Nike Incorporated CCP PDF

Nike Incorporated

Crisis Management Plan

Part I

Christian Baker
Phil Faso
Nicole McKenna
Greg Nordstrom

Introduction

Nike has emerged as the world’s leading innovator in athletic footwear, apparel, equipment,
and accessories. Nike is continuously looking for new ways to engage and communicate directly
with our consumers.

The Nike Crisis Communication Plan is a detailed guide to managing and addressing possible
emergencies or crises that may occur. The plan outlines the procedures and steps that must be
taken in order to minimize the negative effects on the brand.
2

Table of Contents

Introduction ....................................................................................................... 2
Crisis Team Mission and Purpose ........................................................................ 4
List of Potential Crises ........................................................................................ 5
The Nike Management Team .............................................................................. 6
Key Publics and Stakeholders ............................................................................. 7
Plan for Crisis Preparation and Prevention .......................................................... 8
Media Audit ....................................................................................................... 9
Social Media Strategy ....................................................................................... 10
Potential Third-‐Party Experts and Support ........................................................ 11
Immediate Response Checklist ......................................................................... 12
Communication Channels Worksheet ............................................................... 13
Key Messages Worksheet ................................................................................. 14
Press Release Template .................................................................................... 15
Nike Company Information ............................................................................... 16
Media Log Sheet ............................................................................................... 17
Contact Information ......................................................................................... 18
Procedure for testing the Crisis Management Plan ........................................... 19

Part II Crisis Response ....................................................................................... 20
Internal Response ............................................................................................. 21
Initial Press Release .......................................................................................... 22
Key Messages and Talking Points ...................................................................... 23
Social Media Strategy ....................................................................................... 24
References ....................................................................................................... 25
3

Crisis Team Mission and Purpose

The mission of Nike’s Public Relations branch is to have an appropriate response to any
expected crisis that Nike Incorporated may face. Our top priority is uphold the brand’s integrity

The purpose of the plan is not only to ensure the company of its positive image, but to repair
the company of any damage that may have occurred as fast and efficient as possible. It is our
job to come up with a plan of action and decide whom the spokesperson should be. The benefit
to developing this plan is a decreased chance of violation of the expectations of stakeholders.
Our organization needs this because things will always go wrong within an organization, but if
we have the proper plan in place we will be able to successfully diminish the crisis before it
becomes public and damaging to our organization’s reputation. Being prepared will keep us in
the forefront of the situation, and potentially lessen the criticisms that we may receive from
our stakeholders.

We pledge to be honest, accurate and transparent, while being cooperative with all of our
stakeholders during times of crisis to maintain/regain our image as a trustworthy, and
creditable organization.

Our goal is to be the first responders to our own news by actively communicating with our
publics during times of a crisis by:
1.)Providing accurate and honest information.
2.)Promptly responding to the questions/concerns of our stakeholders.
3.)Being transparent no matter what the situation is.

4

Possible Crises (Likely and Unlikely)

Likely Crises and Their Potential Scenarios
• Labor Issues
o Poor Working Conditions
§ Strikes
§ Protests
• Sponsored Athletes
o Athletes come under controversy
§ Remember:
• Each case is different
• We have made a commitment to these athletes
• They have also made a commitment to Nike and our ethics.
• Product Recalls
o Pull the product and refund customers
• Natural Disasters
o Store or plant is damaged or destroyed due to flood, fire, tornado, etc.
• Store or Workplace accidents
o Employee or customer gets injured in a Nike store or plant
• Shipping Errors
o Customer or retailer does not receive product originally ordered.
• Social Media
o Unhappy customers gain attention on social media
• Rival Companies
o A rival company starts an ad campaign damaging Nike
• Rumor
o Fictional rumor is started that damages Nike’s reputation

Unlikely but High Impact Crises
• Workplace Violence
o Employee or Customer related shooting at a Nike store or plant
o Physical altercation at a Nike store or plant
• Boycott
o Large-‐scale boycott or banning of Nike products
• Store Issues
o Poorly conditions inside a Nike store
o Hiring of employees with severe criminal records
• Black Market
o Nike products are sold illegally on the black market

5

The Nike Crisis Management Team

Nicole McKenna: Nicole will act as the Crisis Management Team Leader. She will be in charge of
supervising the entire crisis team, attend all media events related to the crisis, one of several
spokespeople, key decision maker, and lastly, in charge of developing a social media strategy.

