What Olympus Is Saying Poorly

Former Olympus executives and their investment advisers were arrested in a financial scandal said to involve a 13-year cover-up. Let's look at some of the company's recent communications.

On February 12, Olympus posted a presentation of their financial results ending March 12. The executive summary listed two "highlights":

• "Business operations were solid in October-December, led by the Medical Business."
• "Full year net-sales and operating income are expected to absorb the impact of strong yen, earthquake, and Thai flooding, and recover to the previous FY level."

Sounds like all good news to me! In fairness, Olympus has posted "corrections" for their financial statements.

In one extremely long sentence in a February 13 press release, Olympus explains these corrections (I think):

 

Back on February 1, the Management Reform Committee posted this nearly incomprehensible notice:

"The Management Reform Committee received a number of opinions from Olympus' shareholders, business partners, customers, financial institutions, employees and other stakeholders from January 10 through January 31, 2012. Such opinions shall be referenced in the process of the guidance and recommendations which the Committee will provide to the board of directors of the Company. We appreciate the initiative and cooperation."

That's an extraordinary number of prepositions in a short statement that says...what?

Assignment Ideas:

• Rewrite the two statements using clear, simple language.
• Identify all of the prepositions in the February 1 Management Reform Committee statement. How many do you find?

Social Media Centerstage: Pinterest

Pinterest, the virtual pinboard, has seen phenomenal growth in its short life. With a December 2009 launch date, the social photo-sharing site has reached 10 million unique views a month, more quickly than any other social media site.

This infographic shows the Pinterest's tremendous growth. With only 16 employees, the site attracts two million Facebook users every day, and 97% of the site's users are women.

The start-up does have a few challenges. Copyright complaints are rolling in, with photographers claiming that their images are used without their permission. Pinterest does have a process for reporting infringements, but when called a few days ago, the voice mailbox was full.

On its Pin Etiquette page, Pinterest warns users to "Avoid Self Promotion":

"Pinterest is designed to curate and share things you love. If there is a photo or project you're proud of, pin away! However, try not to use Pinterest purely as a tool for self-promotion."

This statement may restrict how companies can reasonably use the site for sales, but Pinterest still offers a big boon to retailers, who benefit from peer-to-peer promotion of their products. Mashable's compilation of 15 of the Most Popular Pictures on Pinterest shows a variety of images: hands, scenes, food, metallic nails, and more. Pinterest also offers views based on specific interests, such as planning a wedding or decorating a house. Clearly, the categories lend themselves to consumer purchases.

To sign up, users "Request an Invite" and receive this email:

"Hi!

"Thanks for joining the Pinterest waiting list. We'll be sure to send you an invite soon.

"In the meantime, you can follow us on Twitter. You can also explore a few pins.

"We're excited to get you pinning soon!

" - Ben and the Pinterest Team

According to Squidoo, all users likely get this email a couple of days later:

"You're in!

"I'm excited to invite you to join Pinterest, a social catalog. I can't wait to have you join our little community."

Discussion Starters:

• Do you think Pinterest could be "the next Facebook," as some suggest? Why or why not?
• Why do you think Pinterest attracts so many more women than men? 
• How do you assess Pinterest's strategy for people to "request an invitation"? Is it effective?

Oprah Apologizes for Nielsen Tweet

When Oprah tweeted this message to her 9 million followers, she didn't expect such strong criticism; she just wanted to promote her network.

However, as it turns out, the ratings agency considered the tweet a "potentially serious violation of its policy." Nielsen strives for objectivity in measuring what shows people watch. Trying to coerce viewers is not acceptable.

Reactions on Twitter varied: some were supportive, while others called Oprah's tweet "unethical" and "desperate." Because Nielsen was misspelled in her tweet, people questioned whether she was the writer, but her executive producer confirmed that she was.

In another tweet, Oprah apologized: 

She also told The New York Times, "I removed the tweet at the request of Nielsen. I intended no harm and apologize for the reference."

Discussion Starters:

• Do you consider Oprah's tweet to be an innocent mistake, a savvy marketing move, unethical, or something else?
• The OWN network has shown disappointing viewership, but what are better ways for Oprah to promote her network via social media?
  

