Crisis Communicatieplan H&M

CRISIS COMMUNICATION PLAN H&M STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT 2259XADV14 FLOORTJE, F.E. KOOT-PETERS CO4-AC-D FABIﾃ起NE PUTS 2176226 SHERELYNN REIJNEN 2181644

TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION SUMMARY ANALYSIS ISSUES LIFE CYCLE RISK MATRIX LONG LIST & KEY ARENA WHAT IF CRISIS COMMUNICATION REFERENCES ATTACHMENTS

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1: Peer review 2: Reflections Press Conference

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INTRODUCTION In the following document you will find a crisis communication plan in assignment for the course Strategic Communication management. Strategic communication management helps us to understand that crises are any situation that is threatening or could threaten to harm people or property, seriously interrupt business, damage reputation or negatively share value(Peters, 2012). In the course Strategic communication management the students have learned to look with a critical point of view to analyze an issue. Through this whole process we did a lot of desk research and we combined all this information and knowledge to write a crisis communication plan. The main point of writing this plan is to learn how to proper respond when you notice an upcoming issue. An issue can turn into a crisis before you know it after all.

For this plan we picked the company H&M and researched three relevant issues for them. We started by analyzing H&M to see what the company stands for so we can create a fitting strategy for when an issue will turn into a crisis. The issues are placed into the issue life cycle and the risk matrix. After this analysis we could see which issue has the biggest risk and we can write an advice/crisis plan for H&M if this issue will ever occur .

The first issue is the Bangladesh working conditions of the employees who make clothes for H&M. H&M produces their clothes in low-wage countries, because it is just cheap. But the employees in those countries are working in bad working environments. The outcome of this bad environment was the collapse of a factory in Bangladesh. H&M got a lot of negative media attention and signed an agreement to make sure this will not happen again. But the bad working conditions in Bangladesh still exist, so it is no guarantee that it will not happen again. The crisis would be another factory collapse in Bangladesh.

The second issue is about Photoshop. The image of women that the media sketches, is a big issue, because it is no longer realistic. It can bring many consequences with it for some people. H&M has been sticking real women’s heads on fake women’s bodies on their website before and these photoshop fails bring a lot of negative attention with them. Many young adults are protesting against the use of photoshop. When H&M will make a photoshop fail again it can cost damage because more people will notice that H&M is not a realistic company.

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The third issue is sustainability. When Greenpeace tested H&M negative on the chemicals that they used to dye and make their clothes with, H&M promised to become more sustainable. They set up the clothing line H&M conscious and signed an agreement that the clothes will be free from toxic chemicals in 2020.

H&M created this special ‘’Conscious’’ line as a start of producing toxic free clothes. It will become a crisis when these clothes from the ‘’Conscious’’ line are being tested and turn out to be not toxic free at all.

“Good issues management can sometimes prevent a crisis.” (Coombs, 2007).

We also believe in this quote from Coombs because when a company notices the issue they can try to prevent the issue from becoming a crisis.’’

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SUMMARY Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M) is a multinational fashion chain company based in Sweden. End of May 2014 they had more than 32.00 branches in more than 54 countries with approximately 116.000 employees. They believe in a better fashion future. One that makes fair and sustainable fashion, affordable and desirable for all.

We indicated three potential crises. Bangladesh factory collapse, The use of Photoshop and the use of toxic chemicals in clothes. The crisis of the working conditions has the highest impact and a medium probability, but with the help of the risk matrix it has the highest risk. We’ve made a longlist of all the stakeholders and the ones who were most important are the employees in Bangladesh, the media and the customers. We put those in the Key-arena.

Our main objective is to limit the reputational damage for H&M and also limit the relationship damage between the organization and the employees in Bangladesh and the customers. Therefore our primary response strategy is to rebuild with compensation and apology and our secondary crisis response strategy is ’’reminding’’.

Our crisis communication plan 1. Talk & listen: First we want to talk with and listen to the employees in Bangladesh. We want to see how they are feeling and what they would like to change about the working conditions. We want them to feel safe and satisfied again.

We will send them a calm and hopeful message to them. A compensation is also important. Our concern will focus on making sure there are going to be regular inspects and we want to give them a say in things. So that we can improve things.

2. Press conference: A press conference is set up so that the media will get the first information from H&M. We do not want made up rumours or negative publicity from others. People will know what happened, how it happened, what the current state is and what is going to be done about it. We want to show empathy with the media and make them realize that we care about what they say. Our message for the media is short and clear. To underbuild this message we will tell the practical ways in how we are going to realize our improvements, so the media will focus their attention on our improvement/actions and not the tragedy and words.

3. Show Improvements: Eventually it is very important to show our improvements. ’’Media coverage is an important feature of reputation management’’ (Coombs, 2007). The employees in Bangladesh will see the improvements first hand, but the customers can not. Therefore we will show our actions/improvements to the world by using the social media as a communication means. Because the number of followers, likers and visitors on the website is very high, it will make them more

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visible. We do not want the customers to feel guilty about buying clothes at H&M because of the bad working conditions. Therefore we are going to ask their opinion about the improvements with the help of personal approach.

In the end you can see the strategy is focussing on two things: ’’Communicate actions and be open’’. We think it is the best solution for H&M to be totally honest and open towards the victims (employees), media and customers and to really focus on the actions you are going to take to solve the crisis. Also be open about showing the world your improvements.

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ANALYSIS Company: H&M 1. Internal Analysis Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M) is a multinational fashion chain company based in Sweden. End of May 2014 they had more than 32.00 branches in more than 54 countries with approximately 116.000 employees.

Clothes, Cosmetics and Home decoration are the products that they produce.

Their sales volume is 13,332 Billion euros and their profit is 1,840 Billion euros.

Background Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M) is a multinational company based in Sweden. It went public on the Stockholm Stock Exchange in 1974. Founded by Erling Persson in 1947, it was initially called Hennes, the Swedish word for “hers”, and sold only women's clothing. In 1968, the company was renamed to Hennes & Mauritz and, since then, has diversified over the years and expanded its product portfolio to include womenswear, menswear, childrenswear, footwear, accessories, cosmetics and home furnishings. With years of development and acquisitions, the company is now comprised of five independent brands: H&M, COS, Monki, Cheap Monday, and Weekday (Hennes & Mauritz AB, n.d.).

Concept Vision: We believe in a better fashion future. One that makes fair and sustainable fashion, affordable and desirable for all.

Mission: We believe that quality, affordable fashion can be made and sold in a way that’s also good for people and the environment. With this in mind, our business concept is simply to offer quality fashion at the best price.

BBT-Formule Promise: Everyone can find their own style at h&M Prove: affordable and big assortments of different clothing Toonzetting: different lines and a wide assortment of products.

Values: -affordable - trendy - sustainable fashion - making clothes for a wide audience - sustainable fashion USP: Collaboration of chic , stylish clothes along with a classic look at affordable prices

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Communication: Means: -­‐ Tv- commercials -­‐ Billboards -­‐ Mailing to customers -­‐ Sponsorships -­‐ Renewing campaigns -­‐ Catalogues -­‐ Social media (Website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc.)

