“We may have to delay the Marathon at least three hours.” Few words can put a chill down a Marathon staff’s spine quite like “delay.” For runners and walkers who have their pre-event routine timed to the minute; any kind of a disruption is upsetting at the least, and devastating …
Every manufacturer and reseller should be ready to launch into crisis response mode in case of an unexpected product recall. As I said in this story: “Too many CEO’s play ostrich about the possibility of a recall. They wait until the recall is required and then try to figure out …
There’s a new issue of Crisis Manager hot off the presses, with some oddly titled but excellent stories. It’s free for the taking! This edition’s got a crisis management success story by Betsy Ross, president of Game Day Communications, a couple announcements, and crisis prevention advice spawned from a spat …
We haven’t quite made it a week since the last crisis management disaster involving a major US company and here’s The Consumerist at it again, this time with a doozy of a story involving sporting goods giant REI and Loomis security. While Shane was standing in the customer service line …
British retailer Marks & Spencer passed a public Crisis Management 101 pop-quiz with flying colors when, facing a campaign protesting its charging extra for bra sizes above DD, it decided to reverse the policy and issue a public mea culpa via full-page newspaper ad. Toting the bold headline, “We boobed.”, …
Kentucky Fried Chicken is the latest big name to find themselves in need of some heavy-duty crisis management. Their super promo, a partnership with Oprah designed to introduce America to their new grilled chicken, seemed destined for success. A story from The Consumerist details what went wrong. What’s happening is …
The smooth way in which the US government has handled the H1N1 swine flu, including the excellent flow of information and high level of transparency, can largely be attributed to the crisis management efforts of the Department of Health and Human Services, along with the CDC. Thanks to their careful …
Ask any crisis management professional and they’ll tell you, the absolute best way to handle a crisis is to prepare for it before it ever happens. With digital media fast becoming the standard, it’s critical to factor the Web into both your crisis prevention and crisis response plans. In a …
What exactly do pictures of children dangling from tire swings and teenagers surfing sand dunes have to do with the recent salmonella scare? That’s the question a recent article from TwinCities.com, and many consumers, are asking. “I thought it was an odd way to market peanuts,” says Mallue, a 32-year-old …
Successful crisis managers learn the most from studying real-world situations. This recent article from AdAge.com dissects the crisis management strategies used by the CDC when reacting to the recent “swine flu” outbreaks. Although the story is directed towards marketers, I believe the tips within apply to any organization’s crisis prevention …
The President of the United States is the most prominent crisis manager in the world. His entire job revolves around crisis management, reputation management, and communications on a scale few can truly understand. A recent CNBC story gives our newest President high marks. “I think he understands communications better than …
For effective crisis management, information needs to flow quickly to your target audiences. This past week communicators have done, by and large, a good job of using the various media channels available, especially social media. Relying on crisis communication protocols, the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, …
I’d like to let all of my readers know that I’ll one of the speakers at a Ragan Communications webinar entitled, “Communicating the Swine Flu Crisis to Employees and Stakeholders.” The primary goal will be to educate communicators who are charged with handling this crisis. All aspects of crisis management …
Worldwide health care provider International SOS has created a web site solely to communicate important info about recent the swine flu outbreaks. The site should be of great use to anyone involved in creating crisis management plans as it has all the current news and recommendations regarding the new outbreak. …
A 17-page “Disease Briefing on the 2009 H1N1 (Swine-) Flu Outbreak in Humans” was published yesterday, April 25 by Gunnar J. Kueppner, Region 9 President, International Association of Emergency Managers. The report is copyrighted by Gunnar, who was kind enough to allow me to make it available for download. The …
