Three Lessons Companies Can Learn from Kyte Baby’s PR Disaster
The Background
This is one of those PR debacles that is so bad, it’s almost hard to believe it happened. Yet, here we are…and we have thoughts.
Kyte Baby, a Texas-based baby clothing company that has grown in popularity (ironically, thanks in part to TikTok), recently came under intense fire after it was revealed in TikTok videos that one of its employees was denied the ability to work remotely as her recently adopted premature baby was in the NICU due to serious health concerns. Rather than reaching out to Kyte Baby’s employee Marissa Hughes to develop a work solution during this challenging time, the company’s CEO and Founder Ying Liu fired Hughes.
Marissa and her husband shared in a recent interview with TODAY.com that they had suffered through infertility treatments and miscarriages over the years, and that Marissa had been open about the couple’s struggles and their adoption journey with the CEO. When they received word that their son had been born prematurely and was in the NICU, Marissa says she worked to keep her managers, Liu and the company informed, even establishing a remote work schedule.
According to a Kyte Baby spokesperson, however, Liu “...did not feel (Marissa’s) job could be done remotely and if she could not return to the office after her maternity leave, then (Kyte Baby) would part ways.” Because Marissa had worked for the company for seven months, she fell under the company’s maternity policy that provided that all parents who worked for the company for at least six months would receive two weeks of paid maternity time. Had Marissa been with the company for more than a year, she would have received four weeks of paid maternity time.
The Fallout
Not surprisingly, the reaction to this story was swift and intense with social media and the internet igniting with angry responses from stakeholders, including mothers and former customers, saying the CEO’s actions were hypocritical and calling for a boycott of the company. The media also took a keen interest in the story, with national and international outlets, including CNN, ABC News, The Washington Post, Daily Mail and USA Today running in-depth coverage on the scandal.
In response, Liu issued not one, but two apologies on TikTok, after the first video was labeled “insincere” and “scripted” by stakeholders. In the second video, posted the same day as the first, Liu appeared “panicked” as some users noticed, and went on to admit the first video “wasn’t sincere” and that her decision to fire Marissa was “insensitive” and “selfish” with her sole focus being on the fact that Marissa’s job had been done onsite and she didn’t think it was possible to do remotely. She concluded the video by asking stakeholders to give her time as she works to develop better HR policies for the company’s employees.
So, what can we learn from Kyte Baby’s missteps? Let’s dive in…
1. Act Like the World is Watching
With social media and various online platforms, information can be shared with millions in a matter of moments. Companies need to realize their actions—whether public or internal, good or bad, ethical or unethical—have the potential to reach key audiences and quickly sway perceptions in a material way. CEOs and executives should always pause before making a critical decision and think of not only the primary consequences of that action, but also the secondary and tertiary, including how internal and external stakeholders might react should the matter be made public.
2. Know Your Audiences’ Values / Practice What You Preach
Companies should have a clear understanding of their key audiences’ values, what is important to them and what they are passionate about. In theory, this shouldn’t be difficult, as it’s the companies’ values that most likely attracted these key audiences in the first place. In the case of Kyte Baby, mothers who bought clothing from the company probably identified with the brand’s mantra that “they are a family oriented company” that cares about children’s wellbeing along with sustainable practices that benefit the planet.
It’s no surprise then that mothers, including former customers, were outraged when they witnessed the company take actions that were contrary to what it espoused. Saying you’re a “family-oriented company” while firing a woman for staying with her premature son in the hospital was considered hypocritical and disingenuous by many.
3. Always Be Prepared, But Never Scripted
Whether they could have been foreseen or not, crises often occur within organizations, and it’s critical for spokespeople to be prepared to thoughtfully address the issues with their audiences. And while preparation is key, appearing “scripted” should always be avoided.
Today’s audiences are smart, savvy and crave genuine responses from representatives, not canned statements prepared by PR firms. In addition to Liu’s first attempt at an apology, which she herself later admitted was insincere, other examples of these types of canned statements can be seen in the recent debacle on Capitol Hill, where university presidents were summoned to give testimony about rising antisemitism on their campuses. These testimonies sparked outrage and later resulted in the resignation of University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill, one of the three presidents who came under fire for her stance on antisemitism on campus.
Rather than staying on script, spokespeople should be prepared to genuinely discuss the matter in a way that conveys sincerity, empathy and compassion for those who have been affected. PR firms can assist spokespeople with this preparation, but at the end of the day, it’s on the representatives to actually embody these feelings or face the long lasting consequences that can come from shortsighted decisions.