Campaigns: When a new collection has come out for a particular season a new campaign will start. New tv- commercials, new billboards/abri’s, new catalogues and the new clothing line will be placed on the social media. H&M also often uses various fashion designers such as Stella McCartney, Karl Lagerfeld, Elio Fiorucci, Roberto Cavalli and Comme des Garcons to make a clothing line for them. It is good for publicity and a unique way to create different clothing lines with one brand.

But H&M also has collaboration with charities.

-­‐ In the spring of 2008 H&M started a campaign: ’’Fashion Against AIDS’’.

This campaign was a collaboration between non-profit organization: ’’Designers against AIDS’’ and H&M. The campaign was designed to raise awareness about HIV and safe sex. 25% of the proceeds of the clothing went to projects related to HIV prevention around the world.

-­‐ H&M swimwear is launched to proceed 10% to WaterAid since 2002. To improve the water supplies in Bangladesh, Madagascar and Tanzania. In 2008 this line spent a sum of 243,000 Euros.

-­‐ H&M Conscious Foundation has given its focus on the actions undertaken by the United Nations Millennium Development Goals For a Better World. The foundation helps, for example, the population in India micro loans and training.

2. External analysis Compititors: - Zara - Primark - Forever 21 - Bershka - Pull and Bear All of these shops/stores are for young and modern people. They all make clothes that are affortable, comfortable and capatilize on current trends in the area of fashion.

Macro Level DESTEP Political Segment

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The major political factors affecting H&M are restrictions on imports and exports and relocation of production facilities. Restrictions on shipment of goods is not a major concern. Relocation of manufacturing and outsourcing continues to be a contentious issue as companies seek to maintain profit margins and reduce costs as well as receive incentives to locate production in specific areas. There is also pressure for companies to show social responsibility.

Economic Segment In 2011, retail spending on clothing or apparel reached approximately € 1.18 trillion worldwide.

Western Europe, Asia Pacific and North America accounted for 34%, 30%, and 22% of the global market respectively (Euromonitor, 2012). The differences in market size reflected significant variances in consumer spending behavior and populations. However, the recent economic crisis has affected consumer spending patterns, creating downward pressure on prices. As such, the rise of “disposable fashion” has continued. This allows consumers to reduce spending without compromising trendiness.

Sociocultural Segment H&M’s target customers are youths and young adults of both sexes. Customers are segregated based on location with different regional preferences.

Preferences between regions and markets differ significantly as consumers are fragmented into more specific niche groups than ever before. There are also significant differences in the perception of people and products originating from different locations. For example, the French and Italians are considered more fashionforward and stylish than the Germans or British. Even within countries, there are differences in perceptions. For example, in the U.S., the two main fashion sources are New York and California. Information diffusion has accelerated trend spread and adoption leading to styles changing more quickly than in the past with customers separated into tighter niches.

Technological Segment There has been little technological change within the industry except regarding improved logistics capabilities and communication technologies. Advancement in logistics capabilities allows firms to better utilize inventories and reduce waste throughout their global supply chains. The change is driven by improved communication capabilities allowing greater and speedier diffusion of information within organizations. Improvements and changes in communication technologies also open different avenues through which to communicate with customers. The continued popularity of blogging, hauling and other forms of social interaction between customers or potential customers can act to attract customers or build customer loyalty. It also offers more marketing channels

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through which companies can communicate with consumers. While usage of traditional marketing media, such as magazines remains strong, product placement and direct customer interaction are becoming more prevalent.

Porter Model: Threat of new entrants The threat of new entrants is high. Entering the apparel industry does not require huge capital investments and many individuals have the means to start a clothing line. In addition, there are many 4manufacturing contractors available and this contributes to making the market more open to new entrants. However, advertising and building distribution channels can be costly.

Bargaining power of suppliers The bargaining power of suppliers is low because there are many suppliers with little differentiation available. Increased globalization and thus international trade provides more options for retailers to source from foreign manufacturers.

Moreover, manufacturers from low wage countries, such as China and India, face more competition. Textiles are almost a commodity based market, although prices are rising rapidly on cotton.

Bargaining power of buyers The bargaining power of buyers is high because there is an overabundance of retailers in the market.

Buyers have low switching costs, as it is free to switch one’s purchasing preference from one brand to another. Buyers are also the end consumers for the retailers’ products and account for almost all the retailers’ earnings.

Retailers seek to offer what buyers’ demand, keeping their products updated with the latest fashion trend. However, retailers can differentiate themselves by the price range, quality, and style they offer. On the other hand, there is a large amount of apparel with brand and style/design imitations available in the market, which can limit some differentiation among retailers.

Threat of Substitutes There are no direct substitutes for apparel, but there are substitutes to retail.

Online stores provide another channel in which apparel can be marketed and sold. An online presence increases customer base, brand recognition and provides retailers a way to decrease traffic in their physical stores.

Intensity of competitive rivalry Rivalry is high because there are a large number of similar retailers including both large and small firms. Furthermore, slow growth resulting from the 2008 recession has decreased the level of demand in the apparel industry intensifying competition. The rapid change in the industry also leads to firms constantly renewing their product to appeal to fickle customer bases. H&M’s main competitors are: Zara, owned by Inditex Corp.; PVH Corp. including Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Van Heusen, IZOD, ARROW and Bass; and The Gap Corp. consisting of the Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy

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Target Group: Woman, Teen girls, Men, Teen Boys and little kids.

There is a variety of luxery in which the target group can decide in what spending category they are going to buy. The prices of the different clothing lines are adapted to the outlay of money of the target group.

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3. SWOT Analysis Positive

Negative

Internal

Strengths: 1. They are the one of the largest global clothing retailer 2. They have about 2300 stores in approx. 45 countries and around 95000 people employed under them 3. The store offers quality and trendy clothing at affordable price, we can say designer clothes at department store prices.

4. Their overall delivery time is very low, it takes only 12 weeks for their products to come from the design stage to the retailer phase.

5. Guest designers coming in for different lines in the store.

6. They also keep the prices affordable by using few middle-men and buying large volumes cost consciously 7. They have been associated with celebrities and designers 8.They are present in many complimentary businesses which offers them better control and flexibility 9. They are working more and more sustain, durable and fair trade.

Weaknesses: 1.Buying large volumes could lead to overstocking and later on lead to lowering of the already affordable prices 2.Also their target customer base is highly affected by the changing macro -economic conditions 3.They have put in a lot of capital and maintenance fee for all the different types of machines required to produce clothes for each target segment 4. They are producing clothes in low-wage countries with bad working conditions 5. In these low-wage countries there is a lot of child labor 6. Their use of toxic chemicals in clothes 7. Their sometimes inappropriate use of photoshop

External

Opportunities: 1.Online shopping is gaining a lot of importance 2.Emerging economies will support H & M’s expansion plans 3.They are well positioned to tap the niche organic apparel market

Threats: Weak competitive situation as the prominence of value retailers and premium luxury brands increases 2.Their newest business line home-ware has not been able to click in Europe and hence is leading to lowering sales 3.Unemployment is also continuously pressurizing their target segment to discretionary spending

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ISSUES H&M dealt with quite some issues already. Also some of these issues are still active and it can even be a bigger issue when H&M will come in touch with those issues again. ‘’The issue becomes a norm within organization and society’’ (Jaques, 2007).

