Berger's Narrative Analysis Applied to Lululemon's PR Crisis

When starting this project, I wanted to take a look at a public relations crisis that would be of interest to me, and also one that I heard, or was in the know of when it actually happened. I have been in Lululemon stores just browsing before, since I have a hard time spending that kind of money on workout clothes. I heard of the PR crisis the company had in 2013 through reading blogs on social media sites and reading the backlash the company was facing. In particular, I remember reading the critique the company was receiving from Founder Chip Wilson's comments about how some women's bodies cause too much friction with the pants. Women were very upset about that comment, as it appears in line with weight and body image issues for women.

In researching this issue, I learned it was listed as one of the top public relations blunders in 2013. I found the company's blog, read the post that was to serve as the official statement apologizing to customers for the manufacturing problem and that they were working to ensure an issue like this didn't happen again. They also issued a recall for specific pants purchased in a specific time frame.

What I thought was most interesting and gave even more insight were the customer comments below the blog. There were hundreds of them, many were negative saying the quality all around for Lululemon athletic wear was down, and that something in the last few years  has changed this. Many people were upset because they purchased pants that ended up being sheer, but didn't fit the criteria to exchange or refund them. Of course, these were all comments on a blog, so the angry customers will voice their opinions. I hope that Lululemon, from a PR prospective, would do all they could to make the customers happy within reason from this issue.

From these incidents, I believe Luluemon sales may have dropped, but I still think the company is going strong. They have an extensive website, with many health and wellness blogs, and they appear to be doing well despite these issues.

As far as media production for the project, previously I had never heard of Soundcloud. I didn't know what it was, and I was a bit scared that I wouldn't know how to use it properly. I also didn't know how it would turn out  with me just talking, without a video. Overall, Soundcloud was very simple to use. I signed in, linked it to my Facebook account so the process would be even quicker, and did a test recording. When I was ready to record my project, it couldn't of been any easier. The uplouding process was quick and easy, and it was simple to find the embed code.

As I sound before, before this project I have never used Soundcloud, so now I can use it as an easy resource. Between this projection and my video I filmed, uploaded and edited with IMovie, I have learned a good deal in media editing and production, and have been able to do things I never thought I could or would be able to.

To hear my analysis of the Lululemon PR crisis, listen to the audio below.