Avoiding reputation management issues while discussing social change In the midst of widespread demands for change across America and around the globe, many brands are shifting tones in their marketing efforts to share with powerful messages of support for the Black Lives Matter movement. It’s a welcome sight, but it’s …
Five Crisis Communications #Fails for 2020
Posted on: 28, May 20
Avoid these #fail behaviors if you want to stay out of #crisiscomms trouble It’s the year 2020 and yet, sadly, some organizations and individuals seem to still be living 10 to 20 years in the past in terms of crisis communications best practices. Here are five ways in which they …
What is Crisis Management and Why Do We Need A Plan? — The Expert’s Guide
Posted on: 20, May 20
What is Crisis Management and Why Do We Need A Plan? — The Expert’s Guide Learn what crisis management is, why you need a plan, and the key ingredients that will help you survive Defining Crisis Management Crisis management is defined as the process undertaken by any organization to prevent, …
Managing a Crisis During a Crisis
Posted on: 22, Apr 20
Managing a Crisis During a Crisis What happens if a second crisis hits when you’re already facing another? [Editor’s note: This guest post from our colleague and BCM team member Tim Scerba digs into a topic many businesses are hoping to avoid confronting in the midst of all the coronavirus …
Marketing During A Pandemic (Without Creating Crises)
Posted on: 16, Apr 20
Protecting your reputation is critical when marketing and advertising [Editor’s note: We’ve all seen some seriously tone-deaf marketing messages going out as everyone works to cope with the coronavirus pandemic, so we thought this reminder from PR and marketing expert Megan Licursi was quite timely.] Advertising during today’s pandemic can …
Coronavirus and the Permanently Changed Face of 21st Century Crisis Management
Posted on: 14, Apr 20
The face of 21st Century crisis management has been permanently changed, for worse and for better, by the coronavirus threat. We have always preached the idea of preparing for the worst while hoping for the best. The reality is that most organizations don’t fully prepare for the worst cases, …
Words Matter! Use the right ones.
Posted on: 06, Apr 20
[Editor’s note: This guest post from crisis pro Janie Jordan highlights the importance of avoiding negative language in your crisis communications. While it’s more natural for many people to use words like don’t, not, won’t, or can’t when describing situations, substituting more positive or at least neutral ways to …
5 Reasons To Call A Crisis Management Consultant Today
Posted on: 31, Mar 20
Do you need a professional opinion? While it’s an established best practice to make crisis management a part of day-to-day business, we know the reality is that not everyone has room on their plate to truly make it a priority every single day. That said, it’s important to remember there’s …
Make Internal Communication Your First Priority For COVID-19 Crisis Management
Posted on: 26, Mar 20
[Editor’s note: This post was originally published on Bernstein Crisis Management team member Jon Harmon’s Strategic Comms blog, and he was kind enough to allow us to reprint this important open letter to senior leaders in every sector that addresses why the COVID-19 coronavirus concerns mean you should be …
COVID-19 crisis management: Preventing and responding to system flaws
Posted on: 20, Mar 20
Preventing issues where you can Unprecedented volumes of email are slowing servers and crashing some systems. Customer service lines for many businesses are completely overwhelmed no matter how well staffed they thought they were. Websites are crashing, running erratically, and otherwise not performing as usual as a result of extremely …
Coronavirus Crisis Management: Aw CRAP… where do we go from here?
Posted on: 13, Mar 20
Aw CRAP… where do we go from here? [Editor’s note: Our colleague and seasoned crisis expert Jeff Chatterton was kind enough to allow us to reprint this timely piece, the title of which echoes what’s being said in boardrooms and living rooms the world over. With COVID-19 making major impact …
4 More Tips For Being A Better Crisis Management Consultant
Posted on: 09, Mar 20
Looking to improve your crisis management consulting skills? Take these 4 tips to heart. We find that people who gravitate towards crisis management – as we so often say, “whether it’s in your job description or not” – have a thirst for learning, regardless of whether they’re looking to break …
Freakout Crisis Management: The Wrong Way to Respond to COVID-19
Posted on: 25, Feb 20
Freaking out is not a crisis management plan Headless chickens running amok appear to be in charge of many organizations – including media outlets – in response to the spread of COVID-19 globally and its imminent status as a pandemic. Freakout Crisis Management is not an effective means of responding …
Do Your Crisis Management Firefighters Practice Their Skills?
Posted on: 19, Feb 20
Planning is important, but plans require practice to be used properly in a crisis Imagine you came upon a firefighting team just arrived at the scene of a fire, all milling around with leaders shouting conflicting orders, firefighters not recalling how to properly set up and use their equipment, and …
Death By Committee
Posted on: 10, Feb 20
How Some Well-Intentioned Meetings Increase the Risk of Crises Committees can be very useful for hearing different points of view, working out details of plans, and building consensus. Committees can also be the inadvertent cause of completely preventable crises and/or exacerbate the damage from unpreventable crises. I remember around the …