Issue 1: Bangladesh Working Conditions The garment and textile industry provides Bangladesh with much needed jobs and export earnings as foreign manufacturers have rushed to the impoverished South Asian nation to take advantage of cheap labor, low production costs and a huge eager workforce.

In recent years, however, the sub-standard, even dangerous, work conditions and low pay found in Bangladeshi garment factories have come under severe criticism from voices both within Bangladesh and in the west. These concerns culminated in the disastrous building collapse at the Rana Plaza factory complex outside Dhaka in April 2013 which killed more than 1,100 people, wounded hundreds of others, and renewed calls for improved safety measures at such facilities and higher salaries for workers.

Bangladesh is home to more than 5,600 garment factories, making it the world’s second largest apparel manufacturer behind only China. About 60 percent of clothes made in Bangladesh end up in European markets – on the whole, apparel exports generates at least $20 billion in annual revenues and is the largest source of foreign exchange earnings. Without textiles, Bangladesh, already burdened by immense poverty, would see its economy collapse. As such, give the dire need for such jobs, for years, many western companies and Bangladeshi businessmen have conspired to cut costs by keeping wages depressed and safety almost non-existent. But Rana Plaza may have changed all that. ( PALASH GHOSH, 2014) One of the world’s biggest fashion retailers, Inditex and H&M, along with several other companies have backed an accord aimed at preventing another disaster like last month's Bangladesh factory building collapse that killed more than 1,100 people.

The agreement on fire and building safety, which is being led by the International Labor Organization, trade unions and other lobby groups, has been under negotiation since the Rana Plaza building collapse on April 24.

On Monday 24th of May, H&M announced their support. Swedish fashion retailer H&M, which is a major purchaser of garments from Bangladesh but did not use any of the suppliers operating in the collapsed factory, said the five-year accord would add to its already strict requirements for suppliers.

"We hope for a broad coalition of signatures in order for the agreement to work effectively on ground," H&M head of sustainability Helena Helmersson said in a statement.

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H&M said the agreement would also need to align with an action plan agreed by the Bangladesh government, industry associations and trade unions to reach all 5,000 factories. It declined to give details of any financial commitment.

(VERONICA EK AND CLARE KANE, 2013) Despite of the hard work, H&M is putting in it to prevent more collapses, there are still some bad maintained factories. The agreement does not take away any chance that there will be another factory collapse.

Issue 2: Photoshop Photoshop is an often-used term nowadays. ‘’That picture of her on Facebook is definitely photo shopped!’’ ‘’Before the picture is published in the magazine it needs to be photo shopped!’’

Pictures are not realistic anymore and this effects a lot of people. Especially women.

On social media, websites, television and in magazines you see the perfect image of a woman. Beautiful hair, beautiful face, flawless skin, perfectly slim but with the right forms in the right places.

As a result the self-image of women decrease. They become less satisfied with themselves and assume that they have to look the same as the woman on the pictures, because that is what men want: ‘’The perfect woman’’.

The image of women that the media sketches is a big issue, because it is no longer realistic. It brings many consequences with it for some people such as: ‘’eating disorders, plastic surgery, depressions, stress and unhappiness’’.

Many women believe they have to be as skinny and fit as the media is showing.

Beyoncé H&M works with many models and of course they are using Photoshop. But many models think it has to be used in the right way.

Like Beyoncé. She was one of the ‘’Summer Faces’’ of H&M. You saw the beautiful pictures made by photographer Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin everywhere around the world. Beyoncé is known for the curves of her body, but if it was for H&M, those curves probably got a digital liposuction before publication.

After the pictures were made and edited, Beyoncé got to see them. When she found out that H&M had photo shopped her body digitally to look slimmer, she became furious. The curves are her trademark and had to stay as they are. H&M did not get permission to use those pictures and had to use the original pictures.

The pictures that eventually were used for the campaign, are of course photo shopped regarding to light, colour, contrast and eliminating spots on the skin.

But her curves are all natural. (FOTOGRAFILLE, 2013)

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Real Heads on Fake Bodies All the discussions about the photo shopping of models being unrealistic, turns out to be literally unrealistic. In fact totally fake.

H&M has an own website where you can shop for clothes. You can see all the different clothes on different models. But it turns out to be that those models are fake. ‘’H&M has been sticking real models’ heads on computer-generated bodies’’ (Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet 2011).

H&M responded: ‘’It is not a real body, it is completely virtual and made by the computer’’.

So they just took pictures of the clothes on a doll in the shop and after that, they created a human appearance in Photoshop on the computer.

But the result was that for all the clothes, the same bodies were used. The bodies had the exact same pose and form on every picture. It only had a different head/face.

The conclusion is that H&M is simply not satisfied with the slew of models coming through their doors. ‘’This illustrates very well the sky-high aesthetic demands placed on the female body. The demands are so high that H&M, among the poor photo models, cannot find someone with both body and face that can sell their bikinis.’’

(Huffingtonpost 2011).

The fake, photo shopped, computer-generated models makes us feel bad about our bodies. Many H&M website visitors will believe that those bodies are real. So in fact they are comparing themselves to fake women.

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‘’We have been brainwashed to accept perfection as the new reality’’ (Liz Jones 2011) These cases are true examples of Photoshop fails. In the world there are many protests going on against the use of Photoshop. We can not expect from H&M that they are not going to use Photoshop anymore. It is also necessary regarding to light and colour of course. But the actual reforming of a body is just wrong and not realistic and that is why people protest. Especially women want to compare themselves and like it when they can recognize themselves in someone. This issue becomes a crisis when another Photoshop fail will happen and a big protest breaks out. A risk for H&M will be that they will lose a lot of customers.

Issue 3: Sustainability In 2011 H&M failed big time when Greenpeace tested their clothes on some toxic chemicals. H&M was tested positive for toxic chemicals known as nonylphenol ethoxylates, NPEs are harmful to the environment and to human health and the effects are not limited to where the clothes are manufactured. ’Since residual levels of NPEs are released when clothes are washed, they are in effect creeping into countries where their use is banned,” said Greenpeace campaigner Li Yifang. AFP reports that the chemicals are commonly used as detergents in industrial processes, and were detected in two-thirds of the samples the group tested. After this announcement H&M had to take some action and agreed to eliminate the use of hazardous chemicals from all production processes associated with its products by 2020.

H&M created a whole new department named: H&M conscious. On its website, H&M acknowledges its global obligation to take responsibility for the actions of those who make its clothes.

