Get Prepped for Crisis Management

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

Is your crisis prevention plan ready? There are many analogies that can apply to crisis management, but we particularly liked a recent post by Rachel Hedstrom, APR The Gentry Agency. on the LiveProcess blog that compared the process to a workout plan. WARM UP Getting your ducks in a row before …

AAA’s Wrong Way Crisis Management

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, customer service, public relations, reputation management Leave a Comment

Dishonest promotion causes reputation damage We’re always fans of businesses using charitable-type events or offers to promote their reputations. Run things the wrong way though, and you’ll find yourself in crisis management mode instead of reaping in the praise. When AAA announced its “Tipsy Tow” service for New Years Eve, …

You Might Be a Crisis Manager If…

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, crisis public relations, public relations 2 Comments

Jeff Foxworthy, eat your heart out. It’s easy to make jokes about rednecks. Try making jokes about crisis management! The Foxworthy influence MIGHT just be recognized in the one-liners that follow. I invite readers to add their own via blog comments. Please note that when you do so, you’re giving me …

Take Shelter!

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, crisis preparation, Crisis Response, social media 2 Comments

Social media scare in Jersey The unfamiliar noise from Jaclyn Boruch’s cell phone startled her. She reflexively grabbed it. What she saw next scared her. In bold red letters were the words “CMAS Alert” followed by “Civil Emergency in this area until 1:24 PM EST Take Shelter Now U.S. Govern.”  …

Did Someone Break the Delete Button?

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, public relations, reputation management, social media Leave a Comment

Sometimes the right crisis response is to delete Retailer Lowe’s is in the midst of a social media breakdown, as thousands of racist comments flood a post on their Facebook page explaining why it’s pulled advertising from the TLC show, “All American Muslim.” Media across the country caught wind of …

PayPal Loves Cats, Hates People

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

Weak crisis response leads to reputation damage Early last week, PayPal found itself on the receiving end of a Facebook beat down when it suddenly put a halt to the “Secret Santa” charity drive being run by Regretsy.com (careful, content is NSFW at times) because they had used the wrong …

What’s Your Reputation Worth?

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, crisis preparation, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, public relations, reputation management 2 Comments

Putting a price on complacence Mismanaging your reputation is almost guaranteed to cost big bucks, yet even multi-billion dollar organizations tend to gloss over this crucial part of crisis management. The main reason corporate execs offer is that they believe the results of an investment in reputation management “can’t be …

Again…Shut the Hell Up

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

Last month, we featured Rick Kelly’s article about Jerry Sandusky’s crisis communications, “When Shut the Hell Up is the Best Advice.” Unfortunately for them, it looks like Sandusky’s camp missed this piece, because now his lawyer’s the one offering up quotes that place more than a little cause for doubt …

E-Reporters

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

It’s not just the pros anymore …the definition of “the media” has changed. Today, anyone with a smartphone and YouTube is a TV journalist. Anyone with a smartphone and Facebook is a photojournalist. Anyone with a laptop and a blog is a newspaper reporter. The citizen journalist is the person …

Convincing the C-Suite

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

Convincing doubtful execs is easier than it seems Crises of reputation and operation happen every day, yet for some reason one of the most daunting tasks facing those assigned with crisis management is to get a budget that will actually cover the costs involved. In a recent interview with Ragan’s …

When "Shut the Hell Up" is the Best Advice

Jonathan Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Response, reputation management Leave a Comment

The entire Sandusky/Penn State situation continues to capture national attention not only because it is one of the worst college scandals in history, but also for the spectacularly bad crisis management strategy of those involved. In this guest piece from crisis management pro Rick Kelly, originally posted at the Triad …

The Shape of Crisis Communication

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

How much has the game changed? The rise of social media was said by some to indicate the beginning of a reclusive state, where communication was done from our individual devices while everyone stayed at home, or in the office. While it’s true that most of us have our nose …

Watch Your Step with Social Media

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

Get prepared before trouble finds you As social media becomes more and more prevalent in our lives, so too do social media based crises. Just looking at the pages of this blog you’ll find story after story of runaway Twitter posts and customer-alienating Facebook gaffes. How, then, does the novice …

He Wrote WHAT?

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

Hot tempered exec crosses the line We’ve seen crises caused by errant emails, we’ve seen crises caused by potty-mouthed execs, but throw both of those at a blogger that has well over 100,000 followers and you’ve got a truly spectacular mess on your hands. Check out this quote about the …

BofA Skips Crisis Management 101

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

Poor preparation results in reputation damage Bank of America caused a major uproar early this month when it announced that the majority of its customers will be charged $5 per month for debit card use. The reasoning behind this, at least according to BofA, is that new regulations have raised …