Overview
In today’s information age, customers have access to various digital platforms to access and share information. Customers also use these platforms to communicate with service providers, share opinions, and provide feedback. Therefore, it is important for product owners and service providers to be ready with a response plan for all communications over digital platforms.
You are a regional marketing director of a theme park and responsible for designing marketing strategy for the reopening of the park. Each department is helping you with the relevant and required information. As the date of reopening of the parks gets closer, the business intelligence unit of the organization in the scenario has noticed a surge of negative opinions among consumers. This is evident not only on social media platforms but also across a host of other digital media platforms, such as the organization’s websites and other digital information sources. A major cause of concern is that the organization’s ethics are being questioned in most of these negative opinions.
The business intelligence unit has sent a memo to share their concerns. The CMO has asked you to respond to this memo by creating a recommendation report.
Prompt
Write a recommendation report, in a memo format, to the CMO of the organization in the course scenario, describing the strategies to minimize the negative opinion from consumers. Refer to the Business Intelligence Memo to ensure adjustments and additions to the plan for stopping negative publicity. In your memo, emphasize the need for cross-functional effort alignment, crisis management, social media response methods, and CSR communications.
Specifically, you must address the following criteria:
- Describe how you must now pivot from your previous plan to introduce strategic changes to stop negative publicity.
- Which two steps will you take to effectively address the negative publicity related to the park re-opening?
- Describe the cross-functional effort alignment.
- How can the organization’s sales and operations departments help address the negative publicity?
- How can you use marketing channels to communicate the safety measures to the customers?
- Explain how a crisis communication plan can improve the organization’s image, when aligned with ethical practices.
- How would you use your public relations efforts in crisis communication?
- How would you use your corporate website for crisis communication?
- Describe the social media response methods to be used in this scenario.
- How would you address negative comments?
- How would you answer the safety-related questions?
- Describe the corporate social responsibility (CSR) communications strategy in this scenario.
- What are the key CSR initiatives and policies for the organization?
- What are the key channels of communicating the CSR initiatives?
What to Submit
Submit a 1- to 2-page Word document using double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins. Consult the Shapiro Library APA Style Guide for more information.
MEMO To: Director of Marketing, U.S. Park Southeast From: Director of Business Intelligence, U.S. Park Southeast
Re: Monitoring of Consumer Social Media Engagement Date: June 1, 2021
Pursuant to your request, we contracted with a social media analytics-monitoring organization to track customer behavior and conversations on social, digital, and traditional channels. By monitoring and analyzing these conversations, we can define emerging trends, identify actionable insights, and optimize the impact of our brand strategies and communications efforts. We have received two consecutive monthly reports with the following critical insights from potential and existing consumers. These reports are consistent and statistically valid based on the number of observations.
1. There is a significant and growing concern for the safety of park customers and employees. While not grounded in a recurrence of the incident prior to closing the parks earlier this year, it is clear that there is a growing perception of risk for future safety- and injury-related incidents.
2. There is significant evidence of negative consumer and employee opinions as to the
reasons for a “quick” reopening of the park. The overriding consensus is that the park has reopened for profit without stakeholder safety as the priority.
3. It is our opinion that damage has occurred to the brand image and that while safety
issues have been addressed in a highly effective manner, the negative implications for the brand can only be reversed through aggressive and strategic brand management efforts. This certainly includes marketing alignment with those efforts.
We will continue to monitor, analyze, and report on this situation on a monthly basis.