National Automotive Company

Challenge:
Reputation Partners was engaged by a national automotive company after the company came under investigation by “Dateline NBC” for its selling practices. We quickly discovered that “Dateline” planned an extensive segment on the company, including several hidden camera interviews and comments from a former employee-turned-whistleblower. The segment turned out to be a full-hour long and very negative.

Strategy/Implementation:
We developed a comprehensive plan which included: a rapid-yet-thorough vulnerabilities assessment to anticipate “Dateline’s” areas of focus; fact sheets/arguments detailing the company’s high level of customer satisfaction; voluntary enhancements to the company’s selling practices; and a variety of internal and external communications to all audiences to prepare for the “Dateline” broadcasts. We counseled the client to decline participation in an on-air interview.

Results:
Though the “Dateline” segment was extremely negative, the fact that we were able to anticipate “Dateline’s” areas of focus and communicate the company’s high level of customer satisfaction and voluntary enhancements to its selling practices helped the company avoid further legal challenges, drop off in sales or lasting reputational damage.