The Demise of Secrecy

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

A Lesson in Crisis Avoidance [Editor’s note:This is a particularly timely post from Rick Kelly, as Chris Christie joins the ever-swelling ranks of public figures who have fallen from grace (or at least risked it big time) by letting their personal feelings triumph over common sense.] This Sept. 12, 2013 …

Crisis Management Quotables…on Fixing Mistakes

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

From 500 BC to the year 2014, some things only grow more true with time Confucius is a man who needs no introduction, a man whose philosophical thoughts are still repeated on a daily basis thousands of years after his death. Of course crises are no modern development, so it …

LinkedIn’s Not-So-Convincing Intro Defense

Jonathan Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, internet crisis management, 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

When it comes to crisis management, choose your wording carefully to avoid giving the wrong impression LinkedIn’s new Intro app has information security experts sweating. Why? The app, which inserts profile information about the sender into emails you receive, intercepts emails and passes them through LinkedIn servers before they reach …

Car Service Hack No Fender Bender

Jonathan Bernstein crisis management, Crisis Prevention, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, hackers, hacking, internet crisis management, internet security, Jonathan Bernstein, public relations, reputation management Leave a Comment

Improperly stored private information leads to a heck of a crisis Hackers who broke into the Corporate Car Online servers must’ve felt like it was Christmas morning when they came across a TEXT file listing everything from credit card numbers and private flight numbers to personal preferences and records of …

Worst Weiners Honored for Acts of Social Media Darwinism

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

Winners of the 2013 Weiner Awards Announced [Editor’s note: The Weiner Awards winners have finally been decided by our panel of expert judges, so without further ado, here is the official announcement!] LOS ANGELES, Jan. 7, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Social media has made it easier than any time in history …

Crisis Management Quotables…on Helping Others to Help Yourself

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What goes around, comes around in the world of business Leo Burnett was named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century, and for good reason. In a time when advertising meant putting out copy-heavy ads in which consumers had to have a …

JPMorgan CEO’s Holiday Card a Crisis Management Mistake

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

Communicating with humility is key in times of crisis You would expect big CEOs to have learned from Tony Hayward’s mid-spill yacht race debacle, but many still don’t seem to understand that how they conduct their personal lives is equated directly to how much they care about the crisis their …

#NBCNYE #Fail

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

An ugly joke and no crisis management leaves the network deluged in social media hate NBC’s annual New Years Eve bash was tainted by a thoughtless, tasteless, and downright stupid joke cracked by comedian Natasha Leggero, a guest on the show. We’ll let you see the clip first, then talk …

Crisis Management Advice for McDonalds after ANOTHER Web Content Fail

Jonathan Bernstein crisis management, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Erik Bernstein, internet crisis management, internet reputation management, Jonathan Bernstein, online crisis management, online reputation management, PR, public relations, reputation management 1 Comment

Burger giant can’t seem to get things right when it comes to the web McDonald’s can’t seem to figure out web content, and whether it’s just bad luck and repeated misunderstandings or a sign of just how out of touch company leadership is, having to repeatedly do crisis management for …

Crisis Management Quotables…on How You Say It

Jonathan Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, crisis management quotables, crisis public relations, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, media training, PR, public relations, reputation management Leave a Comment

The way it’s delivered can make or break any communication What was it about the ancient world that led to so many great insights into human nature? We’d venture that it had a great deal to do with the fact that there were no glossy ads, TV broadcasts, Twitter campaigns …

Crisis Management Musts: The Doubting Thomas

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

A healthy dose of doubt will stop many crises before they start It feels great to have everybody agreeing with you constantly…until those yes men nod their heads to a decision that lands your organization in ruins. When you’re talking crisis management musts, the doubting Thomas is one man you …

“No More Free Shots” – Walmart’s Social Media Crisis Management Policy

Erik Bernstein crisis management, Crisis Prevention, Erik Bernstein, internet crisis management, 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

The retail behemoth is taking on negative social media sentiment Even organizations that have embraced social media are still unsure as to how to best cope with negative comments online. While it’s commonly accepted that you can ignore those who are simply out bash you, or troll, what happens when …

Crisis Management Quotables…on Body Language

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, crisis management quotables, crisis public relations, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, media crisis management, media relations, media training, PR, public relations, reputation management Leave a Comment

Your voice isn’t the only thing that speaks when it comes to crisis communications While the words you choose certainly do matter when it comes to crisis communication, the way you hold yourself, your facial expressions, appearance, even what color tie you choose, all make a drastic difference in how …

Tesla’s New Crisis Management Tactic as NHTSA Launches Investigation

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

[Editor’s note: Reader Kim May pointed us to this story of the latest crisis management tactic being employed by Tesla Motors as it fights for acceptance among regulators and the public.] Electric carmaker Tesla Motors has been under (pardon the pun) fire since YouTube video of one of its vehicles …

JPMorgan’s Social Media Crisis Management #Fail

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, public relations, reputation management, social media 2 Comments

Asking stakeholders to voice their opinion when you know your reputation is in the dumps is a bad idea Interactive social media events are a great way to connect with stakeholders and build your brand’s reputation, but several major brands have already learned the hard way that these events can …