The Samsung Galaxy Note7 crisis communication: Good or Bad?

Imagine that you are having a good night sleep and wake up to a fire burning next to you because you charge your phone. No, that's not just a nightmare that is the battery of your Samsung Galaxy Note7 burning.

 

Samsung Galaxy Note7 catching fire

The case

After the release of the Samsung Galaxy Note7 smartphones end of August 2016 it turned out that the batteries have a problem and are overheating and exploding when they are charged or heavily used. The company decided to recall all Note7 smartphones after 35 cases had been reported. The media of course jumped onto this topic and the company had to suffer a damage of their reputation. On the 2nd of September Samsung issued an official statement responding to the crisis and recalling all Galaxy Note7 phones. In the statement customer safety is emphasized, the issue explained and replacement of the phones promised.

Samsung Galaxy Note7 after charging

Evaluation of the crisis communication of Samsung

Is the company handling the crisis well?

The early and clear communication in the case of such a crisis is crucial because the way media frames events can have a huge impact on understanding and solving the problem as well as shaping the public opinion (Knight, 1999). Van der Meer and colleagues also stress the important role of communication in explaining the situation and creating a collective sense-making. The company addressed the public quiet fast only 8 days after the first reported case and clarified the issue. Although the response from Samsung was quick it also created confusion because of different communications about the recall. 

For example first Samsung stated that all new phones should be turned off but then came out with a software patch suggesting that people can continue to use their phones. These messages created confusion and uncertainty leading to even more damage for the company.

Another crucial step is to utilize a crisis response strategy in order to protect or re-establish the reputation. According to Coombs (2007) there are different types of crisis response strategies. Samsung used the Apology strategy that means that they took full responsibility for the crisis and apologized for the inconvenience.

Besides the official statement the President of Samsung Electronics America released an emotionally loaded video where he accepts the mistake made by the organization, expresses his regret and stresses the relevance of customer safety for Samsung. The research conducted by Van der Meer and Verhoeven (2013) suggests that showing shame and regret in the crisis response is positively influencing the reputation.

Samsung's crises management was perceived by some journalists and PR practitioners as bad and by some as good. Even if there were some ambiguous communications the company acted fast, took responsibility and emphasized the value of customer safety and satisfaction. The crisis is not over yet but in my opinion Samsung is on the right way to diminish the damage of their corporate reputation and to gain back the trust of their customers. However there is still a long way to go.


Éva, the author, likes to explore the beautiful spots on the earth. She likes meeting her friends and discuss PR related topics with them.