“I thought you would have written about the Beckham crisis.”
The words of one of our blog readers.
And even though our crisis communication blogs rarely touch on celebrity culture, we don’t like to disappoint.
So, having given ourselves a little time to consider the story, let’s explore how this family feud/PR disaster has been handled.
Are there crisis communication lessons businesses and organisations can learn from this high-profile reputation crisis?
Before we examine how the crisis has been handled, let’s review what happened.
Brooklyn Peltz Beckham, the eldest son of David and Victoria, released a series of lengthy, emotional and brutal posts on Instagram that addressed his relationship with his parents.
He said: “I do not want to reconcile with my family. I'm not being controlled, I'm standing up for myself for the first time in my life.
“Recently, I have seen with my own eyes the lengths that they'll go through to place countless lies in the media, mostly at the expense of innocent people, to preserve their own facade. But I believe the truth always comes out."
He accused his parents of trying to “ruin” his relationship before his wedding to Nicola Peltz Beckham, claimed his mother cancelled plans to design his wife’s wedding dress and suggested she danced “very inappropriately” on him at the wedding.
And, perhaps most damaging of all, he accused his family of putting brand first.
He wrote: “My family values public promotion and endorsements above all else. Brand Beckham comes first. Family ‘love’ is decided by how much you post on social media, or how quickly you drop everything to show up and pose for a family photo opp.”
One of the most interesting aspects of how this crisis has been handled is that Sir David and Lady Victoria have not said anything about the public family fight.
They have been visible. The Beckham family – minus Brooklyn – have been to Paris, where the former singer received a new accolade by becoming a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters. She has also been pictured at a birthday party for her bandmate Emma Bunton. And Sir David attended the World Economic Forum in Davos.
But they have not addressed the story.
A dignified silence? Composure over confrontation? Perhaps.
But it is probably more of an attempt to avoid escalating or prolonging the media coverage.
And that is risky, even if brand Beckham has a lot of goodwill alongside cash in the bank.
As we stress during our crisis communication training courses, silence creates a vacuum.
And the media turns to others to fill the void. Speculation and rumour begin to steer the narrative.
Wedding DJ Fat Tony has given his account of the “inappropriate” wedding dance on the This Morning sofa.
He said: “The whole situation was really awkward for everyone in the room,” and gave a detailed account of what had happened.
Rebecca Loos, a name from a previous reputational crisis brand Beckham has faced, has also spoken about the situation in a new documentary.
And there have been many others sharing their views.
As well as creating a vacuum for others to fill, silence can also be seen as a weakness or a sign of defensiveness.
And it doesn’t help shut the story down.
The only time we have heard from Sir David or Lady Victoria is when the former England captain spoke to CNBC’s financial program Squawk Box at Davos.
Rather than the obvious question about his son’s Instagram posts, he was asked a much more general question about young people and social media, which suggests there was a lot of negotiation behind the scenes around what could be discussed.
He said: "I've been able to use my platform and following for UNICEF, and it's been the biggest tool to make people aware of what's going on around the world for children.
"I've tried to do the same with my children, to educate them. They make mistakes. Children are allowed to make mistakes, that's how they learn. But you know you have to sometimes let them make those mistakes as well."
It’s a nice, human response.
But it also feels like this could have been an opportunity to address the story.
Now, I’m not suggesting he addresses all the claims. Far from it. That kind of tit-for-tat rebuttal would not work.
However, I think there was a chance here to go beyond ‘children making mistakes’ to say that the family still loves their son and continues to support him.
The story highlights how social media has changed crisis media management.
This dramatic family feud didn’t go public through a press release or media statement.
Brooklyn used his Instagram post to make his claims.
And it cascaded from there at lightning speed. Traditional media followed rather than led the story.
People have more choices than ever on how and where they share their grievances – not just family members, but customers, employees and stakeholders.
And that can influence your reputation.
Are you monitoring all the channels?
Speaking of social media, the reputational threat no longer comes just from broadcast media coverage and headlines.
Social media reaction – in particular memes – poses a huge risk. Remember all the memes that circulated during the Astronomer crisis?
The Beckham crisis has also created its own viral social media content.
Your social media feed was probably filled with memes about the “inappropriate” dance for a couple of days.
Embarrassing stuff.
But, reassuringly for the Beckhams, after a couple of days, the internet seemed to turn elsewhere for its laughs.
Memes – and how widely they are shared – can be an indicator of public sentiment.
The story serves as a reminder of the importance of carefully considering all potential reputation risks and ensuring they are part of your crisis communication planning.
Are you going beyond just preparing for the obvious threats?
The biggest threat to the Beckham brand could be one of their own.
Have you considered the impact external and internal voices could have on your organisation’s reputation?
Is it part of your crisis comms plan?
How can brand Beckham move forward from this crisis?
Whether it is a controlled, sit-down interview or an Instagram post of their own, the Beckham family can’t stay silent forever.
It is untenable and allows the media cycle to continue.
The story is not going to go away, and not all future media interview questions will be as controlled as the one we saw at Davos.
And it seems unlikely that Brooklyn will now go quiet after making his emotional posts. There’s likely to be more. Perhaps a regular drip.
What they say must feel human, authentic and heartfelt. And not influenced by legal teams.
Crucially, any response should not get drawn into specifics or rebuttals. People understand that families have conflicts.
Instead, showing empathy is essential.
The Beckham brand has been bruised, but it will survive.
We’ve already seen Lady Victoria top UK single sales charts as fans show their ongoing support.
But there are big partnerships built on an image of consistency, credibility and unity that could be at risk.
Sir David has a £115 million lifetime Adidas deal alone.
I’m sure there are countless meetings taking place about these partnerships behind the scenes, discussing strategies and plans.
If not, there really should be.
As we stress during our crisis communication courses, the importance of stakeholder communication can be overlooked.
But it is crucial and must be clear, transparent and timely.
As someone fascinated by crisis communication, I am intrigued to watch their next move for brand Beckham.
Maybe it will become a crisis communication training and reputation management case study on how to do it.
If it goes well, we could call it Mend It Like Beckham.
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