Crisis Management

Veteran PR pro and former journalist Arthur Solomon offers the second of his two-part series about the valuable lessons communicators can learn from federal government communications. Pulled from 2018’s headlines, the examples he uses offer lessons in ethics, crisis and other PR activities.

‘Tis the season for best of lists. PR is not different. Some communicators spend down time debating the top PR crises of the year. That’s the crux of this short video from Ashley McCown, president of Solomon McCown. See if you can guess what her top 5 PR crises of 2018 are before you view the video. A few hints: not all are examples of poor crisis management and her top crisis is the toughest to guess. Good luck.

Prada is in hot water after releasing a product that many on social media are calling racist. The company has issued a statement in response and removed the product from its shelves. But how can it—and other brands—avoid making the same mistake in the future?

It was a nightmare scenario for Jennifer Giglio. Leading communications for the Washington Nationals Ball Club, she was accustomed to player tempers flaring and even some battling and fights behind the scenes. But nothing could have prepared her for the televised altercation between closer and team “bad boy” Jonathan Papelbon and “golden boy” right fielder Bryce Harper.

The holiday season is here and many are making merry away from their desks. Yet social engagement doesn’t end, not even on Christmas, says Emma Monks, Crisp’s head of trust and safety. In fact, more social messages are sent to retailers during the holidays than at any other time. Here are a few ways brands can mind their social channels and reduce risk during the holidays.

As part of an investigation into misinformation on the internet, a British parliamentary committee has just released internal Facebook emails and other company documents from 2012 through 2015. Released on Dec. 5, the documents were “originally sealed as evidence in a lawsuit brought against Facebook by Six4Three, an app developer,” according to the New York Times, and primarily focus on the company’s use of user data in conjunction with other partners.

Ada Hegerberg, a 23-year-old Norwegian striker who plays for France’s Lyon side, had just received the annual award for best player in the world. She made sure to thank her teammates, coach, team president and France Football. But the historic evening became awkward when the man who presented the award, theFrench DJ and producer Martin Solveig, asked Hegerberg, in French, if she could twerk to celebrate.

Famed astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson has been accused of sexual misconduct by three women, ranging in time from 1984 to the present day. Tyson has drafted a response he entilted, “On Being Accused,” and posted to Facebook on Saturday, defending his behavior after his most recent accuser, a production assistant on his show Cosmos, gave an interview to Patheos about her claims.

It comes up in most conversations and lingers, unresolved: how can I find and then retain great talent? During a panel I moderated recently on the future of PR, this topic was discussed at length,… Continued

On the morning of Nov. 30, Marriott announced that the data of approximately 500 million customers had been compromised by a breach of the Starwood Hotels database. Starwood became a subsidiary of Marriott when it was acquired by the hotel chain in 2016, and according to the statement on Marriott’s news site the breach has been an ongoing occurrence since 2014 but wasn’t detected until Sept. 8, 2018. The breach impacts guests who booked stays at Starwood properties on or before Sept. 10., and could be the second largest in history.