Boastful NYU Cover Letter Makes the Rounds

An NYU student's cover letter to JPMorgan has gotten more than a few laughs. Mark is an accomplished young man, but his approach to getting a summer job didn't win any offers-yet.

Bench pressing double his body weight, among other skills, are viewed as over-the-top by the many, many people who have read Mark's cover letter. Business Insider traced the email forwards through Barclay's, PWC, Citi, and other companies.

1/23/2012

J.P. Morgan

Dear Sir or Madame:

I am an ambitious undergraduate at NYU triple majoring in Mathematics, Economics, and Computer Science. I am a punctual, personable, and shrewd individual, yet I have a quality which I pride myself on more than any of these.

I am unequivocally the most unflaggingly hard worker I know, and I love self-improvement. I have always felt that my time should be spent wisely, so I continuously challenge myself; I left Villanova because the work was too easy. Once I realized I could achieve a perfect GPA while holding a part-time job at NYU, I decided to redouble my effort by placing out of two classes, taking two honors classes, and holding two part-time jobs. That semester I achieved a 3.93, and in the same time I managed to bench double my bodyweight and do 35 pull-ups.

I say these things only because solid evidence is more convincing than unverifiable statements, and I want to demonstrate that I am a hard worker. J.P. Morgan is a firm with a reputation that precedes itself and employees who represent only the best and rightest in finance. I know that the employees in this firm will push me to excellence, especially within the Investment Banking division. In fact, one of the supporting reasons I chose Investment Banking over any other division was that I know it is difficult. I hope to augment my character by diligently working for the professionals at Morgan Stanley, and I feel I have much to offer in return.

I am proficient in several programming languages, and I can pick up a new one very quickly. For instance, I learned a years worth of Java from NYU in 27 days on my own; this is how I placed out of two including: Money and Banking, Analysis, Game Theory, Probability and Statistics. Even further, I am taking Machine Learning and Probabilistic Graphical Modeling currently, two programming courses offered by Stanford, so that I may truly offer the most if I am accepted. I am proficient with Bloomberg terminals, excellent with excel, and can perform basic office functions with terrifying efficiency. I have plenty of experience in the professional world through my internship at Merrill Lynch, and my research assistant position at NYU. In fact, my most recent employer has found me so useful that he promoted me to a Research Assistant and an official CTED intern. This role is usually reserved for Masters students, but my employer gave the title to me so that he could give me more work.

Please realize that I am not a braggart or conceited, I just want to outline my usefulness. Egos can be a huge liability, and I try not to have one.

Thank you so much for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Best,

Mark

Read more questionable emails and cover letters: 12 of the worst cover letters received by Business Insider.

Discussion Starters:

• Do you find Mark's letter inappropriate, too boastful, or something else? Isn't moxy a good thing?
• What advice would you give Mark so that he can revise his cover letter?
• How do you assess the 12 cover letters posted by Business Insider? Which do you think is the worst and why?

JCPenney CEO Responds to Controversy About Ellen

The conservative group One Million Moms wants JCPenney to fire Ellen DeGeneres, its new spokesperson. Ellen, you may have heard, is a lesbian. The group describes its purpose as taking "a stand against the immorality, violence, vulgarity and profanity the entertainment media is throwing at…children." On its website, One Million Moms explains the JCPenney issue:

"Funny that JC Penney thinks hiring an open homosexual spokesperson will help their business when most of their customers are traditional families. More sales will be lost than gained unless they replace their spokesperson quickly. Unless JC Penney decides to be neutral in the culture war then their brand transformation will be unsuccessful.

"Their marketing strategy is to help families shop and receive a good value for their money. Degeneres is not a true representation of the type of families that shop at their store. The majority of JC Penney shoppers will be offended and choose to no longer shop there. The small percentage of customers they are attempting to satisfy will not offset their loss in sales."

The group also accuses JCPenney of "jumping on the pro-gay bandwagon."

JCPenney CEO Ron Johnson responded to the controversy: "I think Ellen is someone we all trust. She's loveable, likeable, honest and funny, but at her soul, we trust her." Johnson also appeared on "CBS This Morning."

Discussion Starters:

• What is your opinion of JCPenney's choice of Ellen DeGeneres as its spokesperson?
• How do you assess the company's reaction and CEO Ron Johnson's appearance on "CBS This Morning"?
• Ellen DeGeneres also is a spokesperson for Cover Girl cosmetics. What, if anything, do you think Cover Girl should say about this controversy?

