Obama’s #FuneralSelfie #Fail

Jonathan Bernstein Crisis Prevention, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, public relations, reputation management, social media, social media crisis management, social media reputation management, Weiner Awards Leave a Comment

Could the President REALLY have been foolish enough to shoot this selfie ? You would expect the President of the United States to be well-versed in the ways of decorum and aware of the image he’s projecting ANYTIME he’s in public – especially when it comes to events like, say, …

The Weiner Awards – Recognizing Social Media Darwinism at Work

Jonathan Bernstein crisis management, Crisis Prevention, Erik Bernstein, Facebook, internet crisis management, internet reputation management, Jonathan Bernstein, online crisis management, online reputation management, reputation management, social media, social media crisis management, social media reputation management, Twitter, Weiner Awards Leave a Comment

[Editor’s note: We’re happy to announce the first-ever Weiner Awards, a fun way to remind everyone out there that the way you use social media can bring some seriously nasty consequences!] LOS ANGELES, December 10, 2013 — Have you ever horrendously embarrassed yourself using social media?  You send a Tweet, …

Crisis Management Resources for Business from the CDC

Jonathan Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, public relations Leave a Comment

Great example being set by the government org The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has really taken the lead when it comes to government organizations getting on board with online crisis communications and crisis management. For years now, the CDC has been exemplary in its use of web-based education …

Tesla Nails Crisis Management for Viral Car Fire Video

Jonathan Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, public relations, reputation management Leave a Comment

A demonstration of effective crisis communications Electric vehicle pioneer Tesla Motors has hit a couple of speed bumps this year. First was a dustup with the NY Times, and then one of its vehicles caught fire after a collision and video of the event quickly went viral. What do you …

Booze, Women and another Secret Service Scandal

Erik Bernstein crisis management, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, public relations, reputation management Leave a Comment

Does the Service have crisis management policies in place to cope with misbehavior? Another incident that appears to involve women, sex and booze is further damaging the reputation of the Secret Service, already threatened by revelations related to the scandal in Cartagena. The most recent trouble didn’t start on foreign …

Japanese Airlines Flying in the Face of Reason

Jonathan Bernstein crisis management, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, public relations Leave a Comment

JAL and ANA put unwitting civilian passengers through contested airspace China’s newly declared air defense zone over a disputed area of the East China Sea has drawn the ire of quite a few countries, including the U.S. and neighboring Japan. While it’s not surprising to see the U.S. continuing to …

Crisis Management Quotables…on Setting Goals

Erik Bernstein crisis communication, crisis communications, crisis management, crisis management quotables, crisis management tactics, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, public relations Leave a Comment

Your efforts are far more effective if you know what you’re working towards It really is incredible how much wisdom from nearly 2,000 years ago can still apply so perfectly to business today. Take this quote from Lucius Annaeus Seneca, the famed Roman philosopher celebrated in the writings of Dante, …

Crisis Management Fail for ND Oil Spill

Erik Bernstein crisis communication, crisis communications, crisis management, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, public relations, reputation management Leave a Comment

Terrible handling of a huge disaster When you choose to ignore a crisis and bury your head in the sand, you need to remember what part of you is sticking up for the world to see. Obviously nobody at the North Dakota Health Department got the memo on that one, …

Hey Thai Airways, it’s not 1950 Anymore!

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, public relations, reputation management Leave a Comment

Crisis management mistake exposes antiquated thinking at the international airline The recent Thai Airways mishap, in which a jet skidded off of a Bangkok runway, isn’t terribly unusual for an airline. Don’t get us wrong, any incident involving even a minor plane crash is going to attract coverage, but it …

Crisis Management Lessons from Royal Caribbean

Erik Bernstein crisis communication, crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, internet reputation management, Jonathan Bernstein, online crisis management, online reputation management, PR, public relations, reputation management Leave a Comment

Rough seas lead to valuable lessons Learning vicariously through others who have endured crises is one of the very best (and least painful) ways you can better your own crisis management ability. Early this year we wrote, repeatedly, on Carnival Cruise Lines’ failures to do proper crisis management, but they …

Crisis Management Case Study: Miami Dolphins Bullying

Erik Bernstein crisis communication, crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, PR, public relations, reputation management, sports crisis management 1 Comment

Ugly voicemail sparks full-fledged investigation of bullying complaints The NFL’s Miami Dolphins are in full-on crisis management mode following revelations of excessive bullying of rookie players by veterans on the