Phil Faso: Phil is the Public Relations Expert. He will act as the writer, in charge of creating press
releases, oversees and manages social media posts and account, and media facilitator.

Greg Nordstrom: Greg will be the chief legal advisor, he will be in charge of giving counsel,
checking all posts and press releases for faulty statements that may cause lawsuits, aid in
crafting public statements, and risk management.

Christian Baker: Christian will be the Human Resources Manager. He will be in charge of
appoint the Crisis Management Team, conducting the crisis response training, handles
employee issues, and aids in internal communication.

6

Nike Key Publics and Stakeholders

• Board of Directors
• Shareholders
• Employees
• Customers
• Designers
• Manufacturers
• Distributors/Suppliers
• Competitors: Adidas, Under Armour, Reebok, Puma, New Balance
• Hurley, Converse, Cole Haan, Air Jordan
• Stores affiliated with Nike
• Media
• Nike sponsored athletes

Based on the immediacy and content of the crisis, key publics and stakeholders will be notified
in a respectful order. Meaning, the most affected will be notified first

7

Plan for Crisis Preparation and Prevention

Preparation-‐ When a crisis strikes Nike will immediately identify it’s vulnerabilities. For Nike in
specific we must be sure to assign agents to our athletes that will inform them of ways that will
benefit our companies image. Athletes and employees will make mistakes, but if there is a
substantial amount of good history with an organization, stakeholders will be more forgiving.
Athletes and employees will be required to do community service events with three different
organizations of their choosing. Nike will also sponsor short biographies of good things done by
their athletes yearly. These short biographies will air on ESPN and Disney. Nike must also be
familiar with possible crises and formulate a crisis prevention team that is obligated by contract
to follow this crisis management plan. Be sure that this team is fully aware of their role in the
prevention and response of a crisis. Be sure that the crisis prevention team is aware of the
location of the crisis. The last step of preparing for a crisis is to create a crisis management plan
that is specific to Nike.

Prevention-‐ In terms of a crisis, employees must also be prepared to do a detailed job of
environmental scanning. The team will must be sure to be aware of all news channels and
websites reporting on the crisis. We must know what information is being quoted that may not
be true, but may be damaging to the company. The crisis prevention team must also be aware
of what’s being said on social media websites. Nike must be its number one spokesperson. We
must be aware of all the popular complaints of our consumers/stakeholders. We must also
offer opportunities for stakeholders to tell us how we are doing. We must give promotional
opportunities for people who complete surveys so we can always be aware of the state of our
publics. If we are good we can continue to move in that direction, if not we must find out what
specifically needs to be changed. Focus groups will be important in regards to new releases, this
can prevent defect items from going out on the market. There will also be a threat assessment
given comparing the likelihood and impact particular issues and crisis’ will have on Nike. We
also must consider what the impact our stakeholders have on our organization.

8

Media Audit

Due to Nike’s broad market, media from around the country would cover a potential crisis. This
chart below lists the major media outlets in the United States.