KLM's "Meet and Seat": Choosing a Flight Mate Just Got Social

KLM just announced Meet & Seat, a new program that allows passengers to link their Facebook or LinkedIn profile to their flight to see who else is flying. Passengers can see whether they know anyone on board or select someone who seems interesting.

The airline promotes the program primarily for business networking:

"Meet & Seat facilitates contact with fellow travellers who have the same background or interests, making air travel even more stimulating for KLM passengers. They can find out whether someone they know will be travelling on the same flight, or discover who else will be attending the same conference in the USA, for example. Through Meet & Seat they might arrange to have a coffee before their flight, select adjoining seats or decide to share a taxi afterwards."

But this animated video focused on more social reasons for Meet & Seat:

Discussion Starters:

• Do you think KLM's Meet & Seat is a good idea? How could it benefit the airline?
• What are the potential risks of the program for the airline?
• Would you use the program if you were planning to take an KLM flight?

McDonald's Bitten by Pit Bull Ad

McDonald's has apologized for an ad that offended pit bull dog owners. To promote Chicken McBites, the radio ad said, "Trying a brand-new menu item at McDonald's isn't risky. You know what's risky? Petting a stray pit bull or shaving your head just to see how it looks..."  

Soon after the ad aired, pit bull lovers defended their pets and accused McDonald's of unfairly stereotyping. A Facebook page, Pit Bulls Against McDonald's, has been liked by almost 12,000 people. The group has started a petition and requests that McDonald's do the following:

"The undersigned are requesting that McDonald's use it's [sic] worldwide reach to make a difference for all the Pit Bulls that have been victims of a bad reputation that they neither earned, nor deserve. We want McDonald's, a family company that many of us have loved and grown up with, to take a stand for family values - because those of us that love our Pit Bulls consider them family. We'd like McDonald's to right this wrong by airing a commercial that shows the American Pit Bull Terrier in a positive light. If you need any actors, the shelters and rescues are chock of full of lovable characters that would love to ham it up for the camera."

Although the ad ran only in Kansas City, the company did apologize:

"The ad was insensitive in its mention of pit bulls. We apologize. As soon as we learned of it, we tracked the source and had the local markets pull the ad immediately. We'll do a better job next time. It's never our intent to offend anyone with how we communicate news about McDonald's."

No word yet on whether McDonald's will meet the petition-signers' demands.

Discussion Starters:

• Do you find the ad offensive? Can you see how pit bull lovers might take issue with the ad?
• Could McDonald's have done anything to avoid this situation? Should they have -- or could they have -- prevented this reaction?

Political Campaigns to Your Email: Spam or Free Speech?

Brace yourself for email from the presidential candidates. Although the 2003 CAN-SPAM law (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing) restricts how companies use email addresses, political candidates are exempt, according to a Fox News report:

"'Political communications are not spam. Political communications are a demonstration of free speech in America,' said Stuart Shapiro, president of iConstituent, a Washington, D.C.-based firm which uses state-generated email lists to send messages on behalf of clients on all sides of the political spectrum.

"'There is a tenet in government that is based on communicating with our constituents, and email is one of the most effective ways to do it,' Shapiro said. 'People look forward to it and want it.'"

"People look forward to it and want it"? Shaun Dakin, president and CEO of The National Political Do Not Contact Registry, disagrees: "Politicians love the fact that their perceived freedom of speech is more important than voters' privacy." To be fair, voters offer their emails on voter registration cards, so perhaps they do want to be contacted. On the other hand, do people realize that providing an email address is optional? This is clear on some registration cards but not on others. Also, do people know that, in nine states, emails can be sold to political campaigns and organizing groups?

Discussion Starters:

• What's your assessment of this story? Do you believe it's wrong to sell voters' email addresses, or is this simply an example of politicians' free speech?
• Look at two or three voter registration form online. (Search images.google.com.) What advice would you give to the form designer who wants to make it clear that email addresses are optional? Would you also include an explanation of how email addresses are used (and that they could be sold)? Why or why not?

