Kryptonite: Did the Internet or the News Media Make the Difference?
Kryptonite represents a situation that negatively affected many cyclists who owned locks that could be defeated by a simple plastic pen. The crisis resulted in reputational damage to the Kryptonite brand, although I’m sure it’s regaining its market share thanks to its product redesign and strong customer loyalty.
It grew from one person’s problem to a massive issue shared by thousands. All it took was one angry 25-year-old cyclist who discovered the security flaw and posted his thoughts on an obscure Internet bike discussion thread (instead of first contacting the company!). It just took a couple of minutes to start the thread and some effort afterword to respond to posters who wanted more information to confirm his claim.
One poster responded to this week’s discussion that this case does not show the power of blogs (or Internet discussion groups) but rather the power of video and the traditional news media. This poster rightly notes that to grow an issue that is taken seriously by others and ultimately acted on by the organization, evidence is required. The discussion thread quickly provided the evidence including several “how-to” lock Bic-ing videos, camera stills and many testimonials or first-person accounts of their own successful “Bic-ings.”
My analysis leads me to believe that this case does show the power of the Internet and is instructive for organizations facing future situations that might arise from Internet discussion groups or blogs. There are four reasons why I think the Internet is the real factor behind this crisis: the Internet’s ability to showcase evidence that creates issue legitimacy and problem recognition for doubtful or passive readers, the Net’s ability to connect and organize people behind a single cause, the low cost, ease and quality of Internet communication, and the speed in which this all happens.
- The Internet’s ability to showcase evidence that creates issue legitimacy and problem recognition for doubtful or passive readers -- Precisely because the Internet allows people to easily post evidence in the form of videos, still photos, and share first-person accounts, others will likely agree that there is a problem and, if it’s significant enough, get involved.
- The Net’s ability to connect and organize people behind a single cause -- This organization and involvement of strangers is another important component of this case. The Internet is a great way to connect people all over the world to unite behind a single cause. And, the people united in this situation were people directly affected by the problem…Kryptonite’s customers and avid cyclists. The Internet is an incubator for activist groups.
- The low cost, ease and quality of Internet communication -- It costs nothing to start a discussion thread or add to the discussion. It costs nothing to post videos and still camera shots, although Bike Forums did eventually have to buy new server equipment to handle the traffic; still this does not directly impact users/members. Blog space comes free with most Internet service fees. It is possible for a single individual to either create discussion threads or build impressive Web sites that can potentially equal a corporation’s Internet presence in terms of quality and content.
- The speed in which this all happens -- While I believe that this scenario could also have happened without the Internet -- a person could possibly have attracted a journalist’s attention with a “Bic-ing” demonstration in person or with a video -- it is unlikely that it would happen within 72 hours or become a major crisis, as was the case involving Kryptonite. A reporter would need time to confirm one person’s claim…talk to others, and contact the company. It may be several days or weeks before a story comes out. In the meantime, the organization has ample time to plan a response. The Kryptonite case, however, showed that issues can grow rapidly on the Net and quickly organize people into action. I think the strength of the discussion thread with all its video/camera stills and first-person accounts immediately caught the attention of prominent journalists. The speed in which a problem is presented to an organization (hours not days) may now require immediate response, if the issue’s impact is likely to have a major negative impact on the organization. Failure to act quickly can easily cause the issue to escalate into a crisis if an organization is unprepared or inexperienced in crisis communication.
Ultimately, the Internet was able to get the word out to the people who really needed to know what the problem was regarding a certain Kryptonite locks. It spread rapidly beyond the discussion group as people eagerly pasted the thread into other Internet cycling sites and sent the video links in personal e-mails to friends and other cyclists who might own affected locks. The point is that the Internet is an extremely efficient and focused communication tool with a long reach and rapid results. Organizations must monitor and evaluate this environment – and participate in the discussion when it’s justified (based on researcher Timothy Coombs’ likelihood factors for issue prioritization: This involves quality of the issue which includes the many different people posting supportive posts with ample evidence to support the issue and the amount of traffic to the discussion group.) The fact that the story jumped from the Internet to the mainstream media was just icing on the cake…and added further legitimacy to the discussion group’s claim among cyclists (lock owners and prospective buyers) which, in turn, fueled more discussion and media coverage. After all, Kryptonite was responding to the discussion group’s claim (by developing a product upgrade program) even before the story jumped to the mainstream media. This, to me, says that the Internet has the ability to force great changes.
For my last blog entry, tomorrow I’ll discuss what specific steps public relations managers should consider in future scenarios.
