Kumho Tire's PR Reflection

The new year's 3-15 Consumer Rights Protection Day is coming. At this time we are interested in looking back at the companies that were exposed on the CCTV 3-15 party last year and how they had passed public relations in the past year. Ways to resolve the crisis. Kumho Tire, as the “headline” of the 3-15 party on CCTV Finance Channel in 2011, has been receiving much attention. The following will sort out and reflect on Kumho Tire ’s public relations activities in the past year.

I. What kind of public relations issues does Kumho Tire face?

According to a CCTV reporter's investigation, the Kumho Tire Tianjin plant did not strictly implement the company's operating standards in the production of automotive tires, regarding the use of recycled rubber (also known as “return glue”). According to the company's internal regulations, the mixing ratio of the original plastic sheet to the back mixing rubber is 3:1, and the actual mixing ratio is 2:1 or 1:1. Excessive use of recycled rubber leads to a decline in the performance of automotive tires and there are safety risks.

The failure of the blending ratio of back-grade rubber leads to hidden dangers in product quality. The hidden dangers of product quality have led to the public confidence crisis of the consumer public, dealers, and vehicle manufacturers due to media exposure, that is, the public relations crisis. The public relations crisis of Kumho Tire is a crisis of “bad behavior”, that is, the crisis is caused by behavioral failure, that is, the ratio of blending back to plastics is not up to standard, and it is caused by behavior outside the public relations work. Since the public relations crisis of Kumho Tire was caused by the failure of return rubber blending, the problem of non-compliance of returned rubber and related product quality problems will be solved first. When this problem is solved, proper communication with the media can effectively resolve the public relations crisis of Kumho Tire. From this point of view, the public relations issues faced by Kumho Tire are not complicated. But in fact Kumho Tire's behavior shows that things are not so simple.

CCTV exposure the next day, Kumho Tire issued a statement: "CCTV can not rule me violation." “Our company has established a scientific and sound production process standard for the use of return rubber compounds, and the production lines strictly follow the standards for production operations.” It is a fact that Kumho Tire does not accept exposure at all.

Dramatically, after five days, Jin Zongxi, President of Kumho Tire International, and Han Han, President of China, through CCTV’s “Consumer Claims” section, officially issued apologetic statements to the consumers in the face of the camera. Kumho Tire apologized to the public and acknowledged the content of CCTV exposure. It also promised to take a series of measures to solve the problem and prevent similar incidents from happening again.

On May 15, Li Hanxi, chairman of Kumho Tire (China), was interviewed by a reporter from "21st Century Business Herald" and emphasized that "we have no flaws in product quality". The reason is that all test reports show that Kumho's products are qualified. . From this we can see that Kumho Tire's understanding of its own problems is not clear, and its attitude is fickle, as if it is dealing with the public and the media.

When Kumho Tire was badly beaten by the “back-mixing incident,” the AQSIQ announced that some of Hankook’s tires had potential safety hazards. At this point, the taste of Kumho Tire's international public relations became more apparent. Kumho Tire, as a Korean company has quality problems in China, faces international public relations issues. After Hankook Tire, a Korean company, was announced, it was reasonable for the Chinese consumer public to doubt not only the quality of Kumho Tyres but also the overall product quality of Korean tire companies.

Later, there was another incident: Jia Kang, the financial director of the Ministry of Finance, drove his daughter to go to college in the field. On the way, the left and right tires of the two Kumho tires almost died. He issued a microblog complaint on the bed to complain about Kumho tires. At this time, the public relations faced by Kumho Tire added new content, namely celebrity PR. Jia Kang used the celebrity effect to create public opinion and safeguard his own interests as a consumer. Kumho Tire Co., Ltd. should resolve its negative impact through contact, communication, and solving practical problems to safeguard its public image.

It can be seen that the public relations issues faced by Kumho Tire in the “back-mixing incident” are not a single issue, but rather a series of problems caused by hidden dangers in product quality, including crisis public relations, international public relations, internal public relations, and celebrity public relations.

These problems have been fermented in the past half a year. Due to the superposition effect, the difficulty of public relations of Kumho Tire has been increased, and it has been difficult to suppress the negative image of the company.

[next]

II. What are the problems with the public relations measures of Kumho Tires?

First, let's look at Kumho Tire's statement on March 16. On the next day after CCTV’s exposure, Kumho Tires released a statement in a timely manner, indicating that Kumho Tire’s PR involvement was fast enough to reflect the company’s focus on exposure events. Unfortunately, the main content of the statement is not satisfactory to the public. 1 The company is very grateful to the majority of users for their support in the development and growth in China, saying that Kumho Tire is a company with the highest goal of consumer satisfaction. This statement implies that the consumer public is very supportive of it. After making mistakes, Kumho Tire also remembered putting gold on his face to cover up the black that had just been smeared by itself. When the consumer public is waiting for you to apologize, you are actually talking to yourself. What is sincerity about him? 2 directly denying the core content of CCTV exposure. “Our company has developed a scientific and sound production process standard for the use of return rubber compounds, and the production lines strictly follow the standards for production operations. The proportion of raw rubber and return rubber is calculated according to the weight, not an intuitive quantitative ratio. Therefore, by simply adding the number of different compounds in the video, we judge the company to operate illegally, which is not accurate.” In the end, how to judge is accurate, the statement did not give specific judgment methods and standards. Only a simple conclusion negated, did not specify the reasons and grounds for negation, how to win the trust of the public? The entire statement is an understatement. It's like asking for a stone and asking for a path. Sincerity is not enough. Naturally, the public relations effect has been achieved. 3 Compared with the attitude toward confrontation with the media, Kumho Tire's attitude towards the national quality inspection department was very docile and claimed to actively cooperate with their relevant inspection work. Obviously, in Kumho Tire's view, the media is not as important as the government sector. It is not surprising that the media did not attach importance to the media, including China’s first media, CCTV. The main target of public relations is the media, and the general public stands behind the media. For a PR organization such as a company, the media and the public have an interest alliance.

Secondly, let's take a look at the apology statement of Kumho Tire in CCTV’s “Consumer Claims” section. Judging from the contents of the statement, Kumho Tires apologized, admitted wrongly, and admitted the main contents of CCTV exposure. This is a 180-degree turning point compared to the content of the initial statement. It happened quickly and unexpectedly. Compared with the previous statement, Kumho Tire's PR was right. Kumho Tire not only acknowledged the fact that the company did not produce according to the standard, but also acknowledged the fact that it had neglected management. In addition, the company also proposed a series of rectification measures, such as dismissing the relevant responsible person, applying for the recall of the problem products, and quickly solve the product quality problems, promising that similar incidents no longer occur. If these measures can be implemented, they will be able to preliminarily resolve their public relations crisis. Factually speaking, the statement is a good public relations statement, which can effectively prevent the deterioration of public relations.

Again, let’s take a look at the interview with Li Hanxiu in 21st Century Business Herald. What Li Hanshun said in the interview was interpreted by the media and the public as “rebuffing”, which is a “rebuffing” of “confessions” declared in the “Consumption of Consumers” column. Many of these messages are inconsistent with the statements in the "Consumption of Consumers." 1 said that "CCTV reported an error and returned to glue...no problem." In fact, CCTV's report is not wrong, because CCTV's report did not say that back rubber can not be used, but said that Kumho tires in the mixing ratio of the back to say a set of doing. It is not wrong for Kumho Tire to use back-grade rubber, and it is not right that the use ratio is not up to standard. The proportion of Kumho Tire's back-scoring rubber is not inconsistent with the national standard. China currently does not use national standards for back-grinding, but it does not meet the company's internal production standards. Enterprises have product standards but do not produce according to their own product standards, how to ensure product quality? This has both the problem of jerry-building and illegal operation, as well as the suspicion of selling dogs and dogs. 2 says "We don't have any flaws in product quality." There is such a big difference between the actual production of the company and the production standards. There is actually nothing wrong with it. This is really a big-eyed lie. Speaking of this, some people think that the logic of Li Hanxuan is to reduce the severity of the problem and not to admit quality problems can survive the storm. Lee Han-soo's behavior is a bit of a secret. Corporate executives are playing wishful thinking. 3 said that Kumho Tire had made a readjustment to the blending standard for back-mixed rubber.

is it necessary? The problem of Kumho Tire is not in the standard but in the operation. If necessary, then we have to ask whether it is higher or lower? Lowered? Less use of recycled rubber, more use of the original film, companies consciously increase costs? This is impossible. An entrepreneur is not a philanthropist. Increased? This is possible. Because it can make the original production standard close to the actual production situation, so that CCTV can not grasp the handle, while reducing costs, it really can be described as double benefit. Increasing the mix ratio of the back-grade rubber will definitely reduce the performance of the tire, because the back-mixed rubber is waste after all. To reduce the performance of tires and disregard the lives of motorists, what face does the company face when facing the public? If a person can't do an angel, he doesn't have to be a devil. 4 Lee Han-yin’s “reversal of supply” seriously hit the public’s trust in Kumho Tire. The practice of anti-corruption has greatly reduced the authority and credibility of public relations sounds issued by Kumho Tire. Since then, Lee Han-ho has not spoken any more to the Chinese media. He hasn't said anything about it. He also said that he would also believe it. Lee Han-soo’s “rebuffing” is not smart at all. There is no basis for facts and no logic power. How can it be successful? He underestimated the power of the media and the public. Such little cleverness can only make Kumho Tire deeper and deeper in the crisis. In the interview, Li Hanxi said, “If we do not use the return glue according to the company's standards, we will check it out. We will uniformly recall the product for these products.” From this statement, Kumho Tires The problems faced are awareness, and the recall measures to be taken are also the right choice. Regrettably, this sentence was forgotten by the public because the other words Lee Han-soo said have aroused too much public grievances. The public’s selective information here is a detriment to Kumho’s tires. Public relations language is indeed worth scrutiny.

Finally, let's take a look at the public relations highlights of Kumho Tire. To be honest, the public relations work of Kumho Tire is not without merit. 1 Although Kumho Tire did not recognize quality problems in its products, it still recalled the tires under the pressure of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), despite the fact that the batches of recalled products were very limited and the recall was slow. Comprehensive inspection service for all car tires produced by Kumho Tire Tianjin Plant within 3 years. Through dealers' recalls and free testing of integrated service activities, the loss of the consumer public was reduced to some extent, and public opinion pressure was eased. In order to restore consumer confidence, Kumho Tire promised to increase the three-year warranty period to five years. The initiative effectively assumed responsibility for the quality of consumers and was conducive to restoring public confidence in Kumho Tire. 2 The three measures of product recall, free testing, and increase of the three-package period are aimed at the defective products with different severity and quantity, respectively, which will help reduce the cost of resolving the crisis. The implementation of the three measures at the same time is conducive to solving the problem of unclear boundaries of defective products. The problem caused by the illegal use of Kumho Tire's back-mixing rubber is safety hazards. Security risks are different in reality. The problems with some products have been exposed, and the problems with some products have begun to appear. The problems with some products have not yet been discovered because the quality of tyres depends not only on the tyres themselves but also on their use. It is obviously difficult to solve these three types of problems with one solution. It is necessary to recall the tires that have been exposed to the problem. It is appropriate to detect and deal with the tires whose problems have emerged. It is appropriate to extend the three-guarantee period for tires that have not found any problems. 3 Measures such as product recalls, free comprehensive inspections, and the increase of the three-guarantee time limit do not fall within the scope of narrowly defined public relations work but fall within the broad scope of public relations work. The broad public relations work includes doing and speaking two aspects. Doing things like product recalls, testing free, and increasing the three-package period are aimed at safeguarding the public interest. This is the basis for winning the trust of the public and must be done. It is a prerequisite for the narrow-minded public relations work. Although this aspect of the work is not specifically done by the public relations department, but without doing so, public relations work has become a waterless, passive water. The public relations work in the narrow sense, that is, the public communication, media communication, communication and coordination, etc., was performed in the public relations of Kumho Tires as a media announcement and media interview. 4 Although the work of product recalls, free testing services, and the increase of the three-guarantee time limit are all underway, the Chinese public does not seem to buy it. The main reason is that Li Han-hwan does not speak and will not speak to the public. Li Hantao's contradictory remarks show his ambivalence: he does not want to admit mistakes, but also fears to provoke the public, thinking that as long as he does not admit his mistakes, he can make major changes to small and small issues. It doesn't matter if you don't admit it. The key is that he doesn't have any real proof to prove the innocence of Kumho Tire.

Since you can't prove that you are not at fault, why not explain yourself wrong? Why don't you admit it or not? Li Hanyi does not interpret facts and reason. How does Chinese media and the public trust him? Lee Han-soo talks about the most points. For example, "We don't have any flaws in product quality." "I hope consumers can feel that Kumho is still a relatively good company, but there are some deficiencies at this time." On the one hand, he did not admit his mistake and on the other hand he prayed for public understanding and forgiveness. What is the logic? In addition to the contradictions and credible credences that Lee Han-soo has shown before and after his two occasions on important occasions, the attitude and opinions expressed are still a classic mistake. In an interview on the "reversal of the case," Lee Han-soo said that "we have no flaws in product quality." We also said that "return glue is actually the glue on the production line. No tire manufacturer has thrown back the glue, and the scrap will remain." The key to using it again is to use it according to strict standards." CCTV's exposure to Kumho Tire's problem is that it does not use the strict standard to use back-grade rubber, causing safety hazards. Such a simple relationship, Li Han-yin, could not be seen. It is not an IQ problem, but an attitude problem.

[next]

Third, international public relations and celebrity public relations of Kumho Tire

Kumho Tire, as a tire company in South Korea, conducts business in China. In the face of China's market and consumer public, it is bound to face international public relations. The marks of international public relations have clearly been reflected in the CCTV exposure events and the subsequent events. 1 The public relations work of Kumho Tire for the CCTV exposure incident is, from its own point of view, the work of international public relations. Because Kumho Tire is a Korean company, Chinese media and the public are its international public. 2 In an interview with a reporter from the 21st Century Business Herald, Li Hanchen and other senior executives stated that public opinion in China is too extreme and Kumho is aggrieved. It can be seen that the senior level of Kumho obviously felt the pressure of international public relations. In international public relations, organizations often rant because the media of any country tends to protect the dignity and interests of its people when facing foreign investors. This is a weakness of human nature but a recognized fact. Kumho is not aggrieved because it does have behavior that is unacceptable to the Chinese public. The behavior is flawed, the attitude is not good, and the public opinion reaction is not extreme. Everything is self-inflicted by Kumho Tires. 3 The Qatar General Administration of Quality Supervision announced that some of Hankook Tire's products, which are used by Korean companies, have potential safety hazards. This reinforces the international public relations color of Kumho Tire's back-to-gels incident. Kumho Tire Co., Ltd. solved its own public relations issues and affected not only the reputation of Kumho Tires, but also the reputation of the Korean tire industry and even the reputation of the Korean business community. In stark contrast to the public relations work of Kumho Tire, Hankook Tire responded positively to the statement issued by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine and acted positively. Express apologies, acknowledge mistakes and actively cooperate with the quality inspection department to express recall and discard related products. Hankook Tire's statement is very similar to Kumho Tire’s statement in CCTV’s “Consumer Claims”. Kumho Tires eventually gave up on the right and chose the wrong one. Hankook Tire and Kumho Tire are competing in the same industry and public relations is one of the means of market competition. It is clear that Kumho Tire lost in this case. 4 The Kumho Tire Tianjin plant was forced to stop production due to CCTV exposure. The replacement of the recalled production of the problematic product was transferred to the Changchun plant, which resulted in heavy production tasks for the Changchun plant, and the promised pay rise was not promptly honored and triggered the shutdown. The crisis at the Changchun plant is also public relations because of internal public relations crisis triggered by labor disputes. Although it is different from the crisis caused by the CCTV exposure, it also hints that the image of Kumho Tire's public relations is fragile and the public relations work is still in short supply.

Kumho Tire’s celebrity public relations for financial celebrity Jia Kang is still desirable for its early intervention. After the incident, Kumho (China) Company responded to Jia Kang's Weibo message and contacted Jia Kang and expressed willingness to communicate on this matter. If it is the quality of the tire, Kumho will not shirk its responsibility. This responsible attitude is enough to ease Jia Kang's resentment of Kumho Tire. As for the follow-up process and results, it is not known. Looking at the attitude of Kumho early intervention, we believe that Kumho’s celebrity public relations is timely and good. It's hard to imagine that Kumho Tire's PR progress was so great after a short time. The impression given to the public is that CCTV's "unfeasible king" is not as influential as Jia Kang's celebrity. Kumho Tires call CCTV, but in the face of Jia Kang, they are not arbitrarily arguing or denouncing. When it comes to the public opinion influence of celebrities, we cannot but talk about Weibo.

As a new media, Weibo has greatly enhanced the public opinion appeal of microbloggers through the power of the Internet. Microblogging can be used by individuals as well as for organizations. It is a good public communication and communication tool.

IV. Conclusion

Looking at the public relations work of Kumho Tire, it can be said that there are many kinds of things, including successes and failures. For the public relations work of the future, what has once failed becomes a lesson to be remembered and has been successfully absorbed as experience. The public relations work of Kumho Tire shows that when a public relations crisis strikes, all kinds of repudiation can only exacerbate the crisis and cause greater business losses. On the contrary, in the face of the public relations crisis, the apology of the apology, the rectification of the rectification, sincere attitude and effective action can quickly emerge from the crisis, curb business decline, and create favorable conditions for future development.