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CRISIS MANAGER
The Internet Newsletter about Crisis Management

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

ISSN:1528-3836
© 2018 Jonathan Bernstein

Peter Cottontail, hoppin' down the crisis trail

Volume XVIII, Number 15

March 31, 2018

Just a Thought

"Learn from the mistakes of others. You can never live long enough to make them all yourself."

- Groucho Marx

From the Editor

I have a confession to make - I get a little too much enjoyment from watching to see which crises unfold as a result of thoughtless or careless advertising and social media use on any major holiday. It's become a little like the Rose Parade in my house: wake up, hang out with the family, and scroll around a bit to catch the latest outrage moment we can all discuss over brunch.

To be fair it's not entirely for personal enjoyment. Most crises of this type are tremendous examples to share with anyone who doubts the need for crisis prevention to be a part of daily operations. The majority are sparked by posts or images that undoubtedly seemed innocuous to whoever assembled them in the first place but would quite clearly have set off alarm bells if a proper threat analysis was done.

I know a number of our readers share this uniquely modern hobby of mine and I'd love to see your thoughts on the inevitable crises that appear starting early morning tomorrow. Send them on in to [email protected] and let's enjoy (and learn from them!) together!

- Erik Bernstein

P.S. Let's connect on LinkedIn! I love networking with readers and am always looking to make new connections.

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 [email protected].

Blogs

The Bernstein Crisis Management blog, along with our blog at the Free Management Library, features case studies, advice, and the latest news on techniques, threats, and the latest stories in crisis, PR, and reputation.

Here, we share a look at some of the most popular posts from recent weeks:

When Legal Meets PR - The Court of Public Opinion pt. 2

looks at how crisis management efforts can help when you're the one on offensive in a battle of litigation and public opinion. While you walk a fine line going public in a legal case, sometimes these types of outside-the-box tactics are just what you need to turn the tide in your own case.

Ever hit that "Send" button and realize moments later you made a serious mistake? Maybe it went to the wrong list, maybe it included someone else's attachment, but either way it was a problem. How to survive an accidental emailing crisis breaks down this common issue and looks at how you might react if you're the one to hit the button.

These days many cases are tried in the court of public opinion long before they see a court of law, and believe us when we say that negative stories do a lot more for media outlet ad sales than positive ones do. When the Media Puts You on Trial provides some essential insight into how you can defend yourself without digging a deeper hole at the same time.

When Amazon's Alexa devices started mysteriously cackling, people got a bit weirded out, especially after videos of the strange laughter started going viral. Amazon's Alexa Gets Creepy, Starts Cackling is a solid example of how to shut down potentially damaging conversation, fast.

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

Business Announcements

(aka blatant self-promotion)

What if you could quickly find out how your stakeholders perceive you during a breaking crisis?

Bernstein Crisis Management now uses online surveys and other tools to get immediate stakeholder perception feedback, during a breaking crisis, with the option of continuing to monitor perception post-crisis.

More info from [email protected].

Are There Any Holes in Your Crisis Planning?

Your organization may well have crisis prevention and response-related plans in place - but are you sure they're going to cover all the bases? Bernstein Crisis Management's Crisis Document Audit is a low-cost, flat-rate service which will quickly provide you with a comprehensive analysis of your existing plans and recommendations for improvement.

Contact [email protected] for more information.

We're Giving Away Keeping the Wolves at Bay and other crisis publications!

Keeping the Wolves at Bay, the widely used media-training manual published by Jonathan Bernstein, is available for free, as well as other useful publications.

To visit the download page, click here.

Social Media Crisis Training

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 [email protected]

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:

[email protected].

Erik Bernstein is vice president of Bernstein Crisis Management, and editor of this newsletter. Spending the last decade hands-on with crisis and reputation management, he has developed proven methods to prevent, prepare for, and reduce damage taken from crisis situations. He's watched first-hand as the internet and social media changed how we communicate, and leverages that experience to the benefit of clients.

Write to Erik at:

[email protected].

Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. is located at 700 S. Myrtle Ave., #404, Monrovia, CA 91016. Telephone: (866) 772-5552.

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

Just A Thought

Featured Blogs

Quick Links