Catching product issues before they create big problems is key to reducing the reputation impact of recalls There has been a serious increase in recalls over the past several years. In large part this is due to greater awareness – consumers are VERY aware of how to let companies and their peers …
Krispy Kreme’s KKK Crisis
“We didn’t know” is a weak excuse these days Krispy Kreme was left apologizing after a store in Hull, England started promoting “KKK Wednesday”. Meant to stand for “Krispy Kreme Klub”, the promotion was shared on the popular doughnut shop’s UK Facebook page and quickly drew shocked reactions from stakeholders, …
UCLA Using ‘Net for Superbug Outbreak Crisis Comms
Becoming a go-to the source for information is a proven crisis management tactic The deadly “superbug” outbreak at UCLA Medical Center that left seven sick, two dead, and 179 potentially exposed to bacterial infection has made headlines across the country. Several news stories we reviewed referred to statements from Medical …
Guest Post: Too Much Joy About Brian Williams
[Editor’s note: This guest post comes to us courtesy of Andrea Obston, president of Andrea Obston Marketing Communications, LLC., and touches upon a topic we felt relevant to today’s social climate.] There’s been entirely too much joy floating around about Brian Williams’ fall from grace. Folks are either wagging their …
Investment Firms Requiring Cyber Crisis Planning
The rising trend of insisting on crisis preparedness reaches the investment industry Last year we saw widespread insistence by insurance providers that the insured have crisis management plans in place, and now it looks like other industries are hopping on board in force. Here’s a look at new requirements being …
Erik Bernstein Named Vice President of Bernstein Crisis Management
February 10, 2015 – Monrovia, CA — Erik Bernstein has been named vice president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. (BCM), a 21-year-old national crisis management consultancy based in the Los Angeles area. Erik started with BCM in 2009 as a writer and subsequently became social media manager for the consultancy …
Crisis Management Must – Coping with Workplace Conflict
Creating a plan to deal with clashes is essential to crisis management Conflict in the workplace is unavoidable. You have groups of people, brought together for their individual thoughts and abilities, and it’s just not realistic to believe they will all naturally agree or get along without a bit of …
Advice for Church Officials in Drinking and Driving Case
We share the crisis management steps they should be taking Details are emerging in the case of the Maryland bishop who struck and killed a bicyclist while drunk driving this past December, and although church leadership has taken a step in the right direction by sharing some details, it’s not …
Hacking Wi-Fi Networks is Literally Child’s Play
It doesn’t take a hardened criminal to steal your data Public wi-fi networks are everywhere, from coffee shops to entire metro areas. They’re also astoundingly easy to hack. In an eye-opening experiment out of the UK, one security researcher turned a 7-year-old loose on a hotspot with nothing but a …
GoDaddy’s Super Bowl Ad Draws a Penalty
Failing to anticipate public reaction is a costly oversight Domain registrar and Web host GoDaddy has a history of questionable taste for its ad campaigns, and its latest addition, axed after uproar from stakeholders, looks to have been a costly mistake. The ad, which features a lovable puppy making his …
Guest Post: Cybersecurity Takes Centre Stage as a Crisis Risk
[Editor’s note: The below article, originally published in the Managing Outcomes newsletter, is an excellent look at the hot topic of cybersecurity from our colleague and frequent contributor Tony Jaques.] 2014 was a landmark year for cybersecurity, which saw a real change in reputational risk for corporations and other organisations. …
Crisis Management Risk: Your Apps Have Been Hacked
With convenience comes danger Smartphones have gone far past being a fancy means of communication. They are our bank tellers, our maps, our offices-away-from-the office, and so much more, and all of this increased functionality is made possible by the use of apps. Pretty awesome, right? Not so fast…our colleague …
Crisis Management Quotables…on Intent and Reality
It’s important to test your communications to see how they sound coming out of your mouth before sharing in public We return to our Crisis Management Quotables with a line from a great thinker. Herman Hesse authored, among other works, Steppenwolf, Siddartha, and The Glass Bead Game, and left a …
Software As a Cybersecurity Risk
Are the programs you use to work leaving you vulnerable to attack? Publicly held companies are being ranked, both by stakeholders and the SEC, on their ability to prevent and withstand cyber attacks. Although most have put some form of security measures in place, the experts at Veracode say software …
Potential UK Laws Could Create Crisis for Messaging Apps
Evidence of the need to watch the horizon for emerging risks to your organization British prime minister David Cameron has proposed new legislation aimed at combating terrorism that would allow British intelligence agencies to intercept and decode messages between suspects. We aren’t here to speak about the politics of this …