Crisis Management Case Study: Miami Dolphins Bullying

Erik Bernstein crisis communication, crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, PR, public relations, reputation management, sports crisis management 1 Comment

Ugly voicemail sparks full-fledged investigation of bullying complaints The NFL’s Miami Dolphins are in full-on crisis management mode following revelations of excessive bullying of rookie players by veterans on the team. The situation came to light after rookie lineman Jonathan Martin left the team, citing mental issues caused by veteran …

Reputation is Your Most Valuable Asset

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Erik Bernstein, internet reputation management, Jonathan Bernstein, online crisis management, PR, public relations, reputation management, social media reputation management, strategic reputation management Leave a Comment

Without a strong reputation, your organization is in serious trouble We have a saying that is core to our crisis management, and really, business as a whole, philosophy – “your reputation is your most valuable asset.” Never has this been more true than in the past few years, and as …

Lululemon’s CEO: The Nightmare Spokesperson

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, media crisis management, media relations, media training, public relations, reputation management 1 Comment

We don’t envy the crisis management team in this case Some people simply should not act as spokesperson for your organization. Unfortunately, when that person is your CEO, dissuading them from granting interviews may be difficult at best. Lululemon’s CEO Chip Wilson landed his company, which is still in recovery …

2Day FM Chairman’s Crisis Communications Fail

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

[Editor’s note: Thank you to our friend and colleague, Issue Outcomes’ Tony Jaques for bringing this story that’s burning up the headlines overseas to our attention.] “Shit happens” should not be in your vocabulary when it comes to crisis communication The chairman of a large firm should, in theory, be …

Jonathan Bernstein’s Crisis Management Advice for the Catholic Church

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

Step one: stop lying. The Catholic Church just can’t seem to figure out how to deal with the seemingly endless stream of sexual abuse cases involving clergymen. Of course, as Bernstein Crisis Management President Jonathan Bernstein revealed in an interview with columnist Ruben Rosario of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, …

Facebook’s Latest Privacy Change and You

Jonathan Bernstein crisis management, Crisis Prevention, Erik Bernstein, Facebook, internet crisis management, internet reputation management, Jonathan Bernstein, online crisis management, online reputation management, reputation management, social media Leave a Comment

Make sure you know who can see your posts! Have you been using the “Who can look up your Timeline by name?” setting on Facebook to keep your online actions hidden away from employers and coworkers? If you are, Facebook has an announcement for you; this setting is being removed! …

Social Media Crisis Management: Don’t Drink and Post

Jonathan Bernstein crisis management, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Erik Bernstein, internet reputation management, Jonathan Bernstein, online crisis management, online reputation management, PR, public relations, reputation management, social media, social media crisis management, social media reputation management Leave a Comment

Should you really even need to be told? Most people wouldn’t hold a press conference or shareholder meeting after spending a few hours at the bar, yet for some reason many of those same people feel strangely comfortable sharing to social media when they’re in the midst of tying one …

Constant Contact Doesn’t Live Up to Its Name

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Venting after a pair of poor customer service experiences What do you do when a paid service you’ve used for years decides customer service isn’t a priority? In the past the answer may have been wading past multiple levels of rage-inducing robotic phone services or digging through directories to find …

Sober Honor Student Punished for Driving Drunk Friend Home

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

Blindly following policy is asking for a crisis management mishap We’ve discussed before how a refusal, or inability, to flex your policies in special circumstances can create crisis management issues for organizations, and now yet another example has reared its head, this time in Massachusetts. 17-year-old Erin Cox, honor student …

Wake Up Walmart!

Jonathan Bernstein crisis avoidance, crisis management, Crisis Prevention, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, PR, public relations, reputation management 2 Comments

The products you choose to carry can create serious crisis management issues Walmart may want to put its buyers through some crisis management training after a couple of Halloween-related fails made headlines recently, starting with the retail giant being blasted for carrying a rubber  “Dead Dog Prop” made to look …

L.A.’s DWP – How NOT to Handle the Media

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

Communicating with media is a crucial crisis management skill Once upon a time, the thing to do when you came under scrutiny was batten down the hatches and avoid discussing the matter altogether. We’ve long since moved past that school of thought, but unfortunately many organizations insist on doing things …

Crisis Management Musts: Plan for Cyber Attacks

Erik Bernstein computer security, crisis avoidance, crisis management, Crisis Prevention, Crisis Response, cyber threats, Cyberheist, cybersecurity, Erik Bernstein, hackers, hacking, internet crisis management, internet security, Jonathan Bernstein 1 Comment

It’s no longer a question of “if”, but “when” you will face an online attack Convinced your data is secure because you’re using a phrase password from your favorite book or movie, something like, “Call me Ishmael?” Think again! Ars Technica’s Dan Goodin reports: For the first time, the freely …

UM and Missoula Still Making Crisis Management Mistakes

Erik Bernstein crisis management, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, higher ed, Jonathan Bernstein, PR, reputation management 1 Comment

Errors become far less forgivable when you make them time and time again… The University of Montana, and especially its football program, have been making negative news for a couple years now. In fact, there had been so many alleged sexual assaults and other misconduct by student athletes, and so …

Crisis Management Lessons from Tsunami Study

Erik Bernstein crisis management, crisis planning, crisis preparation, crisis preparedness, Crisis Prevention, Crisis Response, disaster crisis management, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein Leave a Comment

A reminder to plan for “rare, but predictable” crises If a monster earthquake struck off Alaska’s coast, tsunami waves would rush toward California, crippling the nation’s busiest port complex and flooding coastal communities, a report released Wednesday suggests. The potential impacts, based on a hypothetical magnitude-9.1 jolt off the Alaskan …

Crisis Management Musts: Media Trained Leadership

Erik Bernstein crisis communication, crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, media crisis management, media relations, media training, PR, public relations, reputation management, school crisis management, strategic reputation management Leave a Comment

If you’re not ready to be the face of your organization, don’t take the helm When you’re the face of your organization, you need to understand how to interact with the media. It doesn’t matter if you’re CEO of a corporation, captain of a football team, or, as in the …