Union Carbide’s Bhophal and Tylenol are classic cases of PR crisis management. And now we can add H&R Block to the list.

It was announced on the radio this morning that H&R Block screwed up its own tax returns, and owes the IRS $32 million in back taxes.

Already, according to the radio report, H&R Block has lost 250,000 clients as a result.

If you were the CEO, marketing manager, or PR firm for H&R Block, what steps would you take to manage this PR crisis?

In an earlier post, I quoted top copywriter Richard Armstrong as saying that ?branding is just one of MANY credibility factors that go into an advertisement ? you CAN?T build your whole marketing campaign around it.?

Richard continues: ?The fact is that ?brand loyalty,? which is the Holy Grail of Madison Avenue, is really a mile wide and an inch deep for most customers.

?I have brands that I prefer among just about everything I buy … but virtually ever single one of them is negotiable. Show me that your product is cheaper and/or better than my current brand, and I’ll switch in a heartbeat.?

?I’m a big fan of Allen-Edmonds shoes, for example. For years, I was always telling people about how comfortable and well-made they are.

?A few weeks ago, I was telling this to a friend of mine, and he said, ?You should try Cole-Hahn, they’re better.? I said, ?No way!!? He said, ?Try them.?

?So I tried them. Guess what? I now wear Cole-Hahn shoes. So much for brand loyalty!?

The conclusion: brand loyalty is fleeting. Unless your advertising provides a compelling reason why the consumer should buy your product instead of competing products, you won?t be able to pull consumers away from those competitors. Right?

According to an article in InformationWeek (1/23/06, p. 17), the Justice Department wants Google to turn over records on millions of searches by people who look at porn online. The goal: protect children.

Google does not want to cooperate in that this violates people’s privacy. It also erodes their trust in Google, which could hurt the company’s market share.

I am torn. Being a parent, I put kids first. But the government has no business looking at what I look at on the Internet.

Do you think Google’s records should be kept confidential … or turned over to the Justice Department to shield kids from online porn?