Anyone in crisis management will tell you, headlines don't always tell the whole story.
Sharing this month's most popular content and crisis management insights.
Volume XXIII | March 28, 2022
Just A Thought...
"Today's headlines and history's judgement are rarely the same."
— Condoleezza Rice, former U.S. Secretary of State
From The Editor
Twisty Twirly Headlines
Working in crisis management means constantly struggling to have reporters cover your clients in a fair and complete fashion. This is particularly true when it comes to headlines, many of which fall firmly into the "clickbait" category today. Take the recent coverage of an (admittedly uncool) internal email from an Applebee's franchise group exec encouraging managers of the stores they owned to take advantage of the current economy to hire workers at lower hourly rates.
Like I said, not cool. Here's my point though - check out a couple examples of headlines for coverage of this story from major media outlets...
Applebees Exec: High Gas Prices Mean We Can Pay Lower Wages. (Inc.)
Skyrocketing gas prices are an ‘advantage’ that could be used to pay employees less, Applebee’s exec says. (Fortune)
Applebee's exec says high gas prices could help them cut wages. (CBS News)
PR experts on how Applebee’s can recoup trust after backlash from exec’s leaked email. (The Drum)
Applebee's actually came out quickly against the message, telling the Kansas City Star that, “He doesn’t have the authority to create policy for our company for the brand or anything. ... Maybe he wrote it in the middle of the night. I don’t know,” going on to elaborate with, ”The main message here is that this in absolutely no way, shape, or form speaks to our policies or our culture, or anything like that with our brand.”
Within days this executive, who, again, worked at a franchise group which owned Applebee's locations, not AT or FOR Applebee's itself in any way, was sacked, yet these headlines remain to damage the reputation of the brand as a whole. This isn't a one-off, but a pattern that's repeated in various forms every single day for hundreds of brands.
Sometimes outrage-induced pressure on brands is a result of their direct actions or choices, sometimes it happens as a result of something completely outside of their control. Quick reaction from Applebee's corporate stopped this one from spiraling into a long-term disaster, but there's no denying there was significant reputation damage done.
While it's tempting to think that a major, headline-creating, protest-inducing crisis can't happen to your brand, pretending it's impossible is a quick road to reputation regrets. If, "Misbehavior By A Franchisee or Outside Representative" isn't a category in your crisis management plan (or if you don't have a plan at all!) now might be the time to get to work.
This Should Be The Year Of Crisis Preparedness For Your Brand
Are you waiting until you have a crisis to put together a plan? Experts agree that preparing, planning, and training are the best ways to reduce the chances you have a problem at all, and save you serious money if you run into one you can't avoid. [Read More]
Shell’s Apology For Purchasing Russian Oil During Ukraine Crisis
Shell joined the still-growing list of companies being reluctantly pushed into apologies for doing business with Russia during the early days of the Ukraine invasion after critics showed exactly how reputation connects to stock price today. [Read More]
Want to Learn More About Crisis Management Services? Our Experts Are Ready To Help
We offer a free no-obligation consultation to anyone who would like to discuss their needs or learn more about how BCM's four phases of crisis management - planning, training, simulation and response - can better protect their organization in a world where the outrage machine makes headlines every day.
Bernstein Crisis Management is a specialized firm dedicated, since January 1994, to providing rapid, highly effective strategies for preventing and managing crisis situations that harm people, property, business continuity, reputation and the financial bottom line. We guide our clients through every step of the crisis management process, from preparation to response, and are available 24/7 for assistance. Our more than 30 years of experience assisting clients worldwide makes us an absolute authority on preventing and responding to crisis situations.
Unlike most public relations firms that only offer crisis management as a side practice, we’re specialists.
By exclusively focusing on the full spectrum of services needed to prevent and/or mitigate crisis situations, we set ourselves apart from the competition. Company founder Jonathan Bernstein started the first international email newsletter on the topic of crisis management, which now reaches readers in 75 countries, and his article, “The 10 Steps of Crisis Communications” has received some 400,000 mentions online and has been reprinted in more than 20 languages. Our experts are also regular sources for popular media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Entrepreneur, CNN, BBC and CGTN, and have been published in hundreds of articles.
To meet the Bernstein Crisis Management team, click here.
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