News Outlet Email Phone Twitter Type of Outlet
ABC News news@abc.com 233-‐566-‐8000 @ABC Television
CBS News news@cbs.com 202-‐578-‐8909 @CBSNews Television
CNN news@CNN.com 202-‐567-‐4000 @CNN Television
FOX News news@abc.com 212-‐301-‐3000 @FoxNews Television
MSNBC news@msnbc.com 201-‐583-‐5000 @msnbc Television
NBC News news@nbc.com 212-‐664-‐4444 @NBCNews Television
Los Angeles news@LAtimes.com 201-‐567-‐0001 @latimes Newspaper
Times
New York news@nyt.com 212-‐556-‐1234 @nytimes Newspaper
Times
Tribune news@tribune.com 312-‐677-‐8909 @chicagotribune Newspaper
USA Today news@ustoday.com 800-‐872-‐0001 @USATODAY Newspaper
The Wall Street news@wallst.com 212-‐455-‐6800 @WSJ Newspaper
Journal
News Week news@week.com 212-‐301-‐3010 @Newsweek Magazine
Time news@time.com 312-‐566-‐9000 @TIME Magazine
NPR news@NPR.com 301-‐677-‐9000 @NPR Radio
Forbes news@forbes.com 212-‐566-‐8750 @Forbes Web

9

Social Media Strategy

• Utilize all modern social media
• Respond to questions in a timely manner
• Be honest and transparent
• Apologize sincerely for crises that are the fault of Nike Incorporated
• Align content with goals and values of Nike Incorporated
• Manage access to social media accounts carefully
• Use President and CEO of Nike Incorporated (currently Mark Parker) as primary
spokesperson
• Make sure messages remain consistent across all channels
• Consider the time posts are being made and their visibility

Questions that may be asked by the media:
• How did this crisis happen?
• Full description of crisis
• Will there be legal action?
• Will any jobs be terminated?
• How did this happen?

10

Third Party-‐Supporters and Potential Supporters

If a crisis were to occur, there are many different third parties who remain credible and loyal to
the Nike brand. If the press ask for references, the names on the following list should be given.

Michael Jordan: former NBA athlete and longtime supporter of Nike
Drew Brees: NFL athlete and longtime supporter of Nike
LeBron James: NBA athlete and longtime supporter of Nike
Cristiano Ronaldo: European soccer athlete and longtime supporter of Nike
Tracy Carbasho: author of Corporations That Changed The World: Nike

11

Immediate Response Checklist

1. What is the crisis?
• What happened?
• Where did it happen?
• When did it happen?
• Who is involved?
• Why did it happen?
• How did it happen?

2. What is being done?
• Has the Crisis Management Team been contacted?
• Have the appropriate stakeholders been notified?

3. Evaluate Crisis
• Do you have all of the facts?
• Are your sources credible?
• Is the media already aware?

4. Begin Crisis Response
• Contact and gather the Crisis Management Team
• Follow the guidelines stated in Crisis Communication Plan
• Begin to assess media coverage to find out what publics are saying

12

Communication Channels Worksheet

Nike will inform the following stakeholders through each respective channel in case of a crisis
below: (In order of occurrence)

• Board of Directors
o Personal E-‐mail, Call, Sit-‐down board meeting
• Shareholders
o Mass E-‐mail, Call, Press conference (shareholders and employees only)
• Employees
o Mass E-‐mail, Meetings at stores/plants, Press conference (shareholders and
employees only)
• Plant Management
o Mass E-‐mail, Skype meetings
• Customers
o Social Media, Mass E-‐mails, Press conference (media only), Television,
Newspapers, Magazines, Informed from Authorized Retailers
• Retailers
o Mass E-‐mails, Press conference (shareholders and employees only)
• Materials Distributors
o Call, Mass E-‐mail
• Competitors (Adidas, Under Armour, Reebok, Puma, New Balance)
o Mass E-‐mail, Social Media, Press conference (media only), Television,
Newspapers, Magazines
• Media
o Email, Call, Press conference (media only)

13

Message Map Worksheet

Scenario: New product is defective
Stakeholder: Customers, employees, stockholders
Concern: Restore faith in Nike products and rebuild company reputation

KEY MESSAGE 1 KEY MESSAGE 2 KEY MESSAGE 3

Nike is dedicated to the
We would like to formally
highest quality. Products Our customers’ satisfaction is
apologize to all those
that do not live up to our of the highest importance to
affected by the defective
high standards are not us.
product.
acceptable.