RIM's #BeBold: Another Hijacked Hashtag

As McDonald's learned last week, Twitter hashtags may not get the results that companies want. BlackBerry maker Research in Motion started the hashtag #BeBold, but unfavorable tweets started soon after:

"Be Bold" is part of RIM's marketing campaign involving the Bold Team, a group of cartoon characters, which has also been criticized as "cheesy":

"Each character comes with a name (like Trudy Foreal) and cheesy biography that seems to cater to the younger demographic.

"If there was ever any question RIM was running out of ideas in the business and professional sectors, this cartoon collective is your definitive answer."

Although companies are trying new approaches, they may have to give up the hashtag: it's too easy for people to use the tag for their own fun.

Discussion Starters:

• What would you advise companies who want to use a hashtag on Twitter? Could a different approach work, or is it too risky?
• What's your reaction to RIM's Bold Team? Do you find this to be an effective marketing strategy for young people and, if so, how young?

Facebook IPO Letter and Other Communications

As analysts value Facebook in anticipation of the initial public offering, let's look at some of the company's internal and external communications. One interesting message is a poster, distributed around Facebook's offices to keep the employees focused during the IPO. This photo is of Mark Zuckerberg's desk, which he posted on Facebook (and more than 71,000 people found worthy of "liking"). 

Zuckerberg's letter to potential investors describes the vision, mission, and priorities of the company. Mashable compiled ten "standout quotes" including the following:

• "At Facebook, we're inspired by technologies that have revolutionized how people spread and consume information. We often talk about inventions like the printing press and the television - by simply making communication more efficient, they led to a complete transformation of many important parts of society. They gave more people a voice. They encouraged progress. They changed the way society was organized. They brought us closer together."
• "Simply put: we don't build services to make money; we make money to build better services."

Quotes such as the last, according to Mashable, make Facebook "sound like it's set out to deliver presents and free education to underprivileged children." 

James Pennebaker, psychology department chair at the University of Texas, analyzed Zuckerberg's letter and compared it to other CEOs' IPO letters. According to Pennebaker, the letter revealed the following about Zuckerberg, reported by Forbes:

"Zuckerberg's word use 'suggests someone who is driven by very high rates of need for achievement' but low rates for building wealth or social affiliation, Pennebaker concludes. 'Most of the Zuckerberg letter is emotionally distant,' the researcher adds. 'There are very few personal pronouns (which typically signal an emotional cognition to other humans) and virtually no I-words except for a couple of paragraphs in the middle of the letter.' Emotive words such as 'happy' or 'sad' are rare, too."

Pennebaker also found, "The author is very much in the here-and-now, as opposed to deep analysis of the past or even directions for the future."

Discussion Starters:

• Compare Zuckerberg's IPO letter to Zynga's. What differences do you notice, and how do you account for them?
• Is the letter consistent with your view of Facebook? Why or why not?
• Do you buy Pennebaker's analysis of Zuckerberg's letter as "emotionally distant"? 

NYSEG Explains Security Breach to Customers

Customers of NYSEG (New York State Electric & Gas) received a letter saying that records of their Social Security number, birth date, and perhaps bank account numbers have been breached. What the company calls "unauthorized access to one of [its] customer information systems," has resulted in credit card and other information being released by a contract employee.

NYSEG sent a letter to affected customers, encouraging them to monitor their accounts for unauthorized activity and offering a free credit report and a credit monitoring service for a year. NYSEG also posted a Q&A for concerned customers.

Clayton Ellis, a spokesperson for NYSEG, denied malicious intent or misuse so far:

"We need to emphasize too that there's absolutely no evidence through our investigation so far that any of our customer data has actually been misused or that there was any malicious intent on this individual's part."

Discussion Starters:

• Assess NYSEG's letter to customers. If you were a customer, what would you find reassuring? What could be improved?
• Also assess the Q&A. Same: what is reassuring, and what could be improved in this communication?

Twitter's Funny Viral Recruiting Video

During "Hack Week" at Twitter, employees work in teams to test new tools and make Twitter easier to use. The program encourages innovation and, this year, resulted in a parody of corporate recruiting videos that garnered almost 600,000 views within four days.

 Ian Padgham, a member of Twitter's design team, explains the inspiration for the video:

"Recruiting videos are the worst. Jeremy and I decided to make the worst possible video ever, since there was no way to make a good one. Knowing that #HackWeek was coming up, we wanted to have fun and embrace the awesome creative environment you find at Twitter."

