Legal, Meet Social Media

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

It pays to have everyone on the same page when it comes to crisis management Crisis management professionals and legal teams have historically had a relationship full of clashes, with one wanting to communicate profusely and the other seeing new legal threats emerge with every spoken word. Now that social …

Red Cross UK Disaster Challenge

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, crisis preparation, Crisis Prevention, Crisis Response, disaster response, red cross 2 Comments

Extreme crisis management exercises It’s one thing to armchair quarterback when someone else is handling a disaster, but could you actually get down and dirty to tackle crisis management in real time? That’s what the Red Cross’ UK Disaster Challenge is all about. Constructed by real Red Cross emergency responders, …

The Modern Smash N Grab

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

Crisis management for a thoroughly modern crime The corporate hack attacks perpetrated by the Anonymous collective are certainly not the first of their kind.  However, the fact that the group gained access to unprecedented levels of information, penetrated top-tier government and corporate systems, and boldly claimed responsibility caught the attention …

Kenyan Chief’s Twitter Crisis Management

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

Fighting crime with social media His Twitter account is so popular that, he says, even the thieves in his village follow him. One night his phone rang at 4am warning him that thieves were invading a school teacher’s house. He tweeted the message – and within minutes, villagers had gathered …

The Ryan Braun Saga: Part Two

Erik Bernstein communications, crisis communications, crisis expert, crisis management, crisis preparation, crisis preparedness, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, crisis training, issues management, litigation-related PR, media training, PR, public relations, reputation management, strategic reputation management Leave a Comment

The following is a guest article from frequent contributor and director of crisis communications for Triad Strategies, Rick Kelly. If you missed Part One of this story, head here first. The Ryan Braun Saga: Part Two We who practice crisis communications for a living are intimately and sometimes painfully familiar …

Crisis Management at Claire’s

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

Don’t go corporate in a crisis The blog post came Wednesday. Tatty Devine, a handmade jewelry company in England, posted photos of its own designs next to designs sold at international affordable jewelry retailer Claire’s. The response was explosive. More than 200 people commented before Tatty Devine closed the comments, …

Get the Right Story Out

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

Does Inaccurate Information Require Crisis Management? If information is not accurate does a company still need to address it? The answer is a resounding “yes”. The days of ignoring something and hoping it goes away are long gone. Today, if an issue is ignored it is considered true until proven …

What To Do When People Hate You

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

Use negative attention to create positive content When Ragan.com went looking for comment from companies on 24/7 Wall Street’s most-hated companies in America list, seven of ten either declined to comment or literally didn’t respond. Writer Matt Wilson asked several crisis management professionals why this might be, and BCM president …

The First 24 Hours

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

Sometimes you can’t prevent a crisis The combination of social media influence and a breakneck media cycle has made the first 24 hours after a crisis breaks more critical than ever. On March 1, Jonathan Bernstein will present, “Communicating in Crisis: The First 24 Hours,” a Communitelligence webinar. Focusing on …

Loose Lips

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

Don’t sink your own ship! Never interrupt your elders. 60 Minutes last night aired an interview with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. Correspondent Leslie Stahl was questioning the Congressman about the need for bi-partisan cooperation and said even Cantor’s hero, Ronald Reagan, compromised and raised taxes. At that point, Cantor’s …

Improve Your Credibility

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

Lose people’s trust, and you lose it all. Credibility is everything when it comes to business and reputation. If people can believe what you say about yourself or your product, then you’ll have an easy time selling. Start lying, however, and you throw that right in the garbage. If a …

FedEx Gets Crisis Management Right

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

High marks for reputation management via YouTube Early last month, FedEx came under fire when video of a deliveryman literally hurling a computer monitor over a customer’s fence went viral. Although the video drew millions of hits almost instantly, FedEx’s crisis management team wasn’t far behind. Taking the sage path …

Crisis Management 101: Assess the Reaction to What You Do

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

We saw just how well quickly implemented changes work with Bank of America’s recent debit card fee debacle, but obviously leadership at the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation didn’t catch the memo before sparking its own crisis management situation. The people have spoken, though, and following a massive …

Get Your Story Straight

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

Lying is a slippery slope Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray wrecked his state-owned Crown Victoria sedan on November 2nd. Initially Murray said he was driving within the speed limit and wearing a seat belt when he hit some black ice. According to the Boston Globe Murray said he was out …

Emergency Business Check-Up

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, crisis preparation, Crisis Prevention, Crisis Response, disaster management, disaster preparedness, disaster response, public relations Leave a Comment

The following is a very helpful mailing from FEMA, which has dramatically improved its communications since the Katrina debacle. It’s January and Time for Your Business Emergency Check-Up! Hello from the FEMA Private Sector Representative Desk! Before the holidays we sent you a message introducing me as the new FEMA-PSR, …