Mountain Dew Loses Control, Crisis Management Ensues

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

How did this mess ever get the green light? Late last month, PepsiCo joined the ranks of organizations that went too far with edgy marketing campaigns and were forced into crisis management as a result. The company partnered with controversial rapper and producer Tyler the Creator to produce a new …

Crisis Management for Bystanders

Erik Bernstein crisis management, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, disaster management, disaster preparedness, disaster response, public relations, reputation management Leave a Comment

[Editor’s note: This post from Paul Purcell, Bernstein Crisis Management contractor and author of Disaster Prep 101 – The Ultimate Guide to Emergency Readiness, explains how bystander businesses can lend a hand in the midst of crisis.] On April 15th, the nation witnessed the tragedy of the Boston Marathon bombing, …

Hyundai’s Crisis Management for Suicide Video

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

Always consider the feelings of your audience When it comes to attempts at “edgy” marketing, it’s easy to go too far, creating a self-made crisis. Late last month, Hyundai raced into crisis management mode after an online video featuring its hydrogen fuel cell-powered Hyundai x35 literally brought many viewers to …

Crisis Management Tactics: OOPS! Erroneous Emails

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

Hit that send button too soon? Here’s some advice… With the average person firing off dozens, or even hundreds, of emails per day, you can safely assume that someone in your organization is going to slip up eventually. Whether sending to the wrong recipients, sending too soon, or one of …

Nike’s Coordinated Crisis Management

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

Strong links between departments prevents massive reputation damage In order to best protect reputation, an organization’s different operating units need the ability to coordinate responses, and fast. Last week, Nike gave us a great example of how it works when it raced to pull shirts reading “Boston massacre” from store …

Communication Tips for Tragic Events

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

You can’t continue with messaging “as usual” when things are anything but Throughout the crises past week, we saw examples of both individuals and organizations whose communications made them look uncaring, foolish, or both. That’s why, when we read an excellent article titled, “How to Communicate in the Midst of …

Crisis Management Tactics: Control Your Story

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

Be the source of information and stop damaging rumor and innuendo in their tracks A huge part of successful crisis management is finding, or creating, the opportunity to tell your own story. Why, you might ask? The main reason is that it’s going to be told either way, and if …

Crisis Management in the Pac-12

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

Rumors of impropriety among officials leads to independent investigation The recent reputation crisis in the Pac-12 men’s college basketball conference, sparked by coordinator of officials Ed Rush’s comments that he would give cash or a trip to any official who handed Arizona’s coach a technical foul during the Pac-12 tournament, …

Crisis Management Ostrich Alert for Colleges & Universities

Jonathan Bernstein crisis avoidance strategy, crisis communications, crisis management, crisis planning, crisis preparation, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, internal crisis management, Jonathan Bernstein, public relations, reputation management, risk assessment, school crisis management, strategic reputation management Leave a Comment

You Might Be An Ostrich If….. If you haven’t already initiated an independent investigation to determine whether or not you could be the next Penn State or Rutgers…you might be an ostrich. If you know that something which has happened or is happening on your sports programs could seriously harm …

LEGO’s Crisis Management v. Racism Allegations

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

A Turkish group claims Jabba’s Palace playset creates negative cultural stereotypes, how did Lego respond? Star Wars playsets have long been a part of the Lego brand’s lineup, but one featuring the iconic Jabba the Hutt’s palace recently came under fire from the Turkish Cultural Association of Austria because it …

Social Media Crisis Management in Cairo

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

A single tweet can create serious consequences We’ve examined many cases of organizations landing themselves in need of crisis management as a result of poorly planned tweets, but the latest Twitter dustup may have larger ramifications than rumblings in the court of public opinion. This past Wednesday, the @USEmbassyCairo account …

Crisis Management: Fix it…but don’t Forget

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

Fix it and forget it is great when it comes to cooking, not so much for crisis management. Many organizations, once clear of a crisis situation, simply move on with business as usual. While we understand the urgent need to do the things that bring in money on a daily …

Keep Your Ear to the Ground for Crisis Management

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

Listen up for clues about incoming crises You’ve established crisis management plans and your people are trained. Good to go, right? Well…kind of. Even with excellent preparation, it still takes time to mold messaging specifically to fit the situation, and, especially if you’re a larger organization, to get the green …

A Hot Slice of Crisis Management

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Quick thinking turns crisis into opportunity for Delta Turning lemons into lemonade is an ideal goal of any crisis management effort. The folks at Delta airlines’ Knoxville, Tennessee branch proved they understand that concept perfectly when they satiated a plane full of grumpy, travel-weary customers who had been stranded on …