There have been at least two major structural changes in how and why the media cover companies: the first is related to the rise of shareholder coalitions, and the second is the continued advance of Internet-based communications. These two trends are catching many in top management by surprise. Organized labor, …
Often, it appears that the media has a double standard when it comes to what is deemed newsworthy. When the person involved is a celebrity, athlete, or some other polarizing figure, what would normally not even be a blip on the radar suddenly becomes the target of a media blitz. …
This past week saw American Airlines suffering through a slew of bad press as a result of a stewardess, who clearly needed a mental health day, berating a passenger for asserting that he was indeed allowed to have orange juice as a part of his first class package. This quote …
Tiger Wood’s fall from grace has also revealed an oxymoronic weakness in technology outsourcing and consulting firm Accenture, which just dropped Woods as both its primary endorser and brand symbol. A current Ad Age article explains: If only the $23 billion consulting giant could have brought in outside help to …
Tiger Wood’s crisis management, or lack thereof, has been the subject of intense scrutiny and criticism since his car accident early November 27. Since then he has mostly allowed others to control his story, and, as we often tell our readers, that is one of the biggest mistakes anyone can …
Regardless of whether your organization is a small business or a multi-national corporation, planning how to prevent and respond to crises can greatly reduce their impact. An article from the O&P Business News which prominently quotes Bernstein Crisis Management President Jonathan Bernstein, has more to say on the subject: Preparing …
Merrie Spaeth’s Bimbo Awards are always good for a look at what not to do when you find yourself in need of some crisis management, and this month she found some real doozies in the media, including this one, which she (very appropriately) placed in her “Wrong Things to Say” …
While the onset of a crisis can be devastating, it will only hurt your business further if you develop tunnel vision and put a halt to everything in order to handle the issue. This quote from part three of a five-part blog series by The Wordmonger, a professional PR group, …
Recently, Mary Martinez was told that it was illegal to breastfeed her baby by security guards inside of a Michigan Target store. When she refused to leave, store security called the local police, who confirmed that what the woman was doing was 100% legal. While both of these acts were …
Technology has an ever-growing presence in crisis management, making it possible to take control of situations in ways never before imagined. The cell phone has been key in greatly enhancing communications, but if you are not properly prepared then the expectation that anyone, anywhere can be contacted at a moments …
[Here’s a guest commentary from Andrew Gilman, President & CEO, CommCore Consulting] The nearly-famous (will they soon become infamous?) Michaele and Tareq Salahi, the Virginia reality-TV aspiring couple who crashed the White House state dinner last week, present crisis communications challenges for a number of parties (sic). Start with, but …
One important lesson for crisis managers is that the news media demand a “shorthand” way of identifying any story, and a company brand is a very convenient option, especially in a crisis. Witness the “BP Texas Fire”, the “Tylenol disaster”, the “Intel Pentium chip” failure, and the “Firestone tyre” scandal. …
In the first two years after the term “Swine Flu” was used to describe the illness that mutated and jumped to humans from pigs, the U.S. Pork Industry suffered losses estimated to be in excess of $5 billion. This despite the reality that what came to be known more frequently …
We’ve just uploaded a brand new Crisis Manager newsletter to our website! This issue features an article by BCM President Jonathan Bernstein, which uses the negative effects swine flu has had on businesses as a launching point to discuss ways to prevent consumers making decisions about your product based on …
Toronto Star sports columnist Dave Feechuk did a nice job of getting a cross-section of perspectives on Tiger Woods’ driving mishap in a piece today called “Tiger Hurt by Bunker Mentality.” Quoted me accurately, too (thanks Dave, always appreciated!). One of my comments that didn’t make the cut for the …
