C.J. Mittica, Editor-in-Chief: In the span of about two weeks, three major companies (Facebook, Wells Fargo and Uber) unveiled very public (and big-budget) apology campaigns, including commercials that have been in heavy rotation. Sara, you’ve seen the videos – did you find them effective?

Sara Lavenduski, Senior Editor: I use both Facebook and Uber, and I’m a long-time Wells Fargo customer. The campaign that resonated with me most was Uber. They have a new CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, which immediately made me think its talk of changes has some credence.

He looks right into the camera, he comes across as sincere, and he accepts his company’s accountability in the situation. And they have an entire page on their website that lays out what he discusses in the commercial, which I actually visited.

Recently, I’ve seen Wells Fargo’s “Established in 1852, Re-Established in 2018” campaign tagline everywhere. I thought they did a decent job, and I like how they took responsibility by saying “We lost your trust.” But, as a WF customer, I think it’s pretty simple: just be responsive to my needs, treat me fairly, keep my accounts safe and don’t take liberties with my information. Also, it would be great if they had extended evening hours and put more tellers in the branch locations. I think it comes down to customer service basics at the end of the day.

Facebook’s just doesn’t feel sincere. They say, “We had to deal with spam, clickbait, fake news, data misuse….” They didn’t say “We let these things proliferate, and we’re sorry.” They say we’ll do more to protect your privacy … and that’s all they say. They devote a lot of the commercial to feel-good images of Facebook, while glossing over their missteps.

Facebook's Apology Campaign

Mittica: I’m with you: Uber resonated the most with me, mostly because they put a face to the solution. Khosrowshahi seems sincere and serious – in essence, the anti-Travis Kalanick, the brazen Uber founder who got the company into a lot of its mess. I just read an article in Wired about Uber’s planned turnaround, and they too put Khosrowshahi front and center (in an Uber-branded T-shirt, no less). In the commercial, the new CEO promised improvements to ride quality and a better workplace culture, and though he didn’t elaborate how they were going to do it (it’s only a 60-second ad, after all), the fact he was calling out specific areas to improve was a good ploy. It worked for me.

Meanwhile, I’m not digging Facebook’s wishy-washy apology. I agree with you, Sara. Facebook, you caused this, so take some ownership. I’m on board with putting the focus back on friends and family, but the truth is, I still don’t trust Facebook wholly. Now, if they put Mark Zuckerberg on camera for a mea culpa, that would have got my attention.

Sara, you raised something interesting about being a long-time Wells Fargo customer, that the improvements most needed don’t have anything to do with the company’s fake account scandal. Were you personally affected by the Wells Fargo scandal? Why have you stuck with them? And if they can’t fix the things their customers truly want, who is this apology truly for?

Wells Fargo's Apology Campaign

Lavenduski: I actually was not affected directly by the WF scandal, thankfully, but I did feel I lost trust in them. I had trusted them for years with my finances, which is one of my most important possessions and something I work hard for. I wasn’t affected by the scandal, but I could have been. And I thought, here we go, the banks are up to their old tricks again. While I toyed with the idea of switching banks, I stuck with WF because it was convenient. I know what I have, and maybe that’s better than taking my chances with another corporation where similar things are probably going on, all because of something that didn’t directly affect me. And to be fair, the vast majority of my dealings with WF have been positive.

So who are these apologies intended for? Outwardly they’re for us, current and potential customers. But with each of these commercials, or any PR-driven apology for that matter, I’m never convinced that it’s 100% sincere. It’s become a PR necessity, and I always picture hours of damage-control meetings and Mad Men-style storyboards with ideas on how to placate the peons. Cynical, I know. But it’s almost impossible to boycott these companies because they’re so big, and they’ve become an intrinsic part of our lives, so I just accept that reality. I feel like it’s all damage-control at the end of the day, not an actual apology. Even Uber’s, which I actually thought was well-done.

So C.J., do you think these public mea culpas have become the bare minimum for a company caught in a misstep, and are they really trying to make amends? Do they discourage companies from allowing missteps to take place, because they know they’ll have to eat humble pie in a very public way?

Mittica: Look, public apology campaigns are nothing new. Just in the past decade, global giants like Toyota, BP and Domino’s ran commercials apologizing for their misdeeds. Many were just perfunctory; Domino’s has practically made it an art form.

