to happen in 2021, I do not believe Disney would have been able to bounce back and get away with some of the raised issues like labor and animal rights. Had this happened currently with the advancements on social media issues, constant updates would spread faster. Especially with so many Gen Z and Millennials constantly becoming involved and vocal about multiple social problems. The backlash would have been a lot worse and possibly lasted even longer. The communication tactics would have to be implemented a lot more and in better ways. Using social media and press conferences would be the best option because it gives a face to look at and associate the problem with. Using social media would spread the message further and faster.

2. Understanding culture is essential in public relations because it engages varying demographics and helps the PR professional be aware of any possible sensitivities that can damage a reputation. Being aware is a huge part of the public relations job. To be a great PR professional that can gain credibility and trust means understanding varying cultures.

3. I did this case for my reaction form, and one thing that I did notice at first but recognize now is that Disney took steps to include cultural aspects in the Hong Kong park. Having an actual feng shui consultant and also making sure the three languages that were to be spoken in the park were a huge success that made this location a success in some ways. Taking this step showed their care of the locals who would visit the park and those outside the area.

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Hi Adrianna great presentation!!

1. I believe the WHO should have released COMBI quicker. Had they done this, they could have strengthened trust in the community and avoided anger and fear. If they released COMBI quicker, it also would have helped with more transparent lines of communication.

2. If I were an Angolan resident, I would be frustrated and, like the other residents, have distrust for the outside organizations. Traditions, especially those dealing with death, are extremely important and sacred in many cultures. Had I not been able to follow that tradition and not be communicated what was going on, I would not be willing to trust the officials and feel anger for not completing the burial tradition.

3. I think it is fair for them to consider traditions. I feel officials, especially those who deal with global health issues, must understand various cultures. If they understand cultures beforehand, they can then assess the case based on the country and region. If following a long-standing tradition will not jeopardize the health of others, then that should be taken into consideration.

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Hi Allison you did amazing of your presentation it was eye catching!

1. I think they could have used maybe a re-do of the advertisements to correct the behavior and give the public something else to talk about. I also think they should have used more effective wording in their social media post. By not taking on the blame and saying “we missed the mark” or implying the commercial is only offensive to those who take it the wrong way is not a great way to correct the issue with customers.

2. They could have done more research, and the companies should have looked into the previous cases to see what not to do and how to handle the situation. Research can take an adverse event and turn it positive, and it is clear the other companies did not research issues that happened before them because they all seem to follow a similar path.

3. I think every company except Wells Fargo was able to move past these mishaps. While some people continue to boycott these brands, for the most part, consumers have moved on and continue to shop and use these brands. Wells Fargo, I believe, did have its reputation permanently damaged because it had to deal directly with people's money and because they have had multiple other issues with security and the issue of creating fake accounts.

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Great job!

1. I believe that these organizations should have broadened their communication approaches so that their apology got out quicker.

2. The organizations could have learned from each other in order to learn how to handle the situation better.

3. In the past, I think the majority of consumers forgot about scandals as quickly as they happened. Today, our consumers are more aware of brands’ reputations so I think it would still cause damage years later.

Bonus: Though Jenner did not create the messaging around the commercial, she could have declined the opportunity once the idea was presented to her. There is no way that she or her publicist / agent did not take into consideration how her appearing in this commercial could have gone wrong. I am sure Pepsi paid top dollar for her to be in the commercial, but it a decision that both of them will be paying for for a long time.

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Great job!

1. I think that WHO sound have released COMBI quicker because they let years pass before they took action with a toolkit, which would not have occurred had the virus been in a western country.

2. If I were an Angolan resident, I would feel offended at how the organization handled the virus.

3.  I do believe it’s fair for organizations like WHO to consideration traction in dire situation. Cultures shape societies, peoples identities, and lives so to disregard cultures is to completely ignore important qualities of a community.

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Great job!