“As a leading actor with a well reputed Chemicals Management, H&M has the size and ability to act as a catalyst for change in the industry. H&M has also recognized the importance of cooperation; the industry must act together to

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achieve zero discharge.” When it comes to use of chemicals they say the following:” From helping us grow more cotton on less land, to softening fibers, to cleaning clothes with less water, chemicals are an incredibly useful resource. And most of them, used correctly, are completely harmless. However, some chemicals can be harmful to people or nature. We’re committed to finding ways to use them less, and continuously replace them with better alternatives.” (H&M, 2013) This is the same story as the working conditions in Bangladesh. They are working hard on improvements. But they are still producing clothes with toxic chemicals. Only the H&M ‘’Conscious’’ line is toxic free, but that is only a little part when you look at all of the clothes, they have. This issue will become a big crisis when Greenpeace does a test again and the result is that the H&M ‘’Conscious’’ line is not entirely toxic free. Organic and sustainable people, who only bought that clothing line because they find nature and health important, will feel betrayed. They will not only use customers but they can also be accused.

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LIFE CYCLE

‘’The longer an issue survives, the choices available decrease and cost of intervention and solution increases (Jaques, 2007) We used this quote to place our issues in the ’’Issue Life Cycle’’.

Issue 1: Bangladesh Working Conditions There is a lot of discussion about the working conditions in poor countries.

Several clothing companies made their clothes cheaply in a poor country. The working conditions over there are not always good for the employees.

Sometimes it’s so bad that a building collapses, which happened in Bangladesh with the Rana Plaza factory complex. H&M wanted to prevent another disaster like this and backed an accord to do something about this w and in May 2013 H&M, as the first brand, signed the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, initiated by IndustryALL Global Union and UNI Global Union. The commitment is an additional step in an already extensive sustainability program at H&M. So because of this, the conclusion is that de Bangladesh issue is at a “Dormant Stage”. They signed the IndustryALL Global Union and UNI Global Union and the issue becomes norm in the organization.

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Issue 2: Photoshop There are many protests against Photoshop. On the internet it is a hot discussion topic. Articles, blogs, statements on social media and interviews are often used data. There are even some signature collecting activities going on.

For example 50.000 signatures were collected by teens who protest the use of Photoshop in magazines.

And some magazines are even giving in to it. They do not want to have problems with their target group, so they do what is required of them. For example Seventeen Magazine therefore did not used Photoshop because of the protest campaign of an 8th – grader. The staff of Seventeen signed an eight-point Body Peace Treaty, promising not to alter natural shapes and to use only images of ‘’real girls/models, who are healthy’’. Teen vogue is next on the list.

There have been several videos brought out about Photoshop. You will see a normal human being with some imperfections on their bodies. Then the whole process of Photoshop replays, in which you can see, that the person is completely transformed into the ideal image of a man/woman. These videos are shared all over the social media.

Also many celebrities have a role in this nowadays. Some just do not want to be photo shopped and say that out loud in the media, so that every one will know that they are against it. Examples are: Beyoncé, Lorde, Lady Gaga, Brad Pitt and Jessica Simpson.

So you can say that the Photoshop issue is in its crisis stage: ‘’Unconditional acceptance’’. People want to do something about it NOW. It is already all over the media and many companies are still using Photoshop in the wrong way. ‘’The best way to manage crises is to understand and manage issues’’ (Jaques, 2007) Issue 3: Sustainability Several companies do not care about whether their clothes are sustainable or not. When H&M was tested negative, on a Greenpeace test about toxic chemicals that they use to produce their clothes, they had to take some action.

They signed a contract to eliminate the use of hazardous chemicals from all production processes associated with its products by 2020.

For this issue also counts that they are in the “Dormant Stage”. H&M signed the contract with Greenpeace and have to show that they kept their promise by 2020.

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RISK MATRIX

Issue 1: Bangladesh Working conditions Dormant stage in the issue lifecycle. Earlier a working building from H&M in Bangladesh has collapsed. H&M signed a contract that they would improve the working conditions in Bangladesh. The company is trying to show the audience that they are aware of the danger for the employees in Bangladesh and the critic society that we live in. Although H&M tries to improve and be aware of this topic, there are still some working buildings in Bangladesh that are not well maintained. So the risk matrix shows that the probability that a fabric will collapse again is slightly lower than before the first collapse, but there is still a chance it can happen again. The impact of the first collapse was already major high, because many people died, it was all over the news and people all over the world were in shock. So with the measures that H&M communicated to the audience, the impact will be even bigger when this happens again.

So the conclusion of the risk matrix is that the probability that a factory will collapse again is slightly lower, but if it will happen the impact will be even bigger.

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PROBABILITY: MEDIUM IMPACT: VERY HIGH Issue 2: Photoshop Crisis stage in the issue lifecycle. It is a highly discussed subject in the media and many people want to protest against it now. H&M responds when there is negative media attention, like in the case of Beyoncé and the fake models that we have mentioned before, but they are not taking real measures, to make sure that they will not give an unrealistic image of a woman’s appearance again. So we can say that in the risk matrix the probability of the issue Photoshop is very high. Nowadays Photoshop is used very often and we cannot expect that H&M will not use it anymore. People are also not surprised anymore because they are used to it. That is why the impact is low, because the audience will not stop buying at H&M because they are photo shopping their campaigns.

PROBABILITY: VERY HIGH IMPACT: LOW Issue 3: Sustainability Dormant stage. H&M used toxic materials before, but they are still working on making their clothes without using toxic chemicals. They already have one clothing line that is completely toxic free (Conscious). Their main goal, together with Green peace, is to make sure that in 2020 all their clothes are sustainable.

Some people are attached to their value of only buying sustainable clothes.

Therefore they only buy ‘’conscious’’ at H&M. The issue here is that H&M will say the conscious clothing line is toxic free, but when Green Peace does a test and the result is that it is toxic, the impact on the audience will be very high. The probability that this will happen is very low, because of the Green Peace test, they created this special clothing line.

PROBABILITY: LOW IMPACT: VERY HIGH

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LONG LIST STAKEHOLDER

WHY

Customers

They decide to buy at H&M or not. Some are against bad working conditions and want to know where the clothes are coming from.

Rubana Huq, Managing Director at MG Shirtex Ltd, H&M Supplier in Bangladesh

He is involved and a also a little responsable for the working conditions. He needs to know which improvements are going to be performed.

Employees in Bangladesh

They are the victims. They produce the H&M clothes. Without employees there will not be any clothes.

Politicians

To discuss this issue. There are proponents and opponents.

They can make statements or new rules.

Swedish Government

H&M is a swedish company. When H&M gets a bad reputation, Sweden will also automatically get a bad reputation.

Media

The media exists to spread news. A factory collapse is big news. This news can be spread in a lot of ways. Positive or negative. The media contributes to the reputation of H&M and what the people think of the company.

Employees in the H&M shops

They need to know of the situation and allow customers to talk to them about it. Customers can have questions. For example how H&M is going to solve this. All of the employees around the world in the shops need to know about this plan.