I think corporations will try to get away with as little as possible when it comes to owning up to a mistake. Most times, that’s just a hollow prepared statement, but the bigger the offense, the bigger the apology, and all three of these companies created incredibly major breaches of trust. It takes guts to go the public, hat in hand, and say “We messed up.” You can quibble with the execution of those apologies, but personally I find it admirable that they didn’t shrink away from the moment.

What I don’t believe is that these campaigns discourage companies from behaving badly. Certain businesses are always going to push boundaries and knowingly go too far. If their misdeeds are exposed so thoroughly that they have to execute a public goodwill campaign, well, the sh*t’s already hit the fan and the damage is done. No company wants to make that standard procedure.

Uber's Apology Campaign

Lavenduski: It’s not that apology campaigns are necessarily new, but has the sincerity level changed? Brands can’t hide behind boilerplate statements anymore in an era of social media skewering and super-savvy customers. Does being forced to admit imperfections automatically mean the apology is less heartfelt?

And how brave is it when you’re a global organization with millions of customers, used all around the world every day? Maybe some people will stop patronizing them; the vast majority will carry on as normal, because they’ve become such an entrenched part of our lives. A smaller company that makes a mistake could be put out of business by something a lot less serious, just from people boycotting them and not walking through their doors anymore. For those smaller companies to go public with an apology, admit what happened and promise to change things, now that would take guts to me, particularly if they’re in a competitive industry.

Mittica: I agree that social media has changed brand accountability. One giant mistake (heck, one minor mistake), and the calls for retribution online are instantaneous and persistent. And yes, brands are expected to be apologetic more often, which makes it harder to discern sincerity. But I think the flipside is that brands are now held more accountable, and I count that as a win for the consumer.

What I think is clear is that there are more ways for companies to say they’re sorry. Commercials, direct mail and (yes) print ads are all still viable options, but email and social media allow brands to reach their customers directly. Calibrated with the right message, that makes the apology more effective.

So my question to you, Sara, is this: Considering the industry we cover, have can promo products be effectively used by a brand to apologize?

Lavenduski: Promotional products create goodwill, which I think is sorely needed when a company messes up. I don’t think has to necessarily be a “forgive us” gift that’s directly tied into an apology campaign, but it has to mean something and should be personalized if at all possible. Let’s not pretend these companies don’t already know everything about us, so how about they use the access we’ve given them to show us they actually appreciate our business? I think the lack of that appreciation, and taking people’s patronage for granted, was at the heart of all three mistakes here.

A bank could say, “You shop at this particular retail store a lot. Here’s a co-branded gift card on us.” For Facebook, they could do something similar: “Hey, you’re a long-time user who frequently ‘likes’ travel-associated posts and posts a lot of travel photos. We’d like to mail you a personalized leather luggage tag.” For Uber, maybe it’s as simple as branded water bottles as a welcome refreshment when you hop in for your ride, and maybe a takeaway item like a T-shirt (like the one the CEO wore for the Wired article) or umbrellas or sunglasses, depending on the weather that day. A simple gesture like that goes a long way, though it has to be accompanied by rectification steps at the company so it doesn’t risk looking like an empty gesture.

Mittica: You just raised something fascinating. Facebook got in hot water for aggregating people’s information and then selling it – what if they use that same data to deliver a personalized gift? Would it put people at ease, or would it make them freak out even more? We’re working on a feature for Advantages about how today’s consumer wants everything personalized for them, both products and experiences. The only way to do that is to hand over their information. That doesn’t condone what Facebook does, but it’s the inevitable result of freely sharing our trusted information. If Facebook could use a promotional product to change people’s notions about data use – that would be a heck of a high-wire act.

Your suggestions would be effective, and it reinforces the notion that promos can (and should be) used in these scenarios. You said it doesn’t have to be a “forgive me” gift, but I don’t think these companies have to be so coy. They’re already apologizing. Isn’t easier to say “I’m sorry” when you’re handing over a gift?

Lavenduski: Thoughtful swag is a gift that’s universally appreciated. If done tactfully, in a no-strings-attached way, I think people would appreciate it. But maybe a company asking for more personal information for fulfillment would freak people out. If giving your shipping address to Facebook is too much, it could be something that can be redeemed digitally, just with the information they already have.

If generating goodwill is something a company wants to continue doing, particularly in the wake of a scandal, they should make branded giveaways part of their customer appreciation culture moving forward. The apology could be a part of it in the beginning, but then they stand on their own as time goes by. All companies, no matter what size and what their customer service record looks like, can benefit from promo products.

Mittica: Well said. Facebook, Uber, Wells Fargo – if you need help with your apology campaigns, you know where to find us.