1. If this crisis happened in 2021, I believe that it would be everywhere on social media. Social media would serve as an information outlet that would spread the maximum amount of information, whether it be true or false. I think that there would be many activists speaking out about this and calling to boycott all Disney products. This would then cause Disney to either release a statement or choose strategic inaction.

2. Understand culture is an important aspect of public relations and communications because it helps one understand how a society operates. Cultures and customs affect our daily lives and if you ignore these traditions then you will not properly understand an audience/community.

3. As my peers have also stated, Disney did do their cultural research prior to opening this park to implement important parts of culture to the theme park.

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Hi Allison, great job with the presentation!

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Hi Allison, great job with the presentation!

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1. In terms of all of these organizations, they could have used news media as well as advertising/promotional tactics to communicate with the public. When issuing their individual apologies, they could have reached more people as well as appeared more genuine.

2. During the moment, these organizations may not have monitored the crises other companies were facing or did not see the need to employ them as a case study and apply it to their own situation. However, it might have been easier to navigate their individual situations better if they learned from what the other companies were doing to amend their mistakes. Therefore, these organizations could have utilized the proximity to the other cases by learning what they did in their instances and applying it to their case.

3. I would not go so far as to say that the advertising mishaps hurt these organizations. Although I have repeatedly heard people refer back to the cases of Pepsi and Dove, I have not heard much in the way of the other three. While some of these companies may have lost consumers and revenue when the incident occurred, I do not believe that these mishaps hurt or damaged the organizations permanently.

4. This question also poses another question: should we place blame on every celebrity that is connected with a commercial that conveys a horrible message? To some extent, Kendall Jenner should have known and understood what she was getting into. Perhaps she was a part of the commercial solely for the money and name recognition it would garner, but she also happened to be the face of the commercial. Although I would give her some responsibility for the commercial, blame ultimately lies with the commercial’s creator, which is Pepsi.

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1. Yes, I agree that WHO should have been quicker when releasing COMBI. Not only would it have shown more respect towards the community, but it also would have fostered better communication with them.

2. If I was an Angolan resident, I would have been very upset with the way the organization conducted themselves and handled the case. I would feel undervalued and offended by the way they disregarded the customs and traditions.

3. Although an organization like WHO cannot cater to every individual, they should still be aware of certain traditions, even in dire situations. They need to understand the impact may have on a group of people and consider the implications.

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1. If this crisis happened in 2021, it would have turned out vastly different due to the nature of social media. Not only would the voices of the activist be amplified, but the overall communication tactics of Disney might have turned out differently. In addition, Disney might have had the opportunity to better address the public and respond to activists.

2. An understanding of culture is vital in the field of public relations and communications not only because it fosters a mutual respect between an organization and their publics, but it also allows an organization to tailor specific advertising and other messages to the people. By understanding their culture, an organization mitigates the possible risk of offending the people while at the same time safeguarding their own reputation.

3.  I think a big success of this case stemmed from the fact that Disney performed initial research by seeking the knowledge of Chinese “masters” in order to make visitors feel welcome at the park.

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Allison, great job! Super informative. 1. I think that yes, they could have used more communications tactics in regards to the apologies. If they used more communications tactics and more of the media, their apologies would have come off more genuine and sincere. A company that brings in a lot of media to get their message out shows a lot. 2. Having multiple cases could have taught them lessons to prevent similar things from happening later on. It’s all about learning from one another, and they could have seen mistakes previously that could have halted things. 3. It really depends on how controversial/bad a brand was in the situation and how the media took it. Some of these brands are still widely popular and used and talked about, like H&M.