Working Condition Inspectors

They need to know that they are going to be involved in the improvements of H&M. There will be more inspections in the factories in Bangladesh. So there are inspectors needed.

Social workers

The employees in Bamgladesh may have to live with traumas or fear. Because we want to listen to them and like to know which changes they want, we need social workers to go and talk to them. We need to let them know how we feel about them too.

Head managers of H&M

They need to set up a press conference and they exactly need to know what to say to the public.

Journalists (Press) during the conference

They belong to the media, but they can ask some tough questions that H&M is not prepared for. They have a say in how they think about the press conference. They can share their information in the media.

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KEY-ARENA STAKEHOLDER WHAT IS THE WHAT’S THE LEVEL OF POWER INTEREST IN THE AND AUTHORITY ISSUE IN THE ISSUE

WHAT IS THE LEVEL CONCLUSION OF ACTIVITY & VISIBILITY IN THE ISSUE

Employees in Bangladesh

Have huge level of power and are the most affected stakeholders in the issue.

They are unsatisfied with the current working conditions en want changes. The employees in Bangladesh can choose to protest. If they do so, H&M can not produce clothes anymore.

They are not very visible at first, but when a protest breaks out, it can be all over the news in the entire world. By acting active, they can achieve a change in the working conditions.

Because the issue is about them, they are the most involved stakeholder in the problematic. They can make H&M to change something, because they have that power, but the question is if they will use it.

Media

They have much power because they can affect the image and can choose to make the problem even bigger. They have the power to give certain opinions and statements a voice.

They can make the audience aware of the incident. Many people believe everything what the media says. They want to spread a message.

They are very visible and active because they want to spread big news so that people will go on talking about it. Every person uses media.

They are looking for big news to write about and H&M is a big company so they know they will get a lot attention with that

Customers

Customers also have a lot of power because they can decide if H&M has any customers at all. They can choose to simply buy clothes or not, because of the thing they hear about the company.

Customers want to have a good experience with the company.

Otherwise they will go to another store, so they want to know some details about the company.

They are not very visible, but they can be active. They can protest or spread negative comments about H&M. Some also do nothing. They just do not buy at H&M anymore.

Customers just care about their own money and the way they want to spent it.

But some people are interested in where the clothes are coming from before they are spending their money.

Government Sweden

They have the power to make an agreement between H&M and Bangladesh factory owners. So that both sides can profit from this.

They do not want to have problems with a low-wage country. They have to solve it, otherwise people can get a bad image from H&M, and therefore also of the company land (Sweden).

They are not very visible but they can be active because of their reputation. They can help with an agreement as said before.

They do not want to control the issue, but they do not want it to turn in a complete chaos either.

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WHAT IF? What if another company of H&M collapses again? (Second time) Costumers: there will still be some costumers who will still buy their clothes at H&M , but there will also be a lot of people who are going to protest and boycott H&M. A new collapse will be big over the Internet and on social media.

Everybody will see these horrible images and tragic videos of all the victims on the news. Because H&M signed an agreement it will be way worse than the first time because people will feel betrayed by H&M. The outcome of another disaster like this will be the loss of a lot of costumers. H&M will get a bad reputation and is going to lose a lot of money, because they cannot keep their promises. Not even with an agreement.

Media: it will be all over the news and the media will make sure that H&M is not getting away with it. A lot of journalists will go to the ‘ crime scene’ and will show the world all the horrible things that they will see there. Everyone all over the world will see this footage and this will lead to a very bad reputation.

Employees: if a fabric collapses again it will be the worst for the employees in Bangladesh. There will a lot of panic, fear and anger among the employees. The ones who survived will be very scared to work again. This comes with a big consequence that a big group of them will protest against H&M. If H&M does not have any employees in the factories left, they won’t have any products to sell.

Politics; different parties are debating about the issue and are going to propose new laws when it comes to exporting the products of H&M. They can create a new law that H&M will not be allowed to sell products, made in Bangladesh, anymore.

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CRISIS COMMUNICATION PLAN ‘’A crisis creates a need for information (Coombs, 2007)’’. In the case of the Bangladesh working conditions of H&M we want to make a crisis communication plan with the main objective: Limit the reputation damage from H&M and limit the relationship damage with the employees in Bangladesh and the customers.

We are going to focus on three different stakeholders: ‘’The Bangladesh employees, the media and the customers’’. ‘’The first priority in any crisis is to protect stakeholders from harm, not to protect the reputation (Coombs, 2007).

Everyone at H&M needs to be committed and informed about this plan and has a responsibility during the process.

So the big question is: What is H&M going to do when another factory collapse?

This will be a crisis with a lot of consequences.

Crisis: Any situation that is threatening or could threaten to harm people or property, seriously interrupt business, damage reputation and/or negatively impact share value. (Peters, 2012) We are going to use the ’’Primary crisis response strategy’’ and also ’’Secondary crisis response strategy’’ of Coombs. Below you can see an explanation of the Phase 2 and 3: Crisis Response & Post crisis communications (What are we going to do in the future and what did we learn).

The Bangladesh Employees: Talk & Listen First we are going to talk with the employees in Bangladesh. We want to know how they are feeling and what changes they would like to see. We want to show that we are listening to them and make them feel important, because eventually they are responsible for the clothes. We want to show them empathy and want to make clear that we also look at the problem from their point of view. They are of course the victims in this case. That is why we are apologizing to them (Primary crisis response strategy: rebuild). We want to send a calm and hopeful message to them: ’’We are really sorry about the incident that recently happened: the collapse of another factory in Bangladesh. Our thoughts are with the victims and families of the victims. Employees are very important to us. Without these employees there are no clothes for H&M. From now on, we will focus on improving your working environment with the help your input. We want you to feel safe and appreciated.’’

We also want to let them know which actions we are going to take about it (Secondary response strategy: reminding).

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Stakeholders want to know what is being done to protect them from similar crises in the future (Coombs, 2007). So the next step is to take some actions to make the employees satisfied again.

At first we want to know the changes the employees would like to see in the working environments. Then we can look what is possible to realize. All the factories will be closed and the changes will be adapted. After that all factories need to be inspected before they open for work again.

To show a greater concern for victims, stakeholders perceive the organisation as taking a greater responsibility for the crisis (Coombs, 2007). We also want to make a compensation for the employees and are concern focuses on making sure there are going to be regular inspects and we want to give them a say in things. For example when they need equipment.

This way the communication between H&M and the employees in Bangladesh seems more approachable. The employees will get the feeling they are safe. We want to use social workers who can go to Bangladesh and really talk to them.

They can calm the people down and give them hope. ’’Persuasion practitioners will be more effective if they can anticipate and circumvent the resistance strategies that are most likely to occur under certain conditions (Jacks, 2003).’’

The post-crisis learnings of one organisation can provide early warning and improved crisis preparedness for other organisations (Jaques, 2007). H&M becomes an example for other companies that produce their clothes in cheap labour countries.

