Toyota’s New War on the Truth
Just when it seems conditions at Toyota couldn’t get worse, they do. Negative newspaper articles and television news stories are appearing with such regularity, the crisis that is Toyota is now inescapable even to the most casual of news observers – because it’s affecting them. And because the once revered auto giant can't control its ever-conflicting message.
The truth in just 48 hours ought to have Toyota scrambling. A “USA Today” headline proclaims “Toyota recalls will cost owners in lower resale values.” “It's not just about the models being recalled. The bad reputation would permeate the entire line. Safety problems could wind up costing Toyota owners a bundle,” writes USA’s Chris Woodyard. And as of this morning, we can now add Prius hybrids and some Lexus HS250h models to yet another recall for brake problems. Oh, and the Corolla, it was announced today, may soon be recalled due to control issues while driving. More bad news seeminlgy answered with a more unbelievable response from Toyota.
All the while as Toyota continues its string of global apologies for mishandling the safety concerns for months, the auto giant is beginning a new war on those that provide the public with information. Question is how far will Toyota go? And how much more damage will the automaker create for itself.
ABC News is now reporting “Toyota dealers in five southeast states have pulled their commercials off ABC TV local affiliates.” Why? “Excessive stories on the Toyota issues," says Marcia Owens-Reder, senior vice-president at 22Squared, the Atlanta advertising agency that handles the account. Saying she "tried" to talk the dealers out of the giant ad-blackout, Owens-Reder tells the affected ABC stations according to ABC, "We have counseled the client on the pros and cons of this, and ultimately it was their decision to make." And what a poor decision it was.
The first hint at the cloud of controversy growing around Toyota came some seven months ago when a Lexus ES350 carrying a California Highway Patrolman and his family accelerated inexplicably and couldn’t be stopped. Everyone aboard the Lexus was killed when it struck another vehicle and careened down an embankment. Similar stories of runaway Toyotas would follow, in fact more than 2,000 of them. And Toyota chose silence, denying any problem existed. Toyota’s deference to itself would allow a few familiar voices to fill its silent void.
ABC News' Chief Investigative Correspondent Brian Ross seemed to lead a small chorus of journalists seeking answers. Joined by a few newspapers of record in America, the reporters pressed on for answers at a time when the nation was preoccupied economically and its government seemed only remotely interested in taking any action to advance the truth.
That journalism has now prompted official congressional hearings. Just hours away, the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform won’t just turn its microscope toward Toyota - but also toward the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which regulators fear failed in addressing complaints of sudden acceleration. "There appears to be a growing body of evidence that neither Toyota nor NHTSA have identified all the causes of sudden unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles," a committee memo to lawmakers says. "Moreover, there is substantial evidence that remedies such as redesigned floor mats have failed to solve the problem."
From a strategic communications perspective, could there possibly be a more fitting, more perfect time for Toyota to cooperate beneath the illumination of full transparency? No. The time is now. Heck, the time has long passed. So, how did Toyota’s public relations machine become so broken?
Generally speaking, a decade ago public relations existed a world away from marketing. PR folks wooed the media with press releases and wined-and-dined government regulators. And the marketing arm served principally to create and purchase advertising. Now, these once distinct and different communication areas are not so distinct and different. Fail in one area, you fail in the other. Author David Meerman Scott says it’s because of the internet.
Scott, author of the runaway book, “The New Rules of Marketing & PR,” tells Ryan Deal today, "When company executives refuse to talk, people imply that they have something to hide. So by refusing to engage for weeks, Toyota lost goodwill with people that was built up over a generation. Sometimes a well placed and timely apology is all that is needed. But going dark (silent) is never good policy in an always-on, Twitter-centric world." Toyota went dark alright, but Toyota, whether it likes it or not, is still communicating.
Toyota had been denying there was even a problem. Toyota has blacked-out its ABC television advertising across the southeast U.S. And now Toyota is expressing anger at the media. Toyota has failed to connect with its worried customers in any meaningful way and has no online, social media presence whatsoever. And Toyota has lost its pole position within the blogosphere and trade media where trust is essential to preserving an audience.
Toyota is communicating nothing but questons: Why didn’t Toyota seek honesty earlier? And why is Toyota angry about honesty now?
Those questions will be answered – just not by Toyota, nor its runaway PR machine.