Support Point 1.1 Support Point 2.1 Support Point 3.1
The product in question The defective product is

We will continue to create
does not live up to Nike’s going to be recalled.
new innovative products.
high standards.

Nike customers expect the We will continue to keep
very best. We want to Those who bought the lines of communication
make sure that is always inferior product will have open so that customers can
what they get. their money refunded. inform us of future
problems.

We are in the process of We will do everything in Our track record shows
investigating what went our power to stop that throughout our
wrong during the something like this from history, we have done
development of this happening again in the whatever it takes to satisfy
product.. future. our customers.

14

[Date] Contact: Nicole McKenna
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Title: Crisis Management Leader
Email: press@nike.com Phone: 773-‐706-‐4993
Email: nmckenna@nike.com

Crisis Response Press Release Template
DATELINE—Summary lead that addresses issue at hand and provides enough information for
stakeholders who may not be aware of the crisis yet.

Expression of empathy or concern as needed. Reassure stakeholders of Nike’s continued
care and investment. If necessary, the expression of concern or empathy may come before the
summary lead (depending on the nature of the crisis).

Main Paragraphs:
Who is affected: __________________________________________________________
What is going on: _________________________________________________________
Where is this taking place: __________________________________________________
When did this occur: ______________________________________________________
How did this occur: ________________________________________________________
Why is this so important: ___________________________________________________

Quote from spokesperson, this can tie into the key messages and support.
Name of Spokesperson:
Title:
Quote:

Reiterate key messages and points of support. The key messages should include a description of
how Nike is addressing and resolving the situation. Include two to three key messages with
support for each.
• Key Message #1 and supporting points

For more information, contact:
Nicole McKenna
Crisis Management Leader
Phone: 773-‐706-‐4993
Website: Nikeinc.com
###
15

Nike Company Profile
“Just Do It.”

Nike Inc. who has been the worldwide leader on sport market since 1990, just before its main
competitor Adidas. The company was founded in 1972 and headquarter is close Beaverton in
Oregon. The chairman is Philip H. Knight and the chief executive officer is Mark Parker. Nike’s
turnover was 25.3 billion in 2013. It’s famous logo was ordered in 1971 by Phil Knight, it is
called “Swoosh” and it was created by a design student.

To develop its brand image, Nike has multiplied sponsoring with sportsman, for example in
tennis with Rafael Nadal or Roger Federrer. Nike has now taken over all football apparel by
making their jerseys and apparel. Superstars such as LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Kobe
Bryant have become the face of the organization after the fall of Federrer and Tiger Woods.
Since, its crisis with labor child, the company tries to improve its brand image to stay the leader
on its market.

Nike also owns different brands, which are its subsidiaries. Its portfolio is composed of: Cole
Haan, which designs and distributes clothing, footwear, and accessories for men and women.
Converse Inc. also distributes clothing and footwear. Hurley International LLC specializes in
surfing, skateboarding and snowboarding equipment. NIKE Golf designs all equipment for golf.
These companies are definitely essential in the success that Nike has recently seen.

In the 1950s, Nike got its start with two revolutionary men Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight who
wanted to revolutionize the athletic sport. In the 1960’s they sold the first Tiger shoes. In the
1970s they created their first product brochures as an advertisement marketing tools. The
name that was then ‘Blue Ribbon Sport’ was then changed to ‘NIKE’ for logo and design
purposes. These two men began to sell their own products and sponsored athlete Prefontaine,
who was the beginning of their success.

In the 1980s Nike launched its famous and brand new technological shoes called “Nike Air” and
became a publicly traded company. They then signed their most recognizable athlete Michael
Jordan who increased sales. Shortly after this Nike invested in the slogan “Just Do It.” In the
1990s they created their first retail store “Niketown” in Oregon which later branched out
worldwide In the 2000s Nike found a new partnership in the Olympic games and tournaments.
And recently they have partnered with the NFL and multiple NCAA athletic programs.