The Media: Press Conference A reputation develops through the information stakeholders receive about the organisation. Like news, advertising, word of mouth, weblogs, etc. (Coombs, 2007).

We think it is important to have a press conference with this issue. People will know what happened, how it happened, what the current state is and what is going to be done about it. H&M already has a plan for that and that is exactly what they are going to communicate at the press conference. This is convincing to the audience, they will win trust again when they come up with a structured plan. They have it under control.

Second hand information from social media is critical for some crises (Coombs, 2007). That is why we want to be the first one to inform the media with a press conference. So there will not arise rumours or negative publicity.

We want to show empathy with the media and make them realize that we care about what they say. (Secondary response strategy: reminding). Our message for the media needs to be short and clear: ’’We really regret the situation according to the second factory collapse in Bangladesh. We are doing everything we can, to gain trust again from the employees in Bangladesh and our customers. We will improve the working conditions and make sure that the safety from our employees becomes our number one priority right now.’’

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We are going to present our side of the story. ‘’Framing is selecting some aspects of a perceived reality and make them more salient in a communicating text, in such a way as to promote a particular problem definition, causal interpretation, moral evaluation, and/or treatment recommendation for the item described’’ (Entman, 1993)’’ We want to be the first that will make a public press statement by framing our story. We decide which subjects are spoken of, not the media. The way a message is framed, shapes how people define problems, causes of problems, attributions of responsibility and solutions. (Coombs, 2007) A communication selects certain factors to emphasize, that means that people who receive the message will focus their attention on those factors when forming their opinions (Coombs, 2007).

We are going to focus our communication towards the media on the good actions H&M is going to take, so that it will win trust among people. For instance we will tell the media that all of the factories will be inspected before they will open again and that the employees will have a say in the working conditions.

There will be people who listen to the employees now.

If people ask about why H&M did not inspected the factories before, we say that we did not expected another factory would collapse and that it is our fault we did not use proper inspectors.

Customers: Show actions/improvements We will reach customers with the press conference but there are also other ways to inform them. Information from social media is critical for some crises.

Media coverage is an important feature of reputation management (Coombs, 2007).

On the official Social Media pages of H&M (Twitter, Facebook and their website), the communication department will post information about the improvements of the crisis. A whole page on the website is dedicated to explain the ’’working conditions’’ and the audience can see pictures, videos and some of the employees talking about their new working environment.

The use of Social Media in a crisis situation is very important to H&M because the number of followers, likers and visitors on the website is very high and that will make them more visible. H&M will monitor relevant social media, communities and blogs, because we want to see and listen what our customers think of H&M and are saying about them. When we know this, it can also be improved.

A crisis gives people reasons to think badly of the organisation (Coombs, 2007).

The customers need to know we are thinking of them as well. They have to feel comfortable and satisfied about H&M. We do not want them to feel guilty about buying clothes at H&M because of the bad working conditions. Therefore we are going to ask their opinion about the improvements. When people want to say something to H&M, they can contact the company by calling or mailing to the Guest Service. Now we are coming to them. They immediately will feel more connected, because it feels personal, friendly and hopeful. In this way the people also feel that they can say anything, even if it is bad.

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Conclusion A favourable prior reputation means an organisation suffers less and rebounds more quickly (Coombs, 2007).

In general H&M has a good reputation due of the huge amount of customers.

H&M even has been named for ’’2014 World’s Most Ethical Company’’. The award represents ’’best practices in corporate ethics and governance’’. The award does not seem to take into account the Swedish retailer’s manufacturing process or labour practices though. But still, the brand has made great strides in collecting and using recycled fabrics and organic and sustainable textiles in its conscious collections.

In the end, the crisis of course will cause some commotion but the reputation will be build up soon.

To summarize our strategy, it contains 3 points: 1. Talk with and listen to the employees in Bangladesh about their experienced, complaints and ideas. Apologize to them and tell them that we are taking measures and as a compensation we will make sure that all factories are being checked and they will have a say in things. Finally we need to remind them, they are lucky to have a job and that we need them.

2. Press conference: Talk to the media about our actions. Because ‘’Media coverage is an important feature of reputation management’’ (Corroll, 2004 ; Corroll and McCombs, 2003 ; Meijer, 2004). We want to be the first ones to inform the media, so that rumours and negative publicity cannot be made up. The focus lies on the actions/improvements 3. Show improvements: Communicate our improvements with the customers. Undertake your actions and show the world that you do by using the social media communication means.

A reputation can be favourable or unfavourable and it develops through the information stakeholders receive about the organization (Fombrun and van Riel, 2004).

We are making sure all of the information about the crisis comes from us (H&M).

The employees, in this case the most important stakeholders, will be number 1.

The media and customers will be next when an improvement plan is made.

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REFERENCES References: - Classes from Floortje Koot, Fontys Academy for Creative Industries. Tilburg, 2014 Bibliography Cade, D. (2012 йил 4-mei). Teen Collects 50,000 Signatures to Protest the Use of Photoshop by Magazines. Retrieved 2014 йил 14-oktober from petapixel: http://petapixel.com/2012/05/04/teen-collects-50000-signatures-to-protestthe-use-of-photoshop-by-magazines/ Editors, C. C. (2011 йил 24-augustus). Big-Brand Clothing Found Laced with Toxic Chemicals. Retrieved 2014 йил 11-oktober from care2: http://www.care2.com/causes/big-brand-clothing-found-laced-with-toxicchemicals.html EK, V. (2013 йил 13-Mei). H&M, others back new Bangladesh factory safety accord. Retrieved 2010 йил 10-oktober from reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/13/us-bangladesh-building-safety-hmidUSBRE94C0GJ20130513 Duggan, L. (2014 йил 25-Maart). H&M Named One Of World's Most Ethical Companies. Retrieved 2014 йил 11-oktober from refinery29: http://www.refinery29.com/2014/03/65053/hm-most-ethical-company Fleming, O. (2012 йил 3-mei). Teens protest against Photoshop use outside Seventeen magazine offices. Retrieved 2014 йил 2014-oktober from dailymail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2138998/Teens-protest-Photoshopuse-outside-Seventeen-magazine-offices.html Ghosh, P. (2014 йил 15-march). Despite Low Pay, Poor Work Conditions, Garment Factories Empowering Millions Of Bangladeshi Women. Retrieved 2014 йил 10-October from ibtimes: http://www.ibtimes.com/despite-low-paypoor-work-conditions-garment-factories-empowering-millions-bangladeshiwomen-1563419 Hu, E. (2012 йил 5-juli). 'Seventeen' Magazine Takes No-Photoshop Pledge After 8th-Grader's Campaign. Retrieved 2014 йил 14-mei from npr: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/07/05/156342683/seventeenmagazine-takes-no-photoshop-pledge-after-8th-graders-campaign Jones, L. (2011 йил 10-december). Why does the fashion industry hate real women. Retrieved 2014 йил 12-oktober from dailymail:

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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2071877/H-M-uses-models-createdcomputers-real-women-advertise-clothes.html Krupnick, E. (2011 йил 12-mei). H&M Uses Fake Bodies With Real Heads For Models. Retrieved 12 йил 2014-oktober from huffingtonpost: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/05/hm-fake-modelbodies_n_1129864.html Odell, A. (2012 йил 11-juli). Teens Protest "Teen Vogue" Photoshop Use; Editors "Rude" In Response. Retrieved 2014 йил 12-oktober from buzzfeeds: http://www.buzzfeed.com/amyodell/teens-protest-teen-vogue-lack-of-ethnicdiversit#d1nzpw Onbekend. (n.d.). working conditions. Retrieved 2014 йил 10-oktober from H&M: http://about.hm.com/en/About/sustainability/hot-topics/workingconditions.html Onbekend. (2013 йил 1-juni). Beyoncé boos om photshop bijH&M campagne.

