If ever there was a lesson for marketers and brand custodians in terms of how not to handle a reputational crisis it is the recent, and many would argue belated, Ford Kuga recall. Instead of acting proactively from the outset the company has continued to use the lame excuse that lack of data was behind the car manufacturer’s failure to recall cars earlier. Really, just how many Ford Kugas did the company need to start self-combusting before taking action? In a recent interview by Sunday Times columnist Chris Barron with Jeff Nemeth, CEO of Ford SA, the latter’s responses bordered on the ill-informed. The only concession Nemeth appeared to make in this interview was his final comment that in hindsight, Ford should have acted quicker. Reputation management expert Janine Hills, founder and CEO of Vuma Reputation Management, agrees that Ford should have responded much faster. “It’s over a year since the first car caught alight – and somebody died in that incident. Ford allowed this issu...
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