Rewarding Failure

Jonathan Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, crisis preparation, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, reputation management Leave a Comment

Thoughtless communication brings negative attention Remember the big oil spill last year in the Gulf of Mexico? I’m guessing your answer is yes. And, because our collective answer to that question is yes, Transocean Ltd. created a PR problem for itself when it claimed in an SEC filing last week …

Restaurants Clean Up Their Acts

Jonathan Bernstein crisis communication, crisis communications, crisis management, crisis preparation, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, reputation management Leave a Comment

Applebees and Olive Garden must take thorough steps to clean up reputations Two of the juiciest stories of the past couple weeks have involved Applebees and Olive Garden serving alcohol to small children. For Applebees, the incident was especially damaging to its reputation because a similar incident just last year. …

Just Admit It

Jonathan Bernstein crisis communication, crisis management, crisis preparation, Crisis Prevention, Crisis Response, reputation management Leave a Comment

Own your mistakes or risk a crisis  If a blogger or reporter publishes genuinely libelous statements and refuses to retract them, then pursuing legal action can force the issue in your favor. If you’ve done wrong though, then you have no choice but to own up and make it right, …

Major Mistake at Applebees

Jonathan Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, crisis preparation, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, reputation management 3 Comments

Crisis management lax following incident This past Friday, Applebees restaurants encountered a world of trouble when employees at one of its Detroit area locations allegedly served tequila mixed with apple juice to a 15-month-old child in, and this is the kicker, the child’s own sippy cup! While it’s very possible …

Edano Aces Media Relations

Jonathan Bernstein crisis communication, crisis management, crisis preparation, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, disaster management, media relations, media training Leave a Comment

Savvy crisis communication wins trust of the people  Japanese Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano has been doing crisis management for the country starting mere hours after the brutal earthquake of March 11. Edano has put on a clinic since then, exemplifying the ideal spokesman through what was surely extreme stress, as …

Chrysler’s Social Media Crisis Management

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Strong crisis communication prevents trouble for automaker As social media opens up new communication and crisis management avenues, it also presents new dangers. One of the most common types of trouble that comes to companies using social media is inappropriate postings by employees. Auto giant Chrysler found this out first …

The Extra Step

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Nothing beats a personal touch It’s been a long time since merely issuing a press release was considered adequate communication. These days, taking only that meager measure is almost inviting crisis, as criticism is bound to follow. BCM President Jonathan Bernstein recently addressed this issue in a Fox Sports article …

Be The Source

Jonathan Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, crisis preparation, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, reputation management, social media Leave a Comment

Take charge of communication You always want to be the primary source of information in a crisis. The best way to do this in today’s climate of near-instantaneous communication is to answer stakeholders’ questions before they’re ever asked, a crisis management tactic described here in a quote from a Mashable …

Google Does Crisis Management Right

Jonathan Bernstein crisis management, crisis preparation, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, reputation management Leave a Comment

Simple communication pays off Google has received even more attention than usual (if that’s possible for a page that welcomes millions of users daily) due to a series of articles investigating flaws in its ranking system. While theories abound as to who is behind this sudden influx of attention, it …

Crisis Communication

Jonathan Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, crisis preparation, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, reputation management, social media Leave a Comment

Give the people want they want While communication will fall flat on its face without actions to back it up, in the immediate aftermath of a crisis the first thing the public wants is information. In a recent post on the LawFirmsPR blog, my colleague, crisis communication expert Rich Klein, …

Preparing for the Unthinkable

Jonathan Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, crisis preparation, reputation management Leave a Comment

Japan faces overwhelming need for crisis management The catastrophic impact of last Friday’s quake and tsunami in Japan shows that even the very best preparation can be overwhelmed by violent and unpredictable events of this magnitude. Japan has a well-drilled population, strict building regulations and some of the most extensive …

The Right Message

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Everyone needs to be on the same page when it comes to crisis communication It’s not always possible to limit crisis communications responsibilities to one person, which can create damaging situations if everyone isn’t on message. This was evidenced after White House staffers gave varied responses to questions regarding the …

Speak Carefully

Jonathan Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, crisis preparation, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, reputation management Leave a Comment

Choose your words carefully or your reputation will suffer Merrie Spaeth’s BIMBO Awards are a constant reminder of the power that words carry and the danger of using them without thinking. The latest edition of the BIMBOs features a medley of examples, including this outstanding one: “The crisis was not …

Reputation Rehab

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Designer heads to rehab after rant in bar Fashion designer John Galliano is the latest high-profile person to be captured on film making a complete ass of himself and embarrassing his employer, Christian Dior, in the process. Already cut from the Dior team, Galliano is headed straight to rehab for …