Crisis Management

In late February, coronavirus was starting to pierce the US zeitgeist. Garland Stansell, the PRSA chair and a veteran health care communicator, told us then that producing a consistent message is critical to communications during… Continued

Two days after announcing it would be furloughing 100,000 theme park and hotel workers as a result of coronavirus closures, Disney is facing fire from within (the family, at least). Company heiress and proverbial black sheep Abigail Disney, who in 2019 brought her criticism of management to Capitol Hill,  took to Twitter to call out the conglomerate’s bonus structure.

Influencers want to influence, but the pandemic might not be the best moment, unless you are a health care influencer, says restaurant and food influencer Jonathan Cheban, aka Foodgod. Instead, post judiciously, he says. In addition, he recommends influencers remain authentic and true to their brand, which always is good advice.

PRNEWS has argued often that collecting data is critical to help communicators understand their audiences. At this moment, when most things are closed or slowed significantly, it seems a new poll or survey is created every minute. This plethora of data is helping communicators get an accurate picture of the new normal.

Ticket buyers hounded Ticketmaster for weeks, wondering when or if they would receive refunds for cancelled sporting events and concerts. Live Nation, parent company of Ticketmaster, offered no reprieve. Postponed events would not lead to… Continued

“The business of business is business,” Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman (1912-2006) said. Our PRNEWS survey of some 200 PR executives expands on that thinking somewhat. We found that in this difficult moment, an overwhelming number of PR executives are most concerned with the health and safety of their staff. Finding new revenue doesn’t come close.

A corporate communicator turns to exercise and skills she has learned from it to face life, personal and professional, during coronavirus. Here’s how endurance, humanity, determination and other aspects of Peloton training helped a communicator adopt a positive attitude about the future.

Our top professional priority is limiting damage from coronavirus through our work as communicators. In addition, though, the pandemic is giving off a bevy of data about how well our crisis plans are working. It’s imperative we track our successes and failures as we prepare for the next crisis.

In certain parts of Europe, where the novel coronavirus is a few weeks ahead of US hotspots, audiences have begun to reach the information and emotional saturation point. Many are no longer watching the news. PR pros have found it’s important to maintain a positive approach in their internal and external communications.

Despite the overwhelming demand on certain industries, customer service remains a reputation maker, good or bad. Fortunately, we found the basics of good customer service communications prior to the pandemic remain constant. Add to them even more than normal emotion and understanding.