In 2003, our country and nation went through many tests and crises, such as SARS and floods. And as an important entity of the social economy - enterprises were no exception. From the beginning to the end of the year, public relations crises continued one after another. In the face of PR crises, some companies responded positively and demonstrated a masterful approach, while others tried to cover up issues and avoid public attention. In fact, a crisis not only includes "danger" but also contains "opportunity." To quote a famous corporate crisis management and PR expert, Mr. Augustine: "Every crisis inherently carries the seeds of failure, but also nurtures the seeds of success. Discovering, nurturing, and reaping this potential opportunity for success is the essence of crisis PR."
Given the long-term immersion in tracking and studying the "crisis PR" topic, I believe it is necessary to summarize representative crisis PR cases involving both multinational corporations and domestic enterprises that occurred in the Chinese market in 2003.
### Case One
#### CECT Mobile Phones: The "Chinese Breed Dog" Incident
In February 2003, individual consumers in Nanjing discovered that their purchased CECT 928 mobile phones from China Electronics Corporation displayed a greeting message: "Hello Chow," which translates to "Hello, Chinese breed dog." Consumers immediately reported this issue to the media. After being exposed by the media, the incident quickly caused a huge uproar, with many people feeling it was an insult to national dignity and a disgrace to Chinese people. Numerous users of this phone planned to demand answers from the manufacturer.
On the day the incident occurred, the market director of China Electronics Corporation flew to Nanjing to resolve the matter and made contact with the first user who had discovered the problem. Subsequently, China Electronics Corporation issued a public statement:
1. Our company (China Electronics Corporation) as one of the major domestic mobile phone suppliers, has always taken the development of national enterprises as its mission. Based on the principle of "user supremacy," we absolutely have no intention or action to harm the national dignity of domestic users.
2. The CECT 928 is a product launched by our company in August 2002. It won the favor of a wide range of consumers due to its excellent quality, powerful functions, fashionable appearance, sophisticated craftsmanship, and reasonable price. "Hello Chow" is a greeting message for the phone, meaning "Hello, cute pet dog," and represents the humanized start-up interface of the phone.
3. Following the principle of responsibility to domestic buyers, if users do not like this interface, CECT can provide free software upgrades. The address and telephone number of the after-sales service center were also announced.
**PR Score:** 40 points
**Reasons and Comments:**
After the CECT Mobile Phone "Hello Chow" incident surfaced, the market director of China Electronics Corporation rushed to Nanjing to mediate the situation and promptly made contact with the first user who discovered the problem. This demonstrated the company's level of importance placed on the PR crisis and its timely response, including the issuance of a public statement, all of which had positive implications. However, a very simple statement alone would be hard-pressed to solve the problem and satisfy the public. Therefore, it is evident that China Electronics Corporation's handling of this PR crisis was inadequate and unsuccessful.
I believe the reasons for the failure of this crisis management include the following:
1. **Underestimation of the severity of the issue:** The handling of the crisis was too casual and hasty. When consumers saw the phrase "Hello Chow" ("Hello, Chinese breed dog") on their newly purchased phones, they naturally reacted strongly, even elevating the issue to the level of national dignity and personal respect. Human thought processes are diverse and cannot always follow the producer's intended interpretation of "Hello, cute pet dog." If you were to put yourself in the consumer's shoes, how would you feel upon seeing such a screen when opening your phone? After all, this was not something the consumer voluntarily or actively downloaded but rather was imposed by the supplier. In a sense, the situation was quite serious. Yet, China Electronics Corporation merely contacted the consumers and hastily issued the aforementioned statement. How effective could such a self-centered statement be? Could it really soothe and pacify the consumers? Would it give the public opinion a reasonable explanation?
2. **Poor public attitude:** The diplomatic language used lacked a good public stance. It implied that the cause of the crisis was the consumer's misunderstanding, placing the blame on the consumer rather than the manufacturer, leaving no room for either side. In the second part of the statement...
[Continued]
---
*Translated from Chinese into English.*