Major brands backing Games prepare nervously for potential troubles The Sochi Winter Olympics is indisputably the most tense Olympic Games in many years. Mired in politically-charged debate since the announcement of its location, concerns over everything from mass protests and flash mobs to acts of terrorism have everyone involved on …
The Biggest Mistakes in Crisis Communications
The 10 Biggest Mistakes in Crisis Communications By Jonathan Bernstein All organizations are vulnerable to crises. Disasters, lawsuits, accusations of impropriety, sudden changes in ownership or management, and other volatile situations will happen. The threat of serious damage to people, property, reputation is real for virtually any organization, and many …
New Accusations Mean Christie Crisis Management Continues
New accusations re-kindle “Bridgegate” crisis for Christie Gov. Chris Christie’s assertions that he had “no knowledge” of the George Washington Bridge closings until after the incident was over were enough to sate much of the public, but, as we discussed on a recent edition of Rich Klein’s “The Crisis Show”, …
Royal Caribbean Latest Cruise Line to Sink Crisis Management
Another weak response to big trouble You’d expect every cruise company to be well-prepared to spring into crisis management for just about any incident after the myriad troubles that plagued the industry over the past year. But the more than 600 passengers who got way too familiar with their tiny …
The Gap’s MLK Advertising Gap Hurts Reputation
Another social media #fail from a big brand It seems every holiday brings new mistakes from retailers who seem hell-bent on using them to promote product, hurling common sense to the wayside in the process, and then acting shocked when they’re forced to do crisis management in response to a …
Categorizing Crisis Management
Setting plans for broad categories of events can help you cover all the bases It’s undeniable that planning and preparation are critical to maximizing your crisis management ability. At the same time, if you try to create a specific plan for every possible event you’ll soon find yourself with a …
Crisis Management Quotables…on Learning from Angry Stakeholders
Look past the heated tone and understand the issue at hand We don’t think anybody’s going to dispute the brilliance or business savvy of Bill “Microsoft” Gates, so let’s get right into this week’s Crisis Management Quotable: “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” — Bill Gates …
Online Reputation Management Done Wrong
What NOT to do when it comes to crisis management for negative reviews While online reviews have exploded in popularity, and are given more credence than ever before, the actual laws addressing the topic are still a bit murky. In what could become a precedent-setting case, online retailer KlearGear.com is …
Should I Post This? A Social Media Flowchart
To post, or not to post? In today’s business world, it’s important to build your own personal brand online. This means that, just as any business would, you need to set some crisis management rules for yourself in regards to what you put out there for the world to see. …
The Demise of Secrecy
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
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
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
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
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
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 …