"Transparency, humility and action" suggests PR industry following Honda recall

According to The New York Times, Honda is recalling an additional 384,000 2003/4 models after a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation into whether two earlier recalls for the same problem covered all the defective vehicles.

Earlier this year fellow Japanese automaker Toyota found itself in a similar situation when safety concerns prompted the company to recall up to 10 million vehicles globally.

"Frankly, what's happened to Toyota and Honda can happen with any other car brand. In a world, where beta launches have become so fashionable and where speed-to-market of a new innovation has become closely linked to overwhelming pressures of quarterly results, companies have an incentive to short circuit the lengthy safety process checks," says Prashant Kumar, CEO of Malaysia Mediabrands.

"No system is foolproof and things can go horribly wrong. What's important is when things do go wrong, brands need to display transparency, humility and action. In such scenarios a brand's image as a genuinely responsible corporate citizen can definitely be handy."

Kumar also believes "that for high involvement categories like cars, too much corporate energy is wasted on currency and new news, less on creating truly game-changing innovation. The cost of massive recalls also needs to be counted in terms of the brand goodwill compromised on the corporate balance sheet. That means every time a new product or technology is waiting at the launching pad, companies carefully weigh the risks in a holistic and long-term sense."

Betty Ng, director of brand marketing at Burson-Marsteller Hong Kong, added, "Honda should be taking up the recall action with integrity and initiatives, conduct deep investigations and be transparent with the result, with a honest and sincere attitude to show consumers that they are actively fixing the problems."

"There may be opportunities for other car brands to further their sales, but they should not be overexcited, their marketing and PR should focus on safety, apart from the function and power of the vehicles," she said.