Padgham may have a point. Corporate recruiting videos try to lure candidates, but many end up hokey and fake.

Discussion Starters:

• How similar is Twitter's joke video to the recruiting videos you've seen?
• Have you seen any good recruiting videos? What do you like about them?
• How can companies improve their recruiting videos? Or are they doomed?

Super Bowl Ad Previews on Social Media

In case you can't wait until Sunday to see the Super Bowl ads, here are a few teasers. At an average of $3.5 million for a 30-second spot, companies need to get their money's worth, so we're seeing some pre-game, viral promotion.

According to Reuters, the Super Bowl is one of the few TV shows that still garner large audiences: about 100 million people are expected to watch the game on February 5. And yet companies will supplement views by promoting their ads on social media sites. Coca-Cola's commercial, for example, features computer-generated polar bears who will have their own Facebook page and Twitter hashtag (#GameDayPolarBears). Not to be outdone, Pepsi is encouraging fans to watch Melanie Amaro perform "Respect" and then download a video using the Shazam app.

As always, the Super Bowl ads, like this one from Priceline, target their audience.

Discussion Starters:

• How successful do you think these companies' social media strategy will be? Will it achieve their objective of expanding viewers and air time?
• Watch a few of the Super Bowl ad previews. What techniques do they use to target game watchers?

Vassar Posts Acceptance Letter for Rejected Applicants

When 122 early-decision applicants logged onto Vassar's system to check their application status, they saw the good news: that they were accepted. But 76 were not. A test letter that a college spokesperson called a "system error" was mistakenly posted. Fortunately, even more of the 254 early-decision applicants hadn't seen the letter before the problem was caught.

On the website College Confidential, students posted their frustration:

• "Is it possible to be admitted and then 2 hrs later have admission revoked???"
• "It did the same for me: accepted at 4, reject at 5. I don't understand..."

Vassar sent an email to students to apologize for the error:

Catharine Hill, president of Vassar, also apologized:

"We are terribly sorry about the confusion and disappointment the erroneous information posted online caused the students. Our admissions process is a careful deliberation over several months, so it is so unfortunate to have this communication error happen at the end of that process for some of our early decision candidates."

 Discussion Starters:

• The mistake is far too common, with the University of Delaware and other schools making similar errors. How do you think this could happen, and how could it be avoided?
• Assess Vassar's apology letter. If you were a student affected by the mistake, would the email reassure you, or would you find it "lame," as one student said?
• Rewrite the apology email in your own words. How could you improve it?

Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Reassure Customers

Following the Costa Concordia disaster, major cruise lines are emailing customers to reassure them of ship safety. The companies are trying to stave off what may be a large decline in cruising, according to analysts. The prediction is based on graphic videos and images circulating on social media sites and the unfortunate timing of the incident: during prime cruise-booking season and three months before the 100-year anniversary of the Titanic. To commemorate the sinking of the Titanic, which lost over 1500 passengers, the media will likely draw comparisons to Costa Concordia, keeping the tragedy alive in consumers' minds.

Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian have emailed customers over the past few days, and we see two main themes emerge from these communications: 

• Safety standards, procedures, and records
• Qualifications of the captains

Download Celebrity Cruise email

Download Royal Caribbean email

Download Norwegian Cruise email

In its email to customers, Royal Caribbean links to this video explaining the company's safety culture:

Discussion Starters:

• What differences do you notice among the three emails, particularly whether they refer specifically to Costa Concordia?
• Which email works best and why? 
• How do you assess the Royal Caribbean safety video? Does it reassure you, as a potential passenger?

#McDStories Turns Ugly

McDonald's started the Twitter hashtag #McDStories to encourage people to post their thoughts about the company. The campaign started well enough with @McDonald's initial tweets:

But the social media promotion quickly turned into a "hashtag horror show." The hashtag made it too tempting for people to tweet their worst views of the company, such as these:

Where did McDonald's go wrong? Rick Wion, the company's social media director, explained his perspective:

"Last Thursday, we planned to use two different hashtags during a promoted trend -- #meetthefarmers and #mcdstories.

"While #meetthefarmers was used for the majority of the day and successful in raising awareness of the Supplier Stories campaign, #mcdstories did not go as planned. We quickly pulled #mcdstories and it was promoted for less than two hours.

