CHALLENGE

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducted a new, experimental crash test that pitted the smart fortwo microcar against a Mercedes C-Class, along with two other small cars paired with larger vehicles from the same brand. IIHS aimed to prove that, all things being equal, small cars are less safe than large cars – and it was using the smart fortwo as the poster child. smart USA had to get its side of the story out since the vehicle already met and exceeded all federal safety requirements, and this new test represented a rare and extreme crash that most motorists might never experience in the real world. smart USA engaged Stratacomm to provide crisis counseling support to assure that smart had an equal voice in media coverage, as well as maintained its vehicle reservations.

STRATEGIC APPROACH

Stratacomm’s goal was to neutralize coverage of the new IIHS crash test by communicating and reaffirming with key audiences that the smart fortwo is, in fact, safe. Rather than keep a low profile, our strategy was to aggressively and consistently communicate smart USA’s side of the story, which we did in a number of ways. Stratacomm developed a set of strong data-driven messages and and media-coached the company president and the 80 dealers to incorporate them as they spoke to national and local press. Stratacomm also proactively pitched smart USA’s president for interviews to the wires, morning talk shows and other national outlets to balance IIHS’s version of the story, stationing him in Washington, DC, where the national bureaus were covering the story. Stratacomm also created a website and social media hub to host smart’s safety story as well as owner testimonials of how the vehicle saved their lives or otherwise protected them in a crash.

RESULTS

As expected, given the strong visuals of the crash tests, the IIHS crash test was picked up nationwide with more than 700 news clips. However, the coverage featuring interviews with smart’s president (including the Associated Press, New York Times, USA Today, NBC’s “Today Show” and “Nightly News with Brian Williams,” CBS Radio and CNN Newsource) was very balanced due to including smart’s side of the safety story. Moreover, a smart car owner we identified and pitched to the media was prominently featured in NBC News coverage recalling how she walked away unharmed from a severe, airborne crash in which the first responders wrongly assumed she had been killed; we made this positive testimonial happen to help abate the otherwise negative story. In terms of web traffic, safeandsmart.com experienced more than 50,000 page views in the first week and more than one million page views since its launch. The ultimate measure of success was that traffic to smart’s call center was at normal levels following the IIHS crash test announcement, and only two customers cancelled their vehicle reservations.

CLIENT QUOTE

smart USA's President said of Stratacomm, "I would like to thank  you for your tremendous efforts these past few weeks in the development and execution of our [crisis plan]…Because of this, we were able to mitigate the magnitude of sensational reporting that could have occurred with a story of this nature…Much of this work was accomplished at night and on weekends, including Easter weekend.  You went above and beyond to help create and execute an effective strategy."