CRISIS MANAGER
The Internet Newsletter about Crisis Management
Editor: Erik Bernstein Publisher: Jonathan Bernstein

"For Those Who Are Crisis Managers,
Whether They Want to be or Not"

ISSN:1528-3836
� 2015 Jonathan Bernstein

A Message to FIFA Sponsors

Volume XVI, Number 9

May 28, 2015

Just a Thought

"Sometimes corruption is slowed by shedding light into what was previously shadowed."

- Paul Wolfowitz

From the Editor

A sweeping 47-count indictment against 14 defendants tied to FIFA, including nine officials, has finally revealed to a widespread audience what many have suspected for years. Namely, that FIFA as an organization is corrupt to its core. While this isn't much of a surprise, it does put the issue in the glare of the public spotlight and FIFA will have to take serious steps to show it's cleaned up its act if it wants to get back to focusing on soccer.

FIFA's situation is being rehashed all around the web, but of particular interest to me was the response from sponsors. Major partners of the Cup like Visa, Coke, McDonald's and Adidas all quickly published statements sharing their disappointment with FIFA as an organization, yet those same sponsors haven't seemed to care much at all about the massive human rights violations occurring in Russia and Qatar as those nations gear up to host the 2018 and 2022 Cups.

I'm in the PR business, and certainly understand the need to make a statement when a partner is busted doing the wrong thing. But, to me, the fact that these massive, multi-billion dollar companies have refused to make a peep regarding their sponsorship dollars funding projects associated with human exploitation is flat-out hypocritical.

Go ahead and take a stand on ethics. Heck, we could always use more of that. What doesn't fly is demonstrating your willingness to be a part of unethical behavior at the same time. There are other events, there are other opportunities. Take a long, hard look at what you're supporting and please reconsider.

- Erik

Interested in reprinting BCM articles or blog posts?

We're happy to give permission for material to be reprinted in hard copy or online!

If you find something you would like to reprint, simply submit a request to jonathan@bernsteincrisismanagement.com.

Blogs!

Our blogs on the Bernstein Crisis Management page and at the Free Management Library cover topics ranging from reputation management, to social media, to crisis management case studies and more.

In this section we take look at some of the most popular posts from recent weeks:

Crisis Management Risk: .sucks Domains examines what this newly birthed domain means to your organization and the risks involved.

We take a peek at the 77-f-bomb implosion of Cincinnati Reds manager Bryan Price in The Price of Losing Your Cool.

Information Security (or Lack Thereof) can make or break your organization today. Are you protecting sensitive information, and planning for the possibility of hackers getting in anyway?

Implying half-naked models will sleep with bus riders for a small fee, what could go wrong?! Well...a number of things. Check out Sexual Innuendo Bus Ad Backfires for the full story.

Tech Issues Mar Target Launch is an example of why failing to prepare for easily predictable increases in web traffic can be dangerous to your reputation.

Speaking of tech risks, we shared McAfee's Cyber Threat Predictions for 2015. Are you prepared?

"Social responsibility" is a term you're probably hearing a lot more of these days, but what it actually means to your organization isn't so clear. In Social Responsibility and Reputation we share an infographic that sheds some light on the issue.

Sometimes, the simplest tools are the most effective. Crisis Management Must: The Double Check looks at an often-overlooked step that can help to safeguard against trouble.

Do you have a topic you'd like to see featured in our blogs? Send an email to erik@bernsteincrisismanagement.com and there's a good chance you'll be seeing it right here in the next issue!

Apropos of Nothing

Avoid The Apology

Clueless advertising folks at Anheuser-Busch eliciting widespread anger with a Bud Lite commercial featuring the tagline "The perfect beer for removing 'no' from your vocabulary for the night";

Sea World launching its disastrous #askseaworld campaign, not thinking through how that hashtag could be comically and sadly hijacked;

Starbucks kicking off - and then aborting - its ill-considered "Race Together" campaign; or,

Trevor Noah, Jon Stewart's hand-picked replacement on "The Daily Show," coming under fierce online criticism for anti-Semitic and otherwise insensitive tweets.

So many of the damaging crises we see making headlines and creating costs every day could have been prevented if someone first asked, "What the (expletive deleted) could go wrong with this idea?" That's the premise behind Bernstein Crisis Management's AvoidTheApology.com.

To learn more, email erik@bernsteincrisismanagement.com.

Bernsteins Available to Deliver Free Guest Lectures, Q&A Sessions

Jonathan alone, or the team of Jonathan and Erik Bernstein, are available at no charge to deliver guest lectures and host Q&A sessions with college classes via Skype or Google Hangout.

For our latest presentation we had the pleasure of speaking with Fred Muir's crisis communications class at USC's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

The lectures are fun for us and students, and we're more than happy to allow recording for your future use. All you need at your end is a single computer with webcam and a strong broadband connection for us to appear in your classroom in real-time.

Attention Corporate Boards of Directors (and those who serve them).