"Within an hour of pulling #McDStories the number of conversations about it fell off from a peak of 1600 to a few dozen. It is also important to keep those numbers in perspective. There were 72,788 mentions of McDonald's overall that day so the traction of #McDStories was a tiny percentage (2%) of that.

"With all social media campaigns, we include contingency plans should the conversation not go as planned. The ability to change midstream helped this small blip from becoming something larger."

Monitoring activity and recognizing failure are critical for social media campaigns. As Wion says, "As Twitter continues to evolve its platform and engagement opportunities, we're learning from our experiences." True enough: trending on Twitter can be a dangerous game.

Discussion Starters: 

• Why do you think #meetthefarmers was successful but #McDStories was not?
• Should McDonald's have anticipated this outcome and not introduced the hashtag, or was the reaction too hard to predict?
• Wion talks about having a contingency plan. What do you think that entails? How should companies prepare for social media campaigns that fail?

Survivors Find Costa Cruises' 30% Discount Offer "Insulting"

Costa Cruises and its parent, Carnival, have tried to make amends to survivors of the Costa Concordia ship that capsized. A spokesperson for Costa explains:

"The company is trying to do everything they can for those passengers directly affected.

"The company is not only going to refund everybody, but they will offer a 30 per cent discount on future cruises if they want to stay loyal to the company."

The offer is one way for the company to try to repair its tarnished image-and perhaps to stave off lawsuits. But will passengers want to get on another boat?

Image source.

Discussion Starters:

• How effective do you think Costa's promotion will be for future cruise goers?
• What are the potential ethical consequences of Costa's offer?
• What might be a better strategy for the company to rebuild its image?
  

Brazil Addresses "Technological Slavery"

Brazil has passed a new law that makes employees eligible to request overtime pay for email and phone calls after work hours. The Brazilian government views emails to employees' smartphones as orders. The law addresses what a labor lawyer in this CNN video calls "technological slavery."

Discussion Starters:

• What's your view of the new law? 
• Is this a good idea for United States? Would it work? The video mentions difficulty in enforcement. What other challenges could you see?
• How else could we avoid the 24/7 nature of work?

Timothy's Coffee Apologizes for Facebook Promotion

Offering free coffee is a great way to increase Facebook "likes" but only if you can keep up with demand. Timothy's Coffee offered free 24-pack boxes of single-serving coffee, but ran out of supply for the number of people who requested the $17 CAD gift. The company underestimated how viral the promotion would become, and it took too long to sort out how to solve the problem.

In a video, a company spokesperson explained that they "received an overwhelming amount [sic] of entries" and "because of a technical glitch, confirmations were sent beyond the quantities available." 

The company apologized on a Facebook wall post:

Although 136 people "liked" this post, 291 commented, and many were negative, like this one: "fans being left in the dark from January 4th to Jany 13th, without A SINGLE comment regardless of the raging posts on the wall."

Responding to the disappointed fans, the company then offered a coupon for free coffee for those who didn't receive the promotional gift.

Discussion Starters: 

• How could Timothy's Coffee have avoided the failed social media promotion?
• How do you assess the spokesperson's video? What is effective and ineffective about the apology?
• In the post above, you see "[sic]" within the company's quote. What does this mean, and why is it there?

Company Communications about the Costa Concordia Cruise Disaster

Here's a compilation of communications about the Costa Concordia cruise disaster so far:

• January 17: Statement from CEO of Carnival Corporation, parent company of Costa Cruises.

• January 16: Press conference with CEO of Costa Cruises. Transcript here. Watch the introduction:

• January 14 and 15: Statements from Costa Cruises (on its website).

• January 13: Audio of Italian coastguard telling the captain to "Get [back] on board" (with English subtitles). Transcript here. Audio from BBC with English dubbing:

• January 13: On-board announcement indicating "an electrical fault, which is currently under control" (video shot by a passenger).

Discussion Starters:

• How do you assess the timeline of the Costa and Carnival statements? What could have caused the delay in Carnival's statement? 
• Analyze each communication after January 13. What is most and least effective about each?
• What else, if anything, do you believe Costa or Carnival should communicate at this point? What should the companies prepare to communicate next?