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Adrianna, great job at this! 1. Yes, I do agree that the WHO should have been quicker to release COMBI If it was released sooner, it could have helped areas devastated by this and would have had quick action. This would have greatly improved the relationships between communities and the organization, which would have helped very much so. 2. I would have been absolutely livid if I was an Angolan resident at this time. During such a scary and difficult time, I would have been fuming at how this organization was acting and would have felt like they didn’t care about the health of my nation and the many communities. 3. Considering different cultures and the way they go about traditions, lifestyles, medicine, etc. of course it’s super important that organizations take major consideration. Different cultures will have people react differently to an organization’s actions, and if that organization continues to be within that nation/culture, they have to abide by their norms and ways — with careful consideration, practice, and action planning of course. There will always be a way to make it work and function properly.

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Grace, awesome job! 1. If this happened in 2021, it for sure would have turned out extremely different due to how fast and widespread social media is and as well as it being so influential in all aspects of life. With media being so widespread, this story and claims against the park would have reached an even larger audience, making the situation better and worse. It would have gained attention from activists, Disney fans, and the general media. It just would have blown up everything even more — and that could have affected Disney’s actions and communications tactics and many different ways. 2. Understanding culture in public relations and communications is extremely important because no nation/area is going to be the same. Public relations works with humans which comes with many obstacles that make sit their duty to not only overcome, but adjust, appreciate, and learn from. 3. It wasn’t specifically stated, but a success that Disney did do to appreciate and embrace the culture of the nation they opened their theme park in. We know that it’s not just the appearance, food scene, and nightlife that the park adjusted to respect and appreciate the culture, but also the operations, staff, manners, atmosphere, and so many more.

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1. WHO should have been quicker to release COMBI. As a global organization, their responses should always be quick, accurate and effective.

2. I would have been really mad if I were an Angolan resident. Traditions and culture are things that need to be respected, even if you don’t fully understand them. WHO was insensitive and did not build trust between the organization and the Angolan residents.

3. Since WHO is a global organization, they should 100% consider traditions in such a dire situation. To be able to build trust within the community WHO should have prioritized cultural traditions and norms.

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1. If you go about it the right way, using a variety of communication tactics will greatly benefit an organization. It’s easier to control the narrative of a situation if your voice is present on multiple outlets.

2. This class is a prime example of why it is important to look at past cases and learn from your mistakes. If they had looked at previous cases they would have been able to communicate better and learn from past mistakes so they did not follow in those steps during a crisis

3. Like many crisis, the initial shock of a crisis negatively impacts an organization's reputation. The lasting effects on their reputation depends on the company the use of crisis comm and how genuine the response. In this case, I think their reputation was only impacted right when the crisis happened, and since they have continued to maintain a decent reputation.

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1. Should any of these organizations have used other communication tactics (face-to-face, news media, advertising/promotional)?
I think these organizations could have utilized more communication tactics to better promote their message.
2. How could these organizations have used the proximity to the other cases to their advantage?
They could have learned from the mistakes of the other cases, especially because they were in such close proximity to each other.
3. Do you think these advertising mishaps have hurt their reputations permanently or do you think consumers have already moved past the incidents only a few years later?
I think it will always be remembered by some consumers but in general the public has forgotten.

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1. Do you agree that WHO should have been quicker to release COMBI? Why or why not?
Yes, they should have been quicker to release COMBI. It could have helped many more people with a quicker release.

2. If you had been an Angolan resident, how would you have felt about the way the organization handled the virus at first?
I would have felt as though I was not a priority and consequently devalued.

3. Is it fair to expect an organization like WHO to consider traditions in such a dire situation?
Yes, I think an organization like WHO should be expected to consider traditions in such a dire situation, because it is important to respect other cultures.

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1. If this crisis happened in 2021, how differently would it play out? Would social media have any impact? How would the communication tactics be different?
I think it would have gone viral on social media, but I also think there would have been a lot of discourse about the intricacies of culture.
2. Why is an understanding of culture important in public relations and communications?
it is essential to understand different cultures in order to craft effective messaging.
3. In your opinion, were there any successes or failures from this case that were not mentioned? If so, why were they a success or failure?
I think the integration of Chinese culture into the park was a success on Disney's part.