The blame for the Moonlight/La La Land mix-up seems to be falling on PwC, caretakers of the Oscar ballots, whose carefully guarded “ballot briefcase” tours the nation each year on its way to Hollywood. The accounting firm tweeted an early-morning statement, but has otherwise remained quiet on social media.
Crisis Management
The Social Order: Uber and PewDiePie Illustrate Society’s Influence on Crisis
February 27th, 2017 by Katie PaineIn today’s personality-driven culture, it’s sometimes hard to sort out whether it’s the guy at the top who causes a crisis or the culture he has created within the organization. Either way, most of the time, a crisis starts at the top. But in 2017, one could make the case that cultural and social norms are exerting a greater influence than the people in charge. The crises we’ll examine here, PewDiePie/Youtube/Disney/Google and Uber’s latest, we would argue, owe as much if not more to changing norms than to corporate leadership.
Your Organization’s Under Attack? Respond Fast! Wait…Don’t Respond
February 23rd, 2017 by Steve Goldstein“Not every incident needs a response, but incidents that are ignored can lead to a bigger crisis.” This crisis management advice comes directly from Ernest DelBuono, senior strategist for strategic communications firm Levick. At its… Continued
5 Ways to Build a Flameproof Crisis Team
February 23rd, 2017 by Sophie MaerowitzIn today’s rapid-fire world of communications, brand reputations can be torn down in a moment by a single tweet or Facebook post. One of the major facets of being prepared for such a crisis is having a staff that’s ready to respond and rebuild at a moment’s notice. To investigate the process behind preparing staff for a calamity, PR News opened its Crisis Management Boot Camp on Feb. 23 with a session on building a flameproof crisis team.
Has Uber Learned Its PR Lessons?
February 21st, 2017 by Seth ArensteinIt’s too early to say with a lot of certainty, but it appears Uber has absorbed several PR lessons concerning crisis management. It’s had a fair amount of practice. The most recent incident for the SF-based company has Susan Fowler, a former employee, penning a widely circulated blog post about sexual harassment at Uber. It’s hard to fault the response of the company’s CEO, Travis Kalanick, this time. He’s taken several of the basic steps of crisis management and done so promptly.
Teamwork: How to Fight Back Against The Weaponization of Social Media
February 20th, 2017 by BY RICHARD LEVICK, ESQ., CHAIRMAN/CEO, LEVICKWhen social media channels started to emerge in the early 2000s, many of us thought these platforms would improve business understanding and help break down barriers between companies and their critics. More than a decade later, it hasn’t exactly turned out that way. These days the chatter in business sanctums is more about the weaponization of social media. Twitter, Facebook and others are being used to denigrate, belittle and demonize brands as well as the people who run them.
A Social Media Checklist for Your Crisis Communications Plan
February 14th, 2017 by Steve GoldsteinIn times of stress, one’s judgment is impaired, no matter how cool the head might seem. This holds true for both individuals and organizations in crisis mode, and the temptation to act out on social media can be too great for some. The best defense is a smart, succinct crisis plan that can be shared throughout an organization.
The Leadership Lesson from The Super Bowl
February 6th, 2017 by Diane SchwartzAs the Super Bowl went into overtime and the Patriots took the lead and won the Vince Lombardi Trophy, my husband looked over at me and did not say “Wow, that was amazing!” Nor did… Continued
How Brands Can Use Social Media and The Personal Touch to Prepare For and React to Crisis
February 6th, 2017 by Seth ArensteinUncertainty could be one of the handmaidens of crisis. So you can imagine the mood in Washington, D.C., as a new administration transitions into the White House. Presidential transitions often are bumpy, even when the new administration is from the incumbent’s party (think the balky path from the Reagan White House to the Bush team in 1989). The phones of brand communicators and PR firms alike are ringing a lot at the moment. Many of the calls are about crisis or potential crisis. As such, we asked communicators who will be speaking at PR News’ Crisis Management Boot Camp in Huntington Beach later this month for best practices to prepare for and react to crisis.
Monterey Bay Aquarium’s PR Chief Sounds Warning for Organizations With No Crisis Plan
February 2nd, 2017 by Steve GoldsteinThis still-young year has felt like a midtown traffic scrum of competing, colliding crises, stoked by the overheated engine of a new presidential administration. Brands are nervously checking Twitter, seeing if the president has mentioned… Continued