Astronomer PR Pivot - Celebrity cameo turns crisis management into B-school Case

Mint

5 hours ago

Mumbai: Little did Astronomer, the Boston-based digital solutions provider and cloud data platform, know that the way it handled the global backlash following its top CXOs being caught in a compromising position in public would eventually be taught in classrooms at some of the top business schools in India.
The company's attempt to change the narrative by bringing in actor and lifestyle brand founder Gwyneth Paltrow as a 'temporary spokesperson" is now poised to become a discussion point in academic circles.
Management students will debate whether wry humour (since Paltrow is the ex-wife of Chris Martin, lead singer of the band Coldplay, during whose concert the couple was caught on camera) will be enough. They will question whether this step was a 'clever or wise" form of crisis management, and whether shareholders and consumers are truly swayed by star power.
'I can envisage this becoming a massive case study in the coming days. The case illustrates the power of humour, irony, and sarcasm as tools to convey a strong message effectively, especially when facing negative PR," said Viswanath Pingali, who teaches economics at Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad. Pingali's research interests include digital markets and healthcare.
'The text clearly communicates what the firm stands for, and what its core business is. Everything else is ephemeral and should be treated as such. Sarcasm and irony, when used in the right amounts, can convey the message very effectively," Pingali pointed out. "The opening remark, 'I am hired on a very temporary basis,' is also highly suggestive of what Astronomer thinks, and what it wants us to think about the crisis."
IIMs and other business schools regularly discuss case studies on the dos and don'ts of corporate governance, brand management, and, often, live cases — those that are ongoing. These could include global events, major mergers and acquisitions, or sectoral shifts during rare occurrences like a pandemic, which force firms to alter their operations and adapt quickly. Classes in Strategy, HR, Marketing, and Economics are where such cases are discussed to understand their impact on share prices, client perceptions, and business outcomes.
For instance, last year, strategy management, business development, and market analysis were threads picked up while discussing the general elections in classrooms.
Some case studies also get published. IIM Bangalore's case study on the use of digital media in the promotion of the film 1920: Evil Returns was published by Harvard Business Publishing. According to the institute's website, the case study is being used by students even in the US, Canada, Norway, and Slovenia.
The IIM Bangalore study highlighted the social media marketing strategy of this smaller budget movie, and how it was targeted at an audience that knew about the franchises and watched the horror genre.
Speaking about the inclusion of the Astronomer episode in the classroom, Debashis Chatterjee, director of IIM Kozhikode, said the students will be given open-ended questions. 'They will debate 'clever versus wise' crisis management. Will the image portrayed by the firm over the weekend become a case of perception management, and what would have been the 'right' thing to do?"
On 26 July, a video on Astronomer's social media featured Paltrow sidestepping the controversy to speak about the work the firm does. 'I've been hired on a very temporary basis to speak on behalf of the 300+ employees at Astronomer," she said.
Barely a month ago, the company's chief executive officer (CEO) Andy Byron and the human resources head, Kristen Cabot, were caught on camera during a Coldplay concert 'Kiss Cam' moment. The firm then faced tremendous backlash regarding ethics and management challenges. However, the recent video once again turned online conversations toward whether the crisis might be averted, as the firm attempts to refocus attention on its core business.
'The events of the past few days have received a level of media attention that few companies--let alone startups in our small corner of the data and AI world--ever encounter. The spotlight has been unusual and surreal for our team, and while I would never have wished for it to happen like this, Astronomer is now a household name," said interim CEO Pete DeJoy in a note posted on the firm's website.
A professor who teaches entrepreneurship at one of the IIMs said the question posed to students will be: 'How do you tell an audience that you and your firm are different from the episode?"
'You have to make fundamental changes and show the audience that you've addressed the issue, and detail what went wrong and why," said the professor, who wished to remain anonymous.
The discussion could also veer around on how to convert a sticky situation into an opportunity. 'One needs to see if the funnel of talent and client will increase for the company in the long term since it is a B2B (business-to-business) firm and not a B2C (business-to-consumer), said Sourav Mukherji, who teaches Organizational Behaviour & Human Resources Management at IIM Bangalore.
"The class may also discuss how no publicity, however infamous, is bad publicity," he said, wrapping it up.