16

Media Log Sheet

Crisis Situation _________________________________________________________________

Date ________________
Message for ___________________________________________________________________
Date/time of call ________________________________________________________________
Caller _________________________________________________________________________
Phone number(s) _______________________________________________________________
Media outlet/Name _____________________________________________________________
Return call by/Deadline _________________________________________________________
Summary of inquiry _____________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Who responded to the inquiry? ____________________________________________________
Date/Time _____________________________________________________________________
Summary of response ____________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Further action needed?

______________________________________________________________________________

17

Contact Information

Name Phone Number Email Position
Nicole McKenna (773)706-‐4993 nmckenna@nike.com Crisis Team Leader
Phil Faso (309)345-‐6034 pfaso@nike.com Public Relations Expert
Greg Nordstrom (847)239-‐0548 gnordstrom@nike.com Legal Advisor
Human Relations
Christian Baker (312)687-‐3601 cbaker@nike.com
Manager

18

Procedure for Testing Crisis Management Plan

Every quarter, we will stage crisis drills to evaluate our crisis plan and make sure our team
members are prepared. We will use a different type of crisis each time, and the team will run
through our crisis management plan. We will evaluate the team and also ask them to evaluate
themselves during and after the drills to see if they perform up to our standards.

The team will be asked to present to management all communication they would make to the
public and within the organization. They need to take all possible stakeholders into account.
The main goals will be to limit the amount of financial damage and damage to reputation the
corporation would experience if this crisis were to really happen.

Once the crisis has been managed, we will evaluate how well the crisis was managed and how it
could have been managed more effectively. We will also ask our team members what
improvements they think could be made to the crisis management plan.

Once the drills are complete, we will make any necessary changes to the crisis plan. It is
important to update the plan often to make sure all contact information and procedures are
up-‐to-‐date. We will then make a presentation to the team to tell them what they did well and
what they did poorly as well as to inform them of any changes we made to the crisis plan.

19

Nike Incorporated

Crisis Management Plan

Part II—In Response to: CEO Mark Parker’s Insensitive Comments

20

Internal Response

When dealing with a crisis one must have a crisis strategy ready to respond accordingly.
The first statement when dealing with a crisis response is typically delivered through the mass
media (Coombs 139.) So the media will be the first place we would target. Our crisis deals with
people who will be at an emotionally charged state due to the comments made by our CEO
Mark Parker. Despite the fact that his comments are very hurtful I we know that we can lift
NIKE back on our feet through quick, consistent and open communication.
Crisis response content is divided into three categories instructing information,
adjusting information and reputation management (Coombs 144.) We believe our situation falls
under the category of reputation management. We do not want our stakeholders believing that
we discriminate against overweight people. Although most of our customers do not fall under
the category of “fat,” we must learn from the mistakes of Abercrombie and Fitch and manage
our current reputation.
Our response will be quick so after two hours of deliberation the crisis management
team holds a press conference that we will pay ESPN, ABC and any cable channels that has ties
to ESPN and Disney. We will utilize as many media outlets as possible. At this press conference
we will allow Mark Parker to be the spokesperson even though he is the cause of the problem,
the reason for this being the fact that he made the mistake, so he needs to correct it by
apologizing to all of our stakeholders. The majority of the speech will be written by our crisis
management team, while the apology end of it will come from him so it can come from the
heart and be more genuine. Taking this approach we will be able to avoid the Paula Dean
disaster, by being open to our publics. Our speech will begin with a statement of Mark Parker’s
wrong doing, then an apology that leads in to compensation, so our company is taking the
rebuilding posture (Coombs 155.)
Once the press conference is over we will begin our #NikeForAll campaign which will
show the world that NIKE’s views are not ones that were expressed by Mark Parker in his
Forbes article statement. We will have a twitter blast from NIKE and all of our sponsored
athletes. We will be all over social media websites rebuilding our reputation.
This is a crisis that has to be taken seriously, because it could easily become a situation
that would lose us money in the long run and ruin our reputation.

