The day after Donald Trump’s election victory, athletic gear company New Balance came under fire for what some interpreted as pro-Trump statements made to the Wall Street Journal.
Backlash on social media against the company, which makes shoes in Maine, was swift. But what was already an image crisis for the company has been made worse as a white supremacist website rushes to its defense.
Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are awash with videos of New Balance shoes being flushed, burned and trashed after a company spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal that with President Trump, the country would “move in the right direction.”
Soon after, a neo-Nazi website called the Daily Stormer took up the torch in support of New Balance. In a Nov. 12 post, the website declared New Balance to be the “official shoes of White people.”
New Balance did not respond to our request for an interview about the original comment, or about the subsequent neo-Nazi endorsement. And that was exactly the right move, says Nancy Roberts, who teaches public relations at Husson University.
“Anything more they might say in a conversation or an interview could fuel this fire even further, and they really want it to go away,” she says.
Roberts, who also consults in communications crisis management, says New Balance is in a tough position because the backlash involves interpretation and viral hearsay, rather than concrete facts. For example, she says when Toyota had to recall faulty auto parts, or food chain Chipotle had to respond following an outbreak of food poisoning, the actual issues that needed fixing were clear.
“This really didn’t involve their customers directly, and that makes it more challenging,” she says.
In an emailed statement, New Balance says the “right direction” comment was taken out of context and specifically referred to a question on trade policy and nothing else. That’s the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which New Balance has vocally opposed. So did Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and her party challenger Bernie Sanders.
Just a few months ago, New Balance was seen as an underdog in a global market — the David that had won the right from Goliath to supply the U.S. military with its domestically made athletic footwear. So how did the tables turn so quickly?
Jason Sulham, vice president of Broadreach Public Relations in Portland, says he’s not sure, but driving the narrative is essential.
“The key is just to be out in front of it as much as you can and to make sure that you’re the ones telling your story and somebody else isn’t,” he says.
Sulham says companies must constantly monitor social media sites and look for troubling flare ups. A single blogger, he says, can create a firestorm.
Nancy Roberts at Husson agrees.
“We’ve got individuals who aren’t willing to seek out their news in traditional sources but instead use social media, and we’re finding out more and more that it may or may not be reliable,” she says.
“New Balance does not tolerate bigotry or hate in any form,” New Balance says in a response. The statement goes on to say that the company employs thousands of employees of all races, genders, cultures and sexual orientations, describing itself as a “values-driven organization and culture that believes in humanity, integrity, community and mutual respect for people around the world.”
But as if to illustrate what companies like New Balance are up against, the neo-Nazi website in question has rejected the statement, claiming instead that New Balance’s Twitter account was hacked.
