Sunshine Sentinel

State Farm is known for its motto, “like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.” Yet that good neighbor reputation took a big hit last week when news broke that it was supporting an effort to put controversial and sexually explicit materials into the hands of Florida kindergartners. Worse yet, their decision appears to have been timed to allow these troubling materials to be distributed before a state law went into effect that would ban distribution in schools. It was now isolated incident or work of just a few rogue staffers, more than 550 employees were involved in the project.

Yikes. Like a creepy neighbor, State Farm was there when asked to spend tens of thousands of dollars on materials to introduce controversial and inappropriate sexual materials to kindergartners. When caught, they backtracked and claimed that top leaders didn’t know about the provocative program being advanced with State Farm funds. Only after thousands of customers called to complain, did the company finally say something. In a terse statement posted on the corporate website (but curiously omitted from its social media feeds) State Farm attempted to distance itself from the most disturbing part of the controversy but pledged to continue to advance divisive ideas that have nothing to do with insurance.

As an attorney and crisis communications consultant, I’m often called in when the flood waters of controversy are swirling around the neck of large organizations such as government agencies, non-profits, and corporations like State Farm. From everything I’ve observed, the company handled the crisis communications surrounding the error poorly. You might say, that like a tone-deaf neighbor, State Farm was there to mangle its response to this crisis.

Reputational damage to a brand can happen in days but take years to repair. The recent boycotts of Disney and its related $63 billion loss in company value are just the latest examples of a once-respected brand making a serious misstep and finding itself in real trouble. Other instances abound.

External communication from the insurance giant was poor but, as I reviewed the widespread news coverage, it wasn’t clear how the brand was working with local agents to help undo the damage done. From one personal encounter my family witnessed, it looks like State Farm did not effectively coordinate its crisis response with local offices.

Trying to review our insurance options, my wife called our State Farm agent, who had been randomly (and oddly) assigned to us in a distant city, Hagerstown Maryland. I was busy nearby when I heard her ask to have a copy of our policy details sent to us, so we could evaluate our coverage in light of State Farm’s poor handling of the matter. As usual, she was polite in tone. Her face contorted in confusion at the end of the call, and I asked her what the Hagerstown agent had said to her. When the agent learned that we wanted to review our options in light of the scandal, his precise words before hanging up were, “goodbye forever!”

Like a clueless neighbor, State Farm was there to make things worse.

Other organizations can learn from these mistakes. When caught in a blunder, the best course of action is usually to apologize and take the steps necessary to ensure it won’t happen again. Be transparent about what happened and then publicize the safeguards to prevent the next mistake. Along the way, ensure that both external and internal communications are used to spread the word.

Sadly, it may be too late for the insurance company to salvage this particularly crisis. That’s because, like a bad neighbor, State Farm is there to say, “goodbye forever” to countless customers and shareholders.

Mark R. Weaver is a crisis communications advisor who has advised thousands of clients in more than three dozen states. His book, “A Wordsmith’s Work,” offers strategies and best practices in crisis communications, as well as tips for better communications. Twitter: @MarkRWeaver