YouTube PR: TanaCon And What PR Pros Can Learn

*Information in this blog post is constantly being updated as new info is made available.*

Description Of The Crisis

Tana Mongeau is a 20-year-old popular YouTuber who made a video in April about why she's not attending VidCon 2018. VidCon is a convention centered around YouTube creators. In this video, the idea of TanaCon came about and it was soon made into a reality. TanaCon promised that the biggest YouTube creators would be there and that it will be much better than VidCon. However, as you may know, or if you're into what's happening on YouTube, TanaCon was a failure. Many people flew from all over to attend, which means that they paid for their flights, hotels, tickets, and transportation in hopes of meeting their favorite creators. What they got was long lines, waiting outside with no food or water, and sunburn. The event was canceled on day one and reasons cited were "over capacity".

How did this happen? The company Tana employed to handle the event is Good Times. According to my research, the CEO of Good Times Entertainment, Michael Weist, may be a 21-year-old student currently majoring in entrepreneurship. This could be wrong but I strongly believe that my information is right. In fact, I have strong reason to believe that Mr. Weist is not entirely operating out of California. Additionally, it seems that he ran SwerV Records as well. Perhaps Good Times was a spin-off venture from that? From this information, it seems that SwerV and Good Times started off being successful as social media meets concerts. However, I don't believe this being the best option for Tana.

During the event, Mr. Weist was seen riding through the "convention" on his Segway. From video footage, it seems that there were 1,000 people inside and maybe 4,000 outside. This is a far cry away from the 20,000 that was reported by both Tana and Michael. Additionally, the hotel that TanaCon happened only had a full capacity size of 1,000 even though 5,000 tickets were sold. There have been reports of disorganization, people being charged but no confirmation, names on lists being lost, and overall mayhem. Ultimately, TanaCon was a big mess.

Here's a recap of what we know:

• Tana hired Good Times to do TanaCon
• Good Times' "CEO" is Michael Weist
  • Most likely 21 years old
  • I suspect that any people working for Good Times are under the age of 20.
  • Good Times is heavily focused on music/concerts.
• The hotel had a max capacity of 1,000 but a reported 5,000 bought tickets.
• TanaCon was canceled on day one after the hotel was evacuated due to vandalism.
• It was reported by Tana and Good Times that there were 20,000 people and that was the cause of the shutdown.

Tana's Response

I don't think Tana acted as a driver for this. I think much of the logistics go to Good Times. However, I think Tana could have released a statement sooner. At the same time, if I were her age, I would be scared as well. Knowing what I know now about PR came with additional schooling and learning (and I'm still learning!). There's often this idea in crisis communications that the sooner you react the better. People would rather have a semi-good statement released faster than a more well-thought-out statement. Tana seems to have gone with the latter. That being said, I think her statement was genuine and I think it was honest. I'm glad she took the time to apologize on Twitter and own up to the mistake.

Good Time's Response

Good Times did a few things right. I think they made a quick statement, which is something that is definitely needed when thrown into situations such as these. However, the apology seemed really carefully worded, which isn't necessarily good. In the court of public opinion, it is important to issue a heartfelt apology, one that shows that you're human and being sincere. I didn't really get that feeling from any of the statements on Twitter. 

Additionally, some of the information in the statements seemed untrue. I don't believe there were 20,000 people at TanaCon but you will see that in the statements issued. I cannot stress how important it is to be honest when making statements. I say be honest because the truth will always come out. The last thing you want to do is make matters worse by overexaggerating. 

Lawsuits & Legal Implications

Do TanaCon attendees have a lawsuit? Should Tana sue Good Times? Can there even be legal action? Well, I'm not a lawyer (yet!) but here's what I can hypothesize based on my legal knowledge.

I think it's very possible that TanaCon attendees could have a lawsuit. Here's why! The whole situation comes off as a scheme, but at the end of the day, attendees paid for a service and that service wasn't delivered to them. Yes, there are talks about refunds and even attendees can put in a claim with their bank. However, this doesn't help the fact that these attendees had to pay for travel and lodging. Many were sunburned, starving, and dehydrated. I think this sounds like a very traumatic situation and could very well result in suing for damages.

Now, Good Times is also known as Good Times Entertainment, LLC. LLC stands for limited liability company. This means that this company should be registered in its operating state. Information about an LLC is public information. You just need to go to the state's secretary of state business search website (a Google search will do) and you will be able to enter the company's name and find what you're looking for.

I believe that the company could be operating in one of two states. In this case, in the two states that I searched, there were no results of a Michael Weist owning any LLC with Good Times in it. There was a Good Times Entertainment, LLC but it was suspended in 2013. Therefore, it's questionable that he calls himself the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) if his business is most likely not incorporated. I'm not sure what Good Times told Tana but they definitely really hurt her brand with this particular event.

My PR Recommendations

Event planning is one of my specialties and I've learned from my mistakes. I think there is never an event that is too big or too small to conquer for a first-timer. However, there was a lot riding on this for Tana and it needed to be somewhat a success, especially for people who were coming from other states or countries. This is not the type of event you want to experiment with or test out your event planning logistics. I could talk about what I would've done instead such as limit the ticket sales, have a lot of security, etc. Even though I would have loved to attempt to make TanaCon a reality, the reality is that it is probably going to take someone much more experienced with convention planning. What I can do is what I would have recommended for this particular crisis.

One thing I noticed is that updates were given solely on Twitter. This is fine but it would've been a good idea to also provide emails to confirmed attendees. My speculation is that there really wasn't a cohesive or organized list of these attendees. This leads me to my next point regarding complete transparency. I think Good Times has remained quiet since issuing their statements. In a crisis, this is not the time to be quiet. Brands should listen and respond to the people they've upset or offended. Also, never underestimate the power of an apology. Always apologize and state what you're going to do moving forward. I would've advised the Good Times Twitter account to do as such. 

Finally, be honest. Right now I think Good Times looks dishonest and although all of this will settle down, you don't necessarily want your brand to be known for a failed convention and a lack of heart for those affected. We can say any publicity is good publicity but is it? My job is to change public perception, but it's really in the actions and response of the brand/company that makes or breaks it. I would've recommended that Good Times be honest going forward and explain what exactly happened. People want the truth and keeping things away from them is not going to help. 

I think everyone could have done better and could have shown more compassion to those who were really swindled out of money that they most likely won't see again.

Visit the Walden PR Blog for more public relations and crisis communications content.

Photo by Estée Janssens on Unsplash