If you're connected with a corporate board of directors in some way and think that board would benefit from having a veteran crisis management pro amongst its membership, please contact me. -- Jonathan

Business Announcements

(aka blatant self-promotion)

Preparing Candidates for C-Suite Interviews

In 2014, a client familiar with Jonathan Bernstein's media training techniques suggested that the same methods would help her husband, a candidate for a C-Suite position at several companies, be better focused and prepared for his interviews. She was right and, as he moved through the interview process, the candidate received a number of one-hour trianing sessions by Jonathan, via webcam. That candidate is now the CFO of a $23 billion company and is available as a confidential reference.

Jonathan Bernstein is available to provide the same training to others, write jonathan@bernsteincrisismanagement.com

Are Your Social Media Managers Crisis Trained?

A solid social media manager has quickly become a must-have for organizations of any size, and can make an immense difference by driving in customers and building your positive reputation online.

The problem is, the vast majority are simply not equipped to even identify building crises, much less take the steps necessary to cope with and mitigate the damage that can result.

That's where we come in.

Bernstein Crisis Management is now offering crisis management training for social media managers, both independent and in-house, as well as social media firms.

For an overview of our services, estimates, or more information, contact erik@bernsteincrisismanagement.com

Traditional Social Media Training

Want to get your feet wet with social media but don't know where to start? Maybe you have accounts, but aren't sure what to post, or how to reply?

Being active on social media is a must these days, but you have to do it right. Erik Bernstein now offers social media training sessions in person or via Skype for groups and individuals.

For questions or pricing info, please email erik@bernsteincrisismanagement.com

Expanded Crisis Manager Bookstore

We've recently expanded the Crisis Manager Bookstore to include offerings from esteemed colleagues like Melissa Agnes, Gerald Baron, Chris Syme and Jim Lukaszewski that cover topics from crisis communication and traditional PR to social media and cutting-edge crisis management. We'll be adding other authors we admire in the weeks ahead.

Visit the new Crisis Manager Bookstore to see all of the material available now!

Keeping the Wolves at Bay: Media Training

Learn how to deal with traditional or social media during a crisis in this educational and entertaining guide from

Crisis Manager publisher Jonathan Bernstein.

$25 for hard copy, $10 for PDF.

Head to the Crisis Manager Bookstore for more information and/or to purchase.

Manager's Guide to Crisis Management

Whether you're a seasoned manager, aspiring up-and-comer, or student of crisis management, Jonathan Bernstein's textbook,Manager's Guide to Crisis Management will put you in control of any situation.

Guest Authors

Guest authors are very welcome to submit material for "Crisis Manager." There is no fee paid, but most guest authors have reported receiving business inquiries as a result of appearing in this publication. Case histories, experience-based lessons, commentary on current news events and editorial opinion are all eligible for consideration. Submission is not a guarantee of acceptance.

About Us

Jonathan Bernstein is both publisher of Crisis Manager and president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., a national crisis management public relations agency providing 24/7 access to crisis response professionals. The agency engages in the full spectrum of crisis management services: crisis prevention, response, planning & training. He has been in the public relations field since 1982, following five-year stints in both military intelligence and investigative reporting.

Write to Jonathan at: jonathan@bernsteincrisismanagement.com.

Erik Bernstein is editor of Crisis Manager and Social Media Manager for Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc.

Write to Erik at: erik@bernsteincrisismanagement.com.

Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. is located at 700 S. Myrtle Ave., #404, Monrovia, CA 91016. Telephone: (626) 825-3838.

Legal Disclaimer (aka the small print)

All information contained herein is obtained by Jonathan Bernstein from sources believed by Jonathan Bernstein to be accurate and reliable.

Because of the possibility of human and mechanical error as well as other factors, neither Jonathan Bernstein nor Bernstein Crisis Management is responsible for any errors or omissions. All information is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. Bernstein Crisis Management and Jonathan Bernstein make no representations and disclaim all express, implied, and statutory warranties of any kind to the user and/or any third party including, without limitation, warranties as to accuracy, timeliness, completeness, merchantability, or fitness for any particular purpose.

Unless due to willful tortuous misconduct or gross negligence, Jonathan Bernstein and Bernstein Crisis Management shall have no liability in tort, contract, or otherwise (and as permitted by law, product liability), to the user and/or any third party.

Under no circumstance shall Bernstein Crisis Management or Jonathan Bernstein be liable to the user and/or any third party for any lost profits or lost opportunity, indirect, special, consequential, incidental, or punitive damages whatsoever, even if Bernstein Crisis Management or Jonathan Bernstein has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

A service of this newsletter is to provide news summaries and/or snippets to readers. In such instances articles and/or snippets will be reprinted as they are received from the originating party or as they are displayed on the originating website or in the original article. As we do not write the news, we merely point readers to it, under no circumstance shall Bernstein Crisis Management or Jonathan Bernstein be liable to the user and/or any third party for any lost profits or lost opportunity, indirect, special, consequential, incidental, or punitive damages whatsoever due to the distribution of said news articles or snippets that lead readers to a full article on a news service's website, even if Bernstein Crisis Management or Jonathan Bernstein has been advised of the possibility of such damages. Authors of the original news story and their publications shall be exclusively held liable. Any corrections to news stories are not mandatory and shall be printed at the discretion of the list moderator after evaluation on a case-by-case basis.

In This Issue

Blogs!

Quick Links