PR professionals weigh in: Was Grab's response to the controversial post by its co-founder's wife enough?

Recently, ride hailing platform Grab found itself in hot water after the wife of its co-founder, Anthony Tan, posted a series of Instagram Stories talking about her two trips to Israel this year. The posts sparked significant backlash with many calling for the company to be boycotted.

In an Instagram Story post, Chloe Tong said that she “fell completely in love with Israel” after two trips there this year. 

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She added in a second post that her son had to pick a topic for an upcoming presentation and that he wanted to talk about his favorite holiday which was in Israel. "It was the best trip of my life. It even made such an impression on a seven-year-old," she wrote in the post. 

However, Tong is not directly related to Grab in any professional way and the posts were made in a personal capacity. Yet, Grab found itself facing the heat to the point where it had to issue a statement responding to the comments. 

Grab said that the unnamed individual had clarified that it was a post that was posted on a personal platform "weeks ago" and that it was "taken out of context to stir more hatred".

"My Instastories were done before I understood all that is happening with Israel and Gaza. Like the rest of humanity, I hope for ceasefire and peace. I am simply saddened and feel very helpless for all the innocent lives lost," a screen grab from the post read. 

Grab then confirmed that it stands on the side of humanity and that it hopes for peace and a ceasefire. 

“We do not support any form of violence and as a participant of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), we are aligned with its principles, and respect the protection of human rights,” Grab added.

So, when does a brand need to respond when it comes to the comments of an individual not in their organisation and how can they do it best without getting themselves into more trouble? 

According to Leela Barrock, chief communications officer at Sime Darby Plantation who was speaking at a panel at MARKETING-INTERACTIVE's PR Asia conference in Malaysia this week, the first thing to do is to distance yourself from the individual as a brand and as a spouse. 

"An individual is entitled to their view no matter how unpopular it might be. We might not always agree with it which is why we need to distance ourselves as an organisation and even as a spouse," said Barrock.

Adding to her point, Sujantani Poosparajah, head of strategic communications at PETRONAS Dagangan explained that it's really about looking at it from an individual perspective and seeing how they are connected to the brand. 

"The response from the brand has to also take into account the balance because you don't want to fall into another rabbit hole with an issue that is being discussed tremendously," she said at the panel.

Poosparajah then suggested that organisations should take a step back, especially when the individual is close to the organisation and formulate a balanced response that takes separates the personal view point from the brand's. 

Adding to her point, Jose Raymond, a communications strategist, pointed out that we live in an extremely volitile and uncertain world. He added that there is a very strong boycott movement online which is quite powerful. Brands that fall out of line will end up being subject to scrutiny.

"As an organisation, Grab did the right thing to try and distance itself from the furore stirred, failing which it would have been impacted a lot more," he said, noting that people he knows in Malaysia have already stated that they will be avoiding Grab due to the incident and despite its subsequent statement.

"For Grab, this is worrying, and it will probably need to do a lot more to win back trust. They should have the data points to either corroborate or debunk the sentiment," he explained. 

Raymond added that public figures, their families and close friends will always be subject to constant scrutiny. 

"Tong has the right to say what she wants but she will just need to be ready to face the backlash," he said, added that the spouses of public figures must recognise that their actions will impact the lives of their partners.

On matters which are highly controversial, they should probably err on the side of caution, or risk a whiplash.

Paying the price for political views

True enough, the time we live in, we all have to pay a price for our political views no matter if you are a brand, professional or individual, according to Asiya Bakht, the founder of Beets PR.

"The easiest way for businesses and those associated with them to prevent controversies is to stay politically neutral," she said. 

She added that in the case of Chloe Tong, her comments seem to have been taken out of context and an innocuous social post given political undertones.

"But hypothetically if a spouse of a brand leader were to have a strong political opinion which they share on public forums, then they could become a liability for their partners business. After all business and politics make for uneasy bedfellows," she said.

"Considering the outsized impact a spouse can have on a company’s fortune, I would definitely advise leaders to organise routine media training to sensitise them on the potential implications of their comments on posts on social media,” Bakht said.

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