Effective crisis management minimizes disruption and protects both reputation and the financial bottom line.
The Mechanics of Effective Crisis Management: Navigating Challenges with Precision
Posted on: 05, Sep 23
5 Puzzling Aspects of Media Relations
Posted on: 19, Jan 23
Through our media training and crisis communications work we’ve found 5 puzzling aspects to media relations that most people don’t know.
Why This Should Be The Year Of Crisis Preparedness For Your Brand
Posted on: 07, Mar 22
Would you be ready if you needed crisis management today? While we’re seeing more interest in crisis planning and preparedness work than ever, it’s a simple fact that most organizations out there are not prepared to face a fully fledged, all-hands-on-deck, act-now-or-incur-serious-damage, crisis management situation. Some have no formal plan …
Avoiding the Legal Response Syndrome
Posted on: 16, Aug 20
[Editor’s note: Australian crisis expert Dr. Tony Jaques has just published a new book which addresses the challenge of how to balance legal and communication advice when a crisis strikes: Crisis Counsel: Navigating legal and communication Conflict (Rothstein 2020). In this extract, he introduces the idea of what he …
Managing a Crisis During a Crisis
Posted on: 22, Apr 20
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 issues – what happens when you’re …
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, …
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 …
A Different Take On Peloton’s PR
Posted on: 10, Dec 19
Our crisis management consultants share their takeaways from this outrage outbreak You’ve undoubtedly already seen coverage related to Peloton, maker of high end exercise bikes and treadmills, becoming the first brand to draw the internet’s ire in the 2019 holiday season. While pundits have been furiously drawing lines in the …
Why Crisis Management Best Practices Matter To You
Posted on: 05, Nov 19
Ever since the early days of Bernstein Crisis Management we’ve referred to much of what we share with readers as, “for all crisis managers, whether it’s in their job description or not”. While we know most of the folks who wind up on our site are wearing other hats in …
Boeing: “Sorry” Doesn’t Have To Be The Hardest Word
Posted on: 23, Apr 19
[While there’s absolutely a need to take care when dealing with issues involving major risk of litigation, sometimes the situation demands a clear, “We’re sorry”. In this guest post, reputation and crisis expert Mark Story asks why it was those words Boeing battled to avoid saying in the face …
Don’t Let Good Attorneys Make Bad News Worse
Posted on: 18, Apr 19
[Editor’s note: The following guest post from Silicon Valley-based writer Leslie Kelsay leverages her previous experience directing strategic and crisis communications to help us understand the unintended consequences that come with over-lawyering a public issue.] Don’t Let Good Attorneys Make Bad News Worse By Leslie Kelsay We get it: …
Crying Wolf Pt. 1 – When a Crisis Really Isn’t
Posted on: 10, Jan 19
[Editor’s note: This compelling blog series comes to us from international crisis management expert and Bernstein Crisis team member Tim Scerba.] When a Crisis Really Isn’t In Aesop’s famous tale, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, a shepherd boy convinces his neighbors that a ferocious wolf is attacking his flock …
What Do You Do When The Media Goes Too Far?
Posted on: 15, Nov 18
This article, written by Bernstein Crisis Management president Jonathan Bernstein, has only grown in relevance since it was written. More often than not when we’re assisting clients with breaking crisis response there are reporters involved, and a worrying percentage of those reporters are willing to go beyond what we’d consider …
Musings on Measuring Corporate Reputation
Posted on: 02, Oct 18
[Editor’s note: We love hearing about how other seasoned experts think. Though methods vary, the minds behind those who have risen to the top of their respective fields are typically incredibly interesting, not to mention containing knowledge anyone can use. To that effect, enjoy this quote from a The Measurement …