Retrieved 2014 йил 12-oktober from fotografille: http://www.fotografille.nl/media/beyonce-boos-om-photoshop-bij-hmcampagne Onbekend. (n.d.). natural rescources. Retrieved 2014 йил 10-Oktober from H&M: http://about.hm.com/en/About/sustainability/commitments/naturalresources.html Unknown, H&M, Found at October 20th 2014, Srouce: http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%26M Scientifical Articles Coombs, W. (2007). Protecting Organization Reputations During a Crisis: The Development and Application of Situational Crisis Communication Theory.

Corporate Reputation Review, 163-176.

Coombs , W . T . and Holladay , S . J . ( 2005 ) ‘ Exploratory study of stakeholder emotions: Affect and crisis ’ , in N.M. Ashkanasy, W.J. Zerbe and C.E.J. Hartel (eds.), Research on Emotion in Organizations: Volume 1: The Effect of Affect in Organizational Settings , Elsevier: New York , pp. 271 – 288 .

Carroll , C . E . and McCombs , M . ( 2003 ) ‘ Agendasetting effects of business news on the public’s images and opinions about major corporations ’ , Corporate Reputation Review , 16 , 36 – 46 .

Jacks, J. (2003). Strategies for Resisting Persuasion. BASIC AND APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, 25, 145– 161-145–161.

Fombrun , C . J . and van Riel , C . B . M . ( 2004 ) Fame & Fortune: How

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Successful Companies Build Winning Reputations , Prentice-Hall Financial Times, New York .

Jaques, T. (2007). Issue Management and Crisis Management: An Integrated, Non-linear, Relational Construct. Public Relations Review, 147-157.

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ATTACHMENTS Peer Reviews Sherleynn Reijnen evaluated by Fabienne Puts Feedback according to the quality of the sub-products: >Cooperation insufficient / sufficient / good / excellent > PvA insufficient / sufficient / good / excellent > Quickscan insufficient / sufficient / good / excellent NOTES: Sherelynn has been a good partner to work with. We made some appointments with each other and she always had them finished on times.

Tips: 1. Communicate a little bit better about the work current work that you are doing, so we are not working on the same subject Tops: 1. She is motivated to get the work done Feedback to the process: > Cooperation (appointments, attendance) insufficient / sufficient / good / excellent > Meeting discipline (business, effective, attitude insufficient / sufficient / good / excellent and behaviour) > Responsibility for process insufficient / sufficient / good / excellent > General attitude in project watchful waiting / active / proactive / blower > Internal communications insufficient / sufficient / good / excellent NOTES: Sherelynn always had a good attitude when we had to work on the project. She always made sure that she finished her part on time and never missed an appointment that we had.

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Fabiënne Puts evaluated by Sherelynn Reijnen Feedback according to the quality of the sub-products: >Cooperation insufficient / sufficient / good / excellent > PvA insufficient / sufficient / good / excellent > Quickscan insufficient / sufficient / good / excellent NOTES: Fabiënne has been a great partner to do this assignment with. We share the same interests so we agreed on a lot of things quickly. We also have the same way of working and writing. We did a lot together and it went fluently. The atmosphere was always good and I am proud on what we have accomplished.

Tips: (for us both) 1. Plan: we need to plan which assignment on which day we are going to do.

2. We need to communicate about what is done and what needs to be done. We sometimes lost track where we were with the assignment.

Tops: 1. She is motivated 2. Has her deadlines ready on time 3. Has creative ideas Feedback to the process: > Cooperation (appointments, attendance) insufficient / sufficient / good / excellent > Meeting discipline (business, effective, attitude insufficient / sufficient / good / excellent and behaviour) > Responsibility for process insufficient / sufficient / good / excellent > General attitude in project watchful waiting / active / proactive / blower > Internal communications insufficient / sufficient / good / excellent NOTES: Fabiënne was always in a good mood. Always very active to work. She was always present on our appointments and had her part of the assignment done on time. We gave each other good feedback and we appreciated that from each other.

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Press conference Reflection Sherelynn Reijnen Our crisis was that a visitor from Liberia died at the burning man Festival. Cause of dead COULD be the ebola virus.

1. Proces A. What did you know on forehand about this situation (facts)?

We needed to organise a press conference for the subject Ebola. I knew the ebola virus has becoming a serious problem. It is all over the news and the virus is already diagnosed in several countries. Doctors from all over the world are trying to help, especially in the countries where the amount of people with the virus is the largest. Like Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. But I didn’t know it was diagnosed in America too.

B. Can you determine the type of crisis you are dealing with?

We don’t know the specific cause of the crisis. It is not caused by nature for example. It was about people who not did their job right. It is dangerous and they have not found a cure yet. It affects all people and there needs to be a solution quickly or it will spread all over the world.

C. Who was part of the ‘’spokesmen team’’?

Roles: Only the organization of the festival: the festival owner, communication manager etc. We could not chose more roles because the situation was still going on.

D. Why did you choose those roles?

A research for the cause of dead was in process so the only thing we could do is let the organization of the festival, tell the audience what the measures will be for now (for the visitors of the festival). The organisers are the responsible ones at this moment.

E. What do you think of the preparation in your team?

I thought it went very well. We divided our group in three little groups. One was preparing the presentation at the press conference, One group was thinking about what kind of questions the journalists teams could ask and what we were going to answer then and the other group was busy with creating questions for the other subject: ‘’non-biological food at festival Mundial’’.

F. What do you think of your role during the preparation and press conference?

(Reflect on both spokesman and journalist) During the press conference as spokesman I was not part of the presentation team, but I could supplement the team when they forgot a statement or did not know what to say as an argument. We all knew what the main message was and we supplemented each others arguments.

During the press conference as a journalists I was a foodblog owner with Fabienne. We introduced ourselves and asked difficult questions.

G. What do you think of the press conference in general?

Tips: - Ebola was a very heavy subject compared to the non-biological food of

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Mundial. So it was more difficult for the spokesman team to defend themselves because of all the intense questions.

