Situation overview:

A multinational telecommunications company in Colombia was attacked by several competitors, all with strong ties to the government. The competitors spearheaded a misleading campaign warning of monopoly risks because the company is not government regulated. Limited by the electromagnetic regulations set by the government, the company's 34 million customers also began to suffer daily service problems, and the company faced attacks in Congress and in traditional and social media. Unaware of the government's electromagnetic regulations, consumers became frustrated with the company's service problems and started demanding the company be forbidden from participating in the bidding for 4G service, which would solve the saturation experienced on their current spectrum.

PROI member Role:

A  PROI Worldwide Americas Crisis Group partner developed a crisis management strategy to combat misinformation and support the company's efforts to gain greater electromagnet capabilities from the government. Communications work included:

• Advising the company's CEO throughout a year-long crisis management battle;
• Educating the media, opinion leaders, social media influencers and legal audiences on the issue and how the government's regulation of electromagnetic usage bottlenecks cell phone service and mobile networks;
• Managing and monitoring social media in real time to combat attacks and misinformation;
• Utilizing software and a team of managers to detect false social media accounts and other online viruses that, left alone, could have had a devastating effect on the company's reputation; and
• Communicating the damage to the country that would occur if the largest investor in telecommunications was unable to participate in the 4G auction.

Results:

The company's key messages were successfully communicated to opinion leaders, and many came to understand the unfairness of the government's ability to control all electromagnetic allocation. Public opinion shifted, and the company was able to participate in the 4G auction. Further positive action on the issue in the country was expected to continue.