21

Initial Press Release

May 1, 2014 Contact: Nicole McKenna
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Crisis Management Leader
Email: press@nikeinc.com Phone: (773)706-‐4993

Nike’s Response to CEO Mark Parker’s Insensitive Comments

BEAVERTON, Ore. – We have recently been informed of the insensitive comments made by
CEO Mark Parker in the recent issue of Forbes Magazine. On behalf of Nike we would like to
apologize to our consumers and all others offended by his comments.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Parker made an official apology regarding the
insensitive comment.
“I take full responsibility for the comments I made. It was not my intention to offend our
customers or anyone for that matter. Nike values all of our consumers regardless of weight,”
said Parker.
While Nike believes everyone should be happy with the body they have, we commend
those trying to get in shape. Nike is currently in the process of extending our plus size clothing
line.
As a worldwide brand, Nike continues to look for new ways to engage and communicate
with their consumers in every one of the 160 countries that Nike operates in.
Nike will continue dedicating themselves to inspiring positive attitudes and keeping the
lines of communication open with our stakeholders so their opinions are heard.

###

22

Key Messages and Talking Points

Scenario: President making insensitive comments
Stakeholder: Employees, stockholders, customers
Concern: Limit damage to reputation

KEY MESSAGE 1 KEY MESSAGE 2 KEY MESSAGE 3
Nike would like to offer a The comments made by our We commend people of all
sincere apology to anyone president do not reflect the sizes that want to exercise
offended. values of Nike Incorporated. and improve themselves.
We acknowledge that Mr. Nike values all of its We just created expanded
Parker’s comments were customers regardless of sizes in golf and tennis
inappropriate. weight or gender. gear.

We are taking steps to We believe that everyone People who are trying to
assure something like this should be proud of the improve themselves should
does not happen again. body they have. not be insulted.

We are dedicated to
keeping open lines of Nike wants to inspire We are proud of the fact
communication so that our positive attitudes, not that people of all shapes
stakeholders can make their negative feelings. and sizes buy our products.
opinions heard.

23

Social Media Strategy

Following Mr. Parker’s comments, Nike will release a social media campaign that will apologize
for his actions. There will be a press conference immediately with a direct apology from Mr.
Parker. On Twitter and Facebook, Nike’s official pages will release an apology and give a
disclaimer that Mr. Parker’s comments do not reflect how Nike feels about its customers. Also,
Nike will monitor social media web sites but will not reply directly to individual comments and
replies. We want to stop bad publicity (hashtags) before they become too big to stop.
We will not require our sponsor athletes to make statements on their social media pages, but
we will welcome any support for Nike. We obviously do not want athletes participating in any
attacks against Nike on social media and will take any such tweets/posts as attacks against Nike.
Lastly, Nike will start releasing previews of the newly designed plus size clothing showcasing our
approval of different sizes and shapes.

24

References

Coombs, T. Ongoing crisis communication: Planning, managing, and responding. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

History and heritage. (2014). Retrieved from http://nikeinc.com/pages/history-‐heritage

25

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Table of Contents

Possible Crises (Likely and Unlikely)

The Nike Crisis Management Team

Nike Key Publics and Stakeholders

Plan for Crisis Preparation and Prevention

Social Media Strategy

Third Party-­‐Supporters and Potential Supporters

Immediate Response Checklist

Communication Channels Worksheet

Message Map Worksheet

Support Point 1.1 Support Point 2.1 Support Point 3.1

The product in question The defective product is

Media Log Sheet

Crisis Situation _________________________________________________________________

Summary of inquiry _____________________________________________________________

Who responded to the inquiry? ____________________________________________________

Summary of response ____________________________________________________________

Further action needed?

Procedure for Testing Crisis Management Plan

Key Messages and Talking Points

Support Point 1.1 Support Point 2.1 Support Point 3.1

Social Media Strategy

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Third Party-‐Supporters and Potential Supporters