Case Study: Inside the ColdplayGate Kiss Cam Scandal
If you've been online recently, at least for a bit, then you know something about the couple having an affair caught on the Kiss Cam during a Coldplay concert in July. Coined as the "ColdplayGate", the protagonists of this scandal, Andy Byron and Kristin Cabot, the former the CEO and the latter Chief People Officer of the tech company Astronomer went viral instantly after the band's vocalist Chris Martin joked onstage after seeing their awkward reaction: “Either they’re having an affair, or they’re just very shy.” We’re going to discuss how the company responded to this incident, as a real-world example of why personal behaviour at public events in the age of social media can become a corporate risk, and how Astronomer took advantage of a wave of negative press with a clever PR crisis management lesson.
Astronomer’s Approach to ColdplayGate
This embarrassing moment had a domino effect: Astronomer’s board launched an internal investigation, Byron and Cabot resigned weeks later, and their former low-profile company was left in the spotlight and in the middle of a PR crisis. What did they do about it, you ask? Well, besides a standard public statement reinforcing its commitment to professionalism, transparency and ethical leadership and doing damage control behind the scenes to appease investors and clients, they hired Gwyneth Paltrow as a temporary spokesperson.
If you raised an eyebrow when you read the last sentence, don’t worry. Me too. Why? Gwyneth Paltrow is Chris Martin's ex-wife, and she also has her fair share of controversies, especially with her brand Goop. They also hired Ryan Reynolds' agency, Maximum Effort, known for its humorous campaigns to execute the idea, but Gwyneth's name stands out due to her connection with the band at the centre of this crisis. The Astronomer's PR team probably said: "Well, we have a lot of attention on us now, let's take advantage of it". A "If life gives you lemons, make lemonade" type of mindset, if you will.
In the video, Paltrow "answered" some of the questions the scandal provoked online, giving answers that highlight Astronomer's products and services. For example, one of the questions is "OMG! What the actual f" and the answer is "Yes! Astronomer is the best place to run Apache Airflow, unifying the experience of running data, ML (For machine learning) and AI pipelines at scale. " The one-minute video's main message is conveyed with Paltrow's final remark, "We'll now be returning to what we do best, delivering game-changing results."
The key to understanding why they chose to involve Gwyneth in this situation is precisely because she's Chris Martin's ex-wife, and because they're known for having a positive divorce experience (named "conscious uncoupling" by Paltrow) and having a good relationship until today. It's her direct, but not too much, connection with Coldplay that makes her a good candidate for an ironic response, taking the spotlight from the scandal and using it to present Astronomer's services to the world, now that they're paying attention to them.
As the interim CEO, Pete DeJoy, wrote on his LinkedIn profile, "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."
The Bottom Line
Astronomer’s PR response stands out because they acted quickly, without drama and with class. They also regained the narrative by monitoring what was being said about the company online and used it in a power-move response video, keeping the Coldplay association present but with the goal of moving on and going back to business as usual in mind.