Crisis management and social media: A killer whale case study

February 28 2010, 8:42am

Sea World experienced tragedy this past Wednesday when a terrible accident occurred and one of its killer whales, Tilikum, of the Shamu show attacked and killed one of their most experienced trainers, Dawn Brancheau. As the issue of crisis management and the use of social media continues to span the Web, marketing professionals look to brands’ reactions via online channels for leadership and best practices. Shortly after the accident the company made use of one if its Twitter accounts @SeaWorld_Parks, Facebook page and blog to release a statement from Jim Atchison, president and CEO of SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment: It is with great sadness that I report that one of our most experienced animal trainers drowned in an incident with one of our killer whales this afternoon, February 24, 2010 at our SeaWorld Orlando park.

We have initiated an investigation to determine, to the extent possible, what occurred. There are no other details to share at this point, but we will make our findings known in due course.

I must emphasize that this is an extraordinarily difficult time for the SeaWorld parks, and our team members.

Nothing is more important than the safety of our employees, guests and the animals entrusted to our care. All of our standard operating procedures will come under review as part of the investigation.

We extend our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the trainer and will do everything possible to assist them in this difficult time.

We appreciate everyone’s understanding and will share more information as it becomes known and available. Some debate has surrounded the secondary - and more popular - Twitter account of @Shamu which is written from the persona of the whales themselves. With over 12 times the followers SeaWorld has been criticized for not making better use of this account, as well as perhaps emphasizing the “killer” in killer shark a little too much. It is of no doubt to me that SeaWorld’s PR department would have an issues management strategy regarding any incidents with animals ready-to-go. The 12 thousand pound whale has been linked to two previous deaths and will raise important questions about animal captivity and safety procedures and protocol within the park. As to whether SeaWorld is a good example of the use of social media in a crisis - half the battle is in being prepared. The company had previously established channels for communication and responded with speed and transparency. There is nothing wrong with having fun with a communication tool such as Twitter, however it is important to understand the potential negative implications and how those channels could be affected. If the channel the majority of your fans follows needs to be silenced or suddenly altered - who is that helping?