Crisis Management

AstraZenica committed classic crisis PR mistakes last week with its initial announcement about its coronavirus vaccine. Its incomplete reporting to the media led to several subsequent statements that could degrade trust in the company and its vaccine.

One of the most enjoyable parts of PR and communication is that you’re constantly learning, even when doing pleasure reading. In this post from Crisis Insider, we learn about two novels with fictional PR crises at their center. While these novels offer fictional crises, the lessons they offer PR pros are real and useful.

The Ring recall may prove daunting, as it appears to place responsibility on the consumer. Not only is support information hard to find on Ring’s website, but the company blames faulty installation for any fires, not the doorbell.  

There are often-repeated facets of crisis management, including readiness tactics such as having a crisis plan and practicing it routinely. In this interview with Professor Terry Hemeyer, we examine other less-publicized crisis elements, including the crisis pro’s demeanor, failing fast and Truth Squads.

Laurie Garrett, a Pulitzer-prize winning science journalist and author, and one of the most prolific voices regarding coronavirus news, gave the keynote speech for PRSA Icon, the organization’s annual international conference. Garrett delivered a detailed timeline of the progression of coronavirus, paying close attention to the interwoven timeline of misinformation and public distrust.

The NFL had six months since coronavirus emerged to develop a plan to face possible crisis situations. It also had the benefit of seeing how the NBA, NHL and MLB handled the pandemic. And yet, NFL fans and players are left with a glut of silence from the league as several players are the first to test positive during the season.

A leader of a company or organization can serve as the quarterback when it comes to delivering a positive reputation to the public. While leaders do not always handle the day-to-day details of running a brand, they serve as a face for employees, customers, shareholders and more. We asked communication professionals about how to proceed when leadership falls ill.

It was one of those rare weekends. Just about any news story was getting crickets from the media except for one. Indeed, there were several examples of moderate PR crises, but few noticed. Basing your crisis strategy on other stories crowding out media coverage of your company’s PR crisis is a gamble that hardly ever pays.

One of the most difficult aspects of crisis communication is deciding when and how to respond. In the case of truck start-up Nikola, which a short-seller attacked as a fraud, it chose to respond almost immediately to a short-seller’s allegation-filled report. Now with Nikola’s CEO gone, the company must be as transparent as possible in combatting allegations.

Our measurement column looks at another route to ROI. This one centers on the value PR brings to the enterprise when it helps maintain reputation in the wake of a crisis. It’s all about market capitalization.