On Tuesday at the International Franchise Association Annual Convention, I attended a great roundtable session hosted by Carlton L. Curtis of Coca-Cola's FoodService Division. Carlton was there in 1985, when Coca-Cola introduced what came to be known as "New" Coke but which Carlton reminded us was just "Coke" at the Coca-Cola Company. Even though Coca-Cola had solid reasons for its decision, in particular the fact that market research showed consumers greatly preferred "New" Coke's slightly sweeter flavor, loyal consumers of the Coca-Cola brand were devastated by the switch. What was terribly galling to consumers was that Coca-Cola took away their beloved formula and replaced it with "New" Coke, leaving them no choice. As Carlton noted, he knew Coca-Cola was in deep trouble when a grandmother called their telephone hotline (remember, this firestorm happened before the days of the internet, let alone Twitter or Facebook) to tell them that she did not drink soda. But if she did, it would only be Coca-Cola and not "New" Coke.

After Coca-Cola re-introduced the "Original Formula" Coke–and, yes, Peter Jennings did break into General Hospital to announce the return of the "Original Formula"–it took stock of what it had learned from the process. From that, Coca-Cola developed three guiding principles that are as relevant today as they were nearly 30 years ago:

  1. Figure out if you are fighting an attack by a third-party or your own missteps. This a critical determination, as you may need to counter an attack but apologize for and correct your own missteps. Coca-Cola at first believed it was only fighting people would were adverse to "New" Coke, not realizing that its own missteps were a significant part of the "New" Coke imaging problem. For example, consumers were acutely angered by the removal of the choice of "Original Formula" Coke from store shelves.
  2. Don't inadvertently enlarge the issue.  The media likes to cover fights. Consequently, if you fight fire with fire, you might just give a story that wasn't going anywhere legs! Always a good idea in the heat of the moment to take a step back and think things over. It is the rare situation that requires you to go full bore.
  3. Don't be disingenuous.  Think Watergate here. The truth often has a way of coming out. And if you've engaged in a coverup, that always becomes a focus of media and public attention that will almost invariably harm the brand.

These are great principles to follow in any PR crisis–or frankly any legal crisis–your brand might face. As a lawyer, number 3 really hits home. When prepping them to testify at deposition or trial, I always tell my clients and witnesses that, if they don't remember anything else I tell them, to remember to tell the truth. It's not only the right thing to do, it also protects you from perjury and allows you to always keep your story straight. No matter how much harm you think the truth can cause a brand, the coverup is always far worse!

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