Hurricane Matthew recently taught millions of Americans a lesson they should have long-since learned: that it is dangerous to live or work on the coast. Of course, telling coastal dwellers this is like telling Kansans that it’s dangerous to live in Tornado Ally – or a Los Angelino that it can be unhealthy to live on a fault line.
Crisis Management
How to Plan For Every Crisis You Can Anticipate, and Why You Should Now
November 7th, 2016 by Ned BarnettBrands Weathering the Political Storm: Staying on Message in a Charged, Angry Cultural Climate
November 7th, 2016 by Seth ArensteinIn case you’ve been studiously avoiding all forms of media surrounding the run-up to this week’s election, the atmosphere has become politically charged in the past few months. Brands are advised to raise their shields. As we noted a few weeks back, Bisquick attempted to inject gluten-laden levity into the second presidential debate, asking the Twitterverse innocuously if it would “vote” for a pancake or a waffle. Social media winced, urging Bisquick to back off on the funny stuff during such an important moment. “Get off my Twitter feed, Bisquick,” roared one disgruntled tweeter, representing the consensus.
Starbucks’ ‘Unity’ Cup a Tempest in a Coffee Pot
November 2nd, 2016 by Ian James WrightStarbucks released a new cup design to celebrate community Nov. 1, and in a very much precedented turn of events, people are upset about it. A misperception that this is the 2016 design for Starbucks’ annual holiday cup plus a side of political baggage has made for some heated Twitter commentary.
Crisis Lessons From Down Under: Ardent Leisure’s Theme Park Tragedy
November 1st, 2016 by Seth ArensteinThere are so many lessons for brands and brand communicators to learn from the awful mishap in Australia late last month. It vies with Wells Fargo for one of the poorest performances during a crisis, ensuring its enshrinement in PR textbooks and classrooms for years to come.
Jared’s Crisis Lingers Over Subway
October 25th, 2016 by Seth ArensteinThere’s an old joke about why it’s good to use a credit card when you dine out. The punchline is that you can eat today and delay getting indigestion for four weeks, when your charge… Continued
Forget Anything You Learned About Crisis Communications
October 24th, 2016 by Seth ArensteinAn infographic illustrating how quickly crises can move, spread around the globe and ruin a brand’s reputation.
9 Great Ideas From Award-Winning Communicators
October 21st, 2016 by Diane SchwartzBrands, in an effort to get out a shareable tweet or a super-likeable post, are often caught in a daily trap of shallow engagement with its communities. Your stakeholders — humans just like you and… Continued
How PR Pros Can Anticipate Crises at Their Own Organization
October 20th, 2016 by Seth ArensteinThere’s good news and bad news when it comes to managing crises in the digital era. On the upside, brands are able to reach their stakeholders directly via social, yet digital tech spreads word of crises, accurate or not. The five minutes that Warren Buffett once said it takes to ruin a reputation is no longer the case. It’s now been reduced to the time it takes someone to create a Facebook post.
3 Questions to Ask Before Your Crisis Counterattack
October 17th, 2016 by John RoderickThe public apology is dead. Long live the indignant counterattack. Thanks to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, public figures and corporate chieftains who find themselves on the receiving end of scrutiny by media or other actors may no longer need to recite painfully scripted statements with stoic spouses standing by their sides. They just need to fight back.
The Week in PR
October 17th, 2016 by Seth ArensteinA wrap-up of the week’s top PR stories, trends and personnel announcements. This week’s edition includes stories about Wells Fargo and its ousted CEO John Stumpf, EpiPen maker Mylan agreeing to pay a fine for underpaying on rebates to government medical authorities and Bisquick’s tone-deaf Twitter comments.