-­‐ People (especially journalists) can not talk at the same time or speak without getting permission for it. There needs to be someone who’s on nobody’s side that can mediate here. We had that person in the first press conference but not in the second, because one person of the spokesman team wanted to do it by himself.

Tops: - I thought it was a very nice assignment. All of the students were very cooperative and involved. Everybody had a role and I heard every voice at least once.

- It was a good assignment to use in the future. You now know what the process is of a press conference and how you should handle it. You know what is important to say or ask.

2. Content Role Spokesman A. Did you prepare a Q&A and did it cover all the questions?

Yes, we did this in groups and tried to think of as many as possible. We were prepared for all the questions the journalists could ask us. Some questions were still hard to answer because the journalists were real diggers.

B. Did you think of a key message, how did you use the knowledge from the course?

The main message was to tell the journalists about the incident and what is going on at the festival field. We also wanted to reassure the people and tell them to wait for the results of the research about the cause of death, because that has not been determined yet. We also told that we currently were tracking down the victims friends with the help of authorities and that we are seeking contact with the visitors who have already left the festival.

C. Did you think of a strategy and how did you follow that strategy?

We used the Primary response strategy: rebuild. We apologized to the audience for the incident that happened and focussed on what we could do for the festival visitors. But that is not much at this moment because the research is still going on if it actually was ebola.

Role Journalist D. Which questions did you prepare, why those questions, were the answer satisfactory and if not, how did you react?

- We said that we also went to the Mundial festival and we ate non-biological food. We said: ‘’We always eat biological food, now our bodies are poisoned because of your disgusting actions’’ - People who only eat biological food in their lives, will feel betrayed by Mundial, how are you going to fix this?

- What are your plans to make sure the festival does not sell non-biological food again?

- Aren’t you scared that you will not have as much visitors as you had before?

- How are you going to fix the relationship with the visitors?

- What kind of media are you going to use to communicate with the audience?

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We asked these questions because their reputation is the most important. It has been damaged and we wanted to know how they were planning to fix this. It can be a real life situation that an organic person will feel very betrayed, like we said we were poisoned. And that made it even harder to answer for the Mundial spokesman team. They answered the questions really calm and full of regret, they did not have an argument on every question but they took the full blame for the problem and told us how they were going to solve it, so that it will not happen again. We were satisfied with the answers but we wanted more tension and defend. That would have made it more interesting. We reacted with a little concern in our voices. We asked more following questions on the main question we asked, like: Why are you going to do that? And how are you going to do that then?

3. Experience A. What have you learned form this experience? (Reflect on both roles) As a spokesman I have learned that you need a complete story to tell and you have to think about all of the possible questions a journalist could ask. Think about the hard ones to, because you can not ignore the negative side in most of the times. Journalists want concrete answers, otherwise they will become annoying.

As a journalist I have learned it is important to get to know what is important for you company to know. I had the role of the owner of a food blog and I ate nonbiological food. So for me it was important to know how they were going to fix it, so that it will not happen again and I still can go to the festival if I want to, without eating non-biological food. It was also important not to ask closed questions. When you ask open questions, you can get more out of the answer and you can ask sub-questions.

B. What would you do the same and what would you do differently next time?

I was not in the presentation team of the spokesman this time. But when I am in the presentation team next time, I would probably divide the groups again: one for the presentation and one for the possible questions and answers. What I thought that could be better, is the level of confidence. We did not look confident at all. The presentation team looked insecure and they spoke really soft. You have to talk loud and clear. The journalists will get a different image of you then and it will radiate that you have the situation under control.

C. How has this experience contributed to you as a professional?

I can definitely use it in the future for when you have to organise a little press conference by yourself. But also when you see press conferences on tv of in real life. I am immediately thinking about this assignment. But in real life it is also different. There is pressure and tension then and we did not experience that because it was not real. The knowledge how to organize a press conference comes in handy.

Attachments: A. Key message: The main message was to tell the journalists about the incident and what is going on at the festival field. We also wanted to reassure the people and tell them to wait for the results of the research about the cause of death, because Â

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that has not been determined yet. We also told that we currently were tracking down the victims friends with the help of authorities and that we are seeking contact with the visitors who have already left the festival.

B. Q&A: - We said that we also went to the Mundial festival and we ate non-biological food. We said: ‘’We always eat biological food, now our bodies are poisoned because of your disgusting actions’’ - People who only eat biological food in their lives, will feel betrayed by Mundial, how are you going to fix this? Answer: apologize and promise it will not happen again because of our new plans.

- What are your plans to make sure the festival does not sell non-biological food again? The answer was to do tests on the food en let the food stalls sign an agreement.

- Aren’t you scared that you will not have as much visitors as you had before?

The answer was yes and they will do anything to prevent it.

- How are you going to fix the relationship with the visitors?

Answer: Let them know what are actions are and involve them in our improvements - What kind of media are you going to use to communicate with the audience?

Answer: Especially social media.

Fabiënne Puts Evaluation and reflection crisis day

On Monday the 6st of October the preconference about the topic “Ebola” at festival Burning man has taken place.

A man was probably infected with the Ebola virus while he was on the Burning man festival. It was not sure if he had Ebola and if he infected other people.

The division of roles: There were two teams during the press conference, the journalists and three spokesman for the festival Burning Man. There was also one moderator who made sure the journalists could ask questions one by one.

Process; When we got the assignment about being spokesman about the Ebola topic my group and I started to divide some rolls. One group started with to write down some questions what the journalists may ask, and the other part started to search for examples of similar press conferences and how others handled and reacted on this situations. We spoke of all this information together and wrote down how to go into the press conference. We came up with an intro, how to open the press conference, and after put the facts than and to close it off we wrote some action points. I think that was a good way to prepare and to gather a lot of information in a short period of time.

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The press conference: The press conference was a little bit difficult. When it comes to the topic Ebola there are a lot of people worried about it. There were a lot of insecurities, because it was not even sure if the infected man died from the Ebola virus. The journalist asked a lot of difficult questions that we could not answer at the time because we had to come up with a new action plan if it was Ebola. The situation was very hectic and the journalists were a little bit irritated because we had a lot of their questions with the answer; no comment. The reason why we could not answer these questions was because the subject is so big and just not in our power to answer all of the questions.

The moderator had to step in a few times because the journalists did not wait for their turn anymore and just started asking questions The press conference in general went well and for me it was a good reflection about how a press conference goes. The Ebola subject was a hard topic to be spokesman for, because it goes about a medical and worldwide topic that is beyond the power of a festival. It is hard to give a press conference when you do not know a lot about the topic and when there are a lot of stakeholders involved.

For me it was a good experience to see how a press conference goes, and by doing one yourself you learn the most from it.

Tips: - Think in advance about the topics and if the students have enough time to cover the subject.

- Use a bigger location, a classroom was a little too small for so many people.

- give the paper from the reflection in advance so we know what to watch and what to write down.

Tops: - Everybody stayed in their roles - Everybody was well prepared - It was a good reflection about how a press conference goes in real life.

- the Journalist thought well about their questions.

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