Crisis Management

This week’s PR Roundup explores the growth of journalists on Bluesky, bankruptcy communications in light of Forever 21 closing, and how brands like Frontier Airlines and Polestar are taking advantage of market changes with messaging.

As change and chaos grips our politics, and business leaders try to find their footing, the desire to take bold action can be tempting. In moments like these, however, that kind of thinking can be illusory—and seeking that sense of calm or catharsis for its own sake can lead to ill-advised short-term decision-making with long-term consequences for your brand.

Turo, a peer-to-peer car rental platform, faced not one, but two crises during New Year’s 2025. The perpetrators of both violent incidents had procured their vehicles from the app.

This week’s PR Roundup looks at how Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever would have to approach a decoupling from a communications standpoint, if Apple’s new product announcements were an opportunity or mistake, and how bird flu is affecting tertiary companies .

As the proliferation of AI-generated articles continue, the PR industry must be prepared for a future where combatting bad AI in journalism becomes part of the job description.

This week’s PR Roundup looks at whether or not Delta’s compensation to crash survivors is good PR, fun partnerships between brands and “The White Lotus,” and the Institute for Public Relations’s new report that looks at the most impactful research of 2024 for communicators.

A new C-suite outlook report from The Weber Shandwick Collective indicates that business executives have little confidence in their teams’ abilities to properly respond to an unexpected PR disaster. But communications professionals shouldn’t panic. Executives cited their team’s lack of resources to handle crises—which creates a tremendous opportunity for CCOs and their teams to bring value to C-suites and play a bigger leadership role in corporate structures.

Making crisis drills a regular occurrence can improve communicator response skills and boost team confidence.

This week’s PR Roundup looks at PRSA’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, The White House’s risky media relations move with The Associated Press, and how Shopify’s reputation received some major blows after not acting quickly enough in a crisis with Yeezy.com.

This week’s PR Roundup looks at ways to interact with employees during times of uncertainty and stress, how Waffle House can be seen as an example for price-increase communications, and what brands are leading the social media conversation before the Super Bowl.