When an unauthorised borehole was drilled dangerously close to a Gautrain tunnel in Johannesburg last week, the operator was forced to suspend services for a few days. As thousands of commuters rely on public transport daily, Gautrain had a delicate situation to handle.

If it wanted to, the transport company could have released a generic statement declaring its innocence and left it at that. Instead, the PR team took the opportunity to create a funny, relatable press release that would resonate with the South African audience. They even mentioned potholes! Additionally, the company solved a problem it didn't create by providing alternative transport for those who relied on it.

Based on people's responses on social media, the press release was a hit. User @DoofDidit on X replied, "This is actually a cool and humorous way of addressing such a serious situation" and Gautrain's original X post received thousands of likes and views.

However, had the situation been a bit different, Gautrain's response might not have been received with such positivity. A few factors in this situation allowed Gautrain to take a light-hearted approach to the issue without making it look like it was blame-shifting or deflecting attention.

media update's Joreke Kleynhans explains what allowed Gautrain to respond in the way it did.

Gautrain Was Not at Fault

Even though the issue at hand affected Gautrain and its customer base, there was nothing that Gautrain could have done to prevent the problem from occurring. In fact, it was entirely another party's fault.

Therefore, Gautrain did not have to apologise or take accountability for the issue. If the company had had to apologise and did so jokingly, the statement would have come across as dismissive of customers' needs. It would have also left the impression that the brand was trying to deflect attention from its mistake by cracking a few jokes and calling it a day.

Instead, Gautrain basically informed its customers that everyone (including the transport provider) was stuck in a bad situation and that Gautrain would simply be leading the way through it.

The Issue Was Inconvenient at Most

The worst time for incorporating humour into crisis communication is when an issue results in harm or tragedy. Whenever people's lives, safety, or wellness are at stake, making light of the situation is distasteful and will result in serious backlash from the public. Essentially, you would be creating a crisis on top of a crisis, which never turns out well.

Gautrain read the room before creating their funny press release. The brand ensured that no harm had been caused before issuing the statement. Additionally, it emphasised that the reason for the suspension of services was to protect Gautrain customers and prevent them from being exposed to danger. The press release sneakily implied, "We are pretty great because we care about your safety."

The Humour Was Paired With a Solution

The last thing a brand wants after releasing a statement pertaining to an issue that affects its customers is to leave people with the question "And what are you doing about that?"

Informing your audience of a problem is not enough. Instead, crisis communication should always be paired with a solution to the problem at hand. If Gautrain had made a joke about the situation without actually addressing the problem, it would have once again come across as dismissive because its focus was on being funny.

Instead, wittiness was only used to package communication about the problem and the solution provided. The joking nature of the press release did not distract from the fact that Gautrain was proactively solving the problem. Rather, it helped engage the audience more and delivered the message effectively.

*Image courtesy of Flickr