Crisis management is an entirely different practice in the social media arena. Thanks to social media’s viral nature, how your firm handles a bad situation can make or break its future. You now must respond to PR crises quickly, with authenticity and aplomb. Gone are the days when you can easily bury a story or get by with a simple “no comment” response. You must listen to the conversations happening in social media as they happen, train your staff to lead with the company’s values when the going gets rough, and you must have a plan for what to do when the news hits the fan. Our list of ten Social Media Comeback contenders are companies and brands that successfully dealt with tough crises – self-made and otherwise –using social media tools and a social media mindset.

2. Top 10 Picks for a
Social Media Comeback
Award
Social media requires skillful crisis management. Gone are the days when you can easily bury
a story or get by with a simple “no comment” response. And thanks to social media’s viral
nature, how your firm handles a bad situation can make or break its future.
You now must respond to PR crises quickly, with authenticity and aplomb. To do this, you must
listen to the conversations happening in social media as they happen. You must train your staff
to lead with the company’s values when the going gets rough. And you must have a plan for
what to do when the news hits the fan. It’s not easy, but it’s possible.
To highlight some best practices, we gathered together our favorite Social Media Comeback
contenders: companies who successfully dealt with tough crises – self-made and otherwise –
using social media tools and a social media mindset. Let these stories serve as examples for the
next time a crisis arises.

3. 1. Papa John’s Pizza
Naysayers Converted into Facebook Fans
www.papajohns.com
We like Papa John’s for how they’ve
handled the dark side of bad pizza. Faced
with a low customer rating of their pizza,
Papa John’s demonstrated engagement,
responsiveness, and social media savvy.
Using several social media techniques,
Papa John’s started addressing the
negative customer feedback directly. They
asked customers to take photos of their
pizza and upload them to share. They
conveyed authenticity by apologizing to
a customer whose pizza arrived smashed.
They demonstrated transparency by
inviting customers into their kitchens to
see the ingredients. Their latest social
media move is crowdsourcing three new
pizzas through their Facebook
community. We give Papa John’s high
marks for engagement and a smooth
recovery from bad pizza through a smart
social media attitude!
Top 10 Picks for a Social Media Comeback Award

4. 2. Mattel Toy Company
Mom-Based Forum Helps Manage Recall Crisis
www.mattel.com
In 2007, shortly after creating a grassroots
mom-based community forum, Mattel had
a nationwide recall of some of their toys
due to lead paint. Reeling from the
financial and brand damaging effects of
several recalls, Mattel tapped their
engaged community of moms to help them
manage the crisis.
This community helped the company
craft social media and press release
responses, interact with the public,
and manage the evolving problems.
As one of the Playground Community
participants commented, “I am glad to
see Mattel take action in forming this
group. The recalls shouldn't have
happened in the first place, but my
confidence in Mattel remains strong."
By demonstrating responsiveness and
a willingness to let the community
have a voice, their sales for 2007 were
up 6%.
Top 10 Picks for a Social Media Comeback Award

5. 3. Jack in the Box
Past Food Poisoning Jolts Company to Engage
www.jackinthebox.com
In 1993, the story of tainted meat
served at Jack in the Box hit the news;
the meat was fatal to some children
and made many others sick. Hit with
huge lawsuits and losses, Jack in the
Box was on the brink. Fast forward to
2009: A clever Superbowl campaign
included multi-platform social media
outreach. The engagement was huge,
with 4.5 million YouTube hits alone!
The company chose to use a light
hand in managing the conversation.
"We knew we needed to step aside
and let consumers drive the online
campaign," Terri Funk Graham, VP of
marketing, said. The company
welcomed the variety of comments it
saw and continues this transparency
today. Jack in the Box wins our respect
for opening up their communication,
a risky yet social thing to do. To date,
the risk paid has off.
Top 10 Picks for a Social Media Comeback Award

6. 4. JetBlue Airlines
Valentine’s Day Crisis Leads to Customer Bill of Rights
www.jetblue.com
On Valentine’s Day, 2007, JetBlue
Airlines had a weeklong operational
meltdown. They canceled flights and
people were left in airports to sleep
due to a winter storm. The subsequent
company response led to the creation
of a $30 million Passenger Bill of
Rights. We give JetBlue points for
engendering customer loyalty after a
potentially devastating misstep.
JetBlue has since built a large, very
strong social media audience. They
continue to focus on community
outreach and development. Some
would argue they didn’t leverage that
large community sufficiently in 2010
when an attendant made the news
with an on-the-job resignation
outburst. Considering their continued
success, we think that JetBlue should
be commended on knowing when to
speak up (and when not to).
Top 10 Picks for a Social Media Comeback Award

7. 5. The Gap
New Logo Flop Proves the Power of Online Communities
www.gap.com
In the social world, the community owns
your brand – more than ever. In some
cases, it will take your company and brand
to places you didn’t think they needed to
go. For example, The Gap unveiled a
new logo in October, 2010 – and the
negative backlash on social media was
astounding. A fake Twitter account was
created by jeering fans, a Gap logo
generator went viral, and thousands of
social media updates featured nothing
but complaints about the switch. The
Gap considered asking the crowd what
they wanted the logo to be, but
instead, in less than a week, the
company reverted back to the original
logo. On its website, The Gap said,
“We only want what’s best for the
brand and our customers. So instead of
crowdsourcing, we’re bringing back the
Blue Box tonight.” Enough said.
Top 10 Picks for a Social Media Comeback Award

8. 6. Tropicana
Branding Reverts after Fans Revolt on Social Media
www.tropicana.com
For decades, a fresh orange with a
straw poking into it was synonymous
with Tropicana. When the company
moved to change that orange with a
straw into a glass of orange juice, the
fans revolted on social media. Neil
Campbell, president at Tropicana
North America in Chicago, part of
PepsiCo, commented that it was not
the volume of the outcries that caught
their attention, because they came
from “a fraction of a percent of the
people who buy the product.” Rather,
the criticism was heeded because it
came from some of Tropicana’s most
loyal consumers. “We underestimated
the deep emotional bond they had
with the original packaging. Those
consumers are very important to us, so
we responded.” That is a testament to
the power of social media. Kudos to
Tropicana for embracing it!
Top 10 Picks for a Social Media Comeback Award

9. 7. Toyota
Company Turns to Social Media in Recall Campaign
www.toyota.com
In 2011, when faced with mechanical
failures of epic proportion, Toyota was
slow to the start (here’s a timeline).
Senior execs stayed in the background
for too long and the company suffered
serious social media backlash with their
handling of the crisis. But once Toyota
realized the full impact and need for
getting ahead of the story in the social
community, they responded. Focusing
on the long-earned loyalty to their
brand, Toyota offered customer fixes,
senior execs appeared frequently on
media, and the company launched a
Digg-based consumer Q&A with its
stateside president. Its Twitter and
YouTube pages also drove customers to
a microsite about the recall. Serious
points for turning an 8+ million vehicle
recall around. Authenticity and
responsiveness ended up being the
company’s savior, and those are the
hallmarks of social media.
Top 10 Picks for a Social Media Comeback Award

10. 8. Taco Bell
Social Media Turns “Real Meat” Crisis into a Non-Event
www.tacobell.com
In 2011, Taco Bell faced a class-action
suit that challenged the “real meat”
quotient of their tacos. Not only did
Taco Bell respond with an aggressive
traditional media PR response, but it
also harnessed the power of its social
media to shape its case in the court of
public opinion. Community
conversations and responses on
Facebook and YouTube to the
company’s official statement and
comments surrounding the lawsuit
were overwhelmingly positive. Social
monitoring indicated 90% of Taco
Bell’s 5.5 million fans still viewed the
brand favorably. Taco Bell statements
succeeded in turning consumers
against the lawsuit, with most calling
it “ridiculous.” This example strongly
supports how a crisis, properly
handled through social media, can
become a non-event. Ole’!
Top 10 Picks for a Social Media Comeback Award

11. 9. Air New Zealand
Humorous CEO YouTube Video Defangs Criticism
www.airnewzealand.com
When Air New Zealand and Virgin Air
were in talks to partner, a local
magazine criticized the plan as an
attempt to downgrade the quality of
short haul air travel. Having a
reputation of open communication,
including on social media, Air-NZ’s
CEO Rob Fyfe leapt to action. Instead
of a release refuting the comments,
Fyfe released a video on YouTube. It’s
a sign language discussion about the
plan and how it was a good thing. The
video was humorous, got the point
across, and remains popular today.
Combine that with the company’s
extensive use of web video to market
its services (with 15+ million views on
YouTube alone) and Air-NZ is a great
example of how to use humor,
openness, and new media methods to
turn around a potentially disastrous
situation. Great comeback!
Top 10 Picks for a Social Media Comeback Award

12. 10. Martha Stewart
Bouncing Back with 2 Million+ Twitter Followers
www.marthastewart.com
Even with a conviction surrounding an
insider-trading charge and a five-
month stint in prison (here’s a
timeline), Martha Stewart and her
Omnimedia empire are still bringing
home the bacon (and frying it). With a
huge following – 2 million+ on Twitter
and 234K+ on Facebook – Stewart is a
strong example of a comeback kid.
Stewart is renowned for her tips on
how to use social media to build a
business. She emphasizes going where
your customers are and remembering
that everyone is your customer. She is
responsive to her fans and uses a tech
wingman (in her case, a wing-woman)
to stay fresh, experimenting as she
goes. Whether she’s talking about the
weather, her dogs, or the latest
summer cocktail, she’s back on her
feet and loving the good life. Cheers
to Martha!
Top 10 Picks for a Social Media Comeback Award

13. Top 10 Picks for a
Social Media Comeback
Award
The common themes among all of these comeback stories include
responsiveness, openness, listening, authenticity, and adaptability. A
willingness to let the community own the brand and help shape the message
and the future of the company’s products is also key. These are new times
and new times require new methods.
The best takeaway is the need to build a community now, before you have a
crisis. Relationships don’t happen overnight. So why not get in front of the
story, like so many of these companies did, and plan for the best by building
a fan following you can reach out to when it matters most? With the right
listening mindset and some flexibility, you could then enjoy a comeback
story of your own.

14. Top 10 Picks for a
Social Media Comeback
Award
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