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Two words, Toyota: Crash and Burn.

Watching Toyota as they recall millions of vehicles and the ensuing public relations disaster is like waiting for the Taylor Swift phenomenon to pass … But the hits they just keep on comin’.

Over the last month, Toyota has illustrated literally every PR “don’t” known to man, serving as the perfect example of what NOT to do when faced with a crisis, and making PR execs nationwide cringe in horror. And let’s be frank here – when you’ve got the Federal government (which now owns Toyota’s competition, by the way, but we’ll save that for the subject of another post) breathing down your neck, you know you’re in deep. But let’s back it up just a few notches and look at the facts. Where did Toyota go wrong and how in God’s name did they let it get to this point?

Remember that romantic comedy starring Kate Hudson, “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” circa 2003? Kate Hudson’s character is a columnist for a popular magazine who decides to write a “how-to” article about all the things women do wrong in relationships, consequently resulting in the demise of their courtship. Well, it has inspired this next step-by-step guide I like to call, “How to Lose Every Ounce of Credibility and Tarnish Your Reputation,” compliments of our friends at Toyota.

Step 1: Recklessly Disregard Your Problem
I was shocked to learn that Toyota knew their vehicles had problems three years ago. But instead of immediately addressing the problem and issuing a recall, Toyota just kind of swept that information under the carpet and continued with business as usual while consumers toted around town completely unaware of the potential threats posed by their trusty Toyotas. Sounds like they applied “The Formula” as referenced in the movie Fight Club.

It was also reported that late last year, the Feds had to make a trip out to Tokyo to “remind Toyota management about its legal obligations” because there was speculation that the automaker wasn’t meeting standards for safety.

And most recently, after the recall of millions of vehicles, Toyota did issue an apology, but only under the forceful fist of the U.S. government. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood stated “While Toyota is taking responsible action now; it unfortunately took an enormous effort to get to this point.”

Yikes.

Step 2: Place Blame
Once Toyota finally admitted they did, in fact, have a serious problem, they were quick to point fingers at their pedal manufacturer, who hastily rebutted that all of their pedals were built to Toyota’s specifications, asserting that Toyota was also involved in all testing and production of the faulty parts. Time for a refresher course in Crisis Management 101, I think.

When faced with a crisis, one of the worst things you could do is to place blame. This is not super secret knowledge available only to those of us on the “inside.” Back in the 80s when Johnson & Johnson was faced with the Tylenol cyanide crisis, they didn’t point fingers (even though there really was some crazy murderer to blame). Instead they took the high road, approaching the situation proactively and demonstrated a commitment to the safety of consumers – leading to one of the most famous public relations case studies in history.

Step 3: Abandon Your Brand
This one is actually my favorite. At a recent press conference in Switzerland, Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda issued a seemingly heartfelt apology for the unprecedented recall…and then drove off in an Audi. CEOs of auto manufacturers are typically pretty careful about their means of transportation, especially when making public appearances – as they should be. Would you trust a contractor to build your home, knowing that he hired his competitor to build his own house? I wouldn’t. And sure, maybe there’s some explanation as to why Mr. Toyoda preferred the likes of a black Audi wagon to his own namesake, but to me it says, “This is good enough for you, but I’m going with something of better quality.”

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So as you can see, Toyota finds itself in a sticky situation. As a result of this epic PR fail, the Federal government is urging Toyota drivers to take immediate action and millions of vehicles have been recalled with no answers for consumers on how the automaker plans to resolve this issue. In the meantime, Ford and GM are reaping the benefits of Toyota’s conundrum with marketing strategies that offer incentives to buyers switching from Toyota (well played, if you ask me).

This is what can potentially happen when companies take a reactive approach to crisis management and fail to openly communicate with their constituents. Every PR pro and savvy communicator will tell you that taking a proactive approach, while sometimes difficult and hard to swallow, is always the better option.

And while it’s hard to sit back and watch the chaos that has resulted from this case of product neglect, it’s no surprise that Toyota is standing over an empty grave, holding a dirty shovel.

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 02/04 at 08:52 PM

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