Crisis Management

You may remember the backlash of #OscarsSoWhite after the 2015 nomination announcements. Many outraged directors, producers and actors, including Spike Lee and Jada Pinkett Smith, boycotted the awards in 2016. How did the 2020 Oscars do on diversity and inclusion? We take a crisis PR perspective to grade last night’s ceremony and the larger issue facing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

When it comes to crisis, there’s good and bad news, according to a survey from PRNEWS and CS&A International, a risk, crisis and business continuity management consultancy. More than half the executives surveyed said their firms have crisis plans. Far fewer knew whether or not those plans are updated regularly. In addition, few companies are practicing crisis scenarios regularly.

While everyone anticipates the release of Iowa Caucus results, PR and crisis management pros are more inclined to discuss the crisis response of the Iowa Democratic Party. Technological glitches may be common, but to fail on such a grand stage, when timely results are expected, shows cracks in an already shaky system, debilitating public trust in a year when it’s most important.

To get prepared for PRNEWS’ Crisis and Measurement Summit in Miami later this month, we asked several of the scheduled speakers to provide crisis and measurement tips. Planning was one of the themes their answers had in common.

In a far-ranging interview, new PRSA chair T. Garland Stansell discusses the need for PR pros to be courageous enough to accept and shape change, his goals for the 30,000-member organization and the challenges of communications measurement.

On first glance you might not think diversity and inclusion has anything to do with crisis communications. In fact, it has everything to do with it, argues Esther-Mireya Tejeda, SVP, head, corporate communications & PR at Entercom.

No longer confined to China, coronavirus is beginning to move from a foreign story to a domestic one. More than that, it’s become a communications and reputation story. When iconic brands get involved, we tend to listen more closely.

Technology has made the world much smaller. Still, in many ways, humans remain very insular. What’s in front of us often receives most of our attention. As a result, where a news story occurs can… Continued

One of the complexities of PR crises is ensuring that, aside from crisis response, the company’s day-to-day work continues. Sometimes, though, normal work flow becomes the problem. For example, regularly scheduled social content posted during a crisis, or immediately after, can become a tone-deaf disaster. That’s why a social media pause button can help immensely.

The media discussion surrounding the royal family break seems shrouded with mystery and hearsay—with statements being given on both sides, but no one really coming forth and explaining the real reason for the schism. This creates an open dialogue for the public, leaving the families apt to rumors and falsities. Many takeaways can be found regarding the public relations tactics taken by the famous Brits in yet another family crisis.