Anatomy of a Crisis: HBO & #NOCONFEDERATE

Anatomy of a Crisis HBO and NOCONFEDERATE.jpg

We are in full ‘armchair crisis manager’ mode, picking apart current high-profile crises in the belief that we can all learn from what happened, good and bad.

This week we are looking at HBO and the social media resistance to a show that did not even have a script.

What happened?

In July, HBO announced it was creating a new show called ‘Confederate’.

Written by the creators of ‘Game of Thrones’, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the series is set in an alternate timeline where the Civil War ended in a stalemate and the southern states successful seceded to create a nation where slavery is still legal.

It chronicles fictional events leading to ‘third American civil war’.

Then what?

There was a huge backlash to the show’s premise, as stated in the original press release, largely led by Twitter users who created the hashtag #NoConfederate.

One of the people behind the Twitter campaign was April Reign who had previously created #OscarsSoWhite to protest the lack of diversity at the 2015 Oscars ceremony.

Sample tweet from @MsPackyetti – “I don’t need anyone imagining more ways my people would have been oppressed”.

According to analysis reported by Morning Consult, the social media furore may have had an impact on HBO’s brand, at least temporarily, with the network’s favorability showing a dip.

HBO responded with a statement that said, in part:

“We have great respect for the dialogue and concern being expressed around Confederate. We have faith that Nichelle, Dan, David, and Malcolm will approach the subject with care and sensitivity. The project is currently in its infancy so we hope that people will reserve judgment until there is something to see.”


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What did HBO do well?

It took the blame for mishandling the announcement of the new series.

HBO’s president Casey Bloys told reporters at an event for television critics that it could have been made the announcement with more grace:

“File this under hindsight is 20/20. If I could do it over again, HBO’s mistake — not the producers’ — was the idea that we would be able to announce an idea that is so sensitive that requires such care and thought on the part of the producers in a press release was misguided on our part.”

But HBO did not over-react the criticism of the actual show. The company struck a balanced tone which noted its respect for the criticism but asked that the show not be judged by a press release – but by the actual broadcast of the finished product.

The network’s favorability rating climbed back to its previous levels within a few days of the apology and the statement.

What could they have done better?

Clearly the problem is not the show – that does not even have a script yet.

The issue arose from the clumsy way it was announced to the media.

Sometimes, everyone is so wrapped up in the excitement of a new product or service, energized by the possibilities, that no-one stops to ask the simple question, “How might this be perceived by others who have an important stake in the idea?”

Pepsi experienced something similar with the infamous Kendall Jenner video earlier this year which understandably upset the Black Lives Matter campaign with the brand’s misappropriation of their themes.

A crucial part of any crisis preparedness plan is having a team whose role is to think through the ‘what-if’ of any corporate situation, launch, event or announcement. To anticipate issues and reactions and have a plan.

Clearly no-one at HBO was playing the ‘what-if’ role on the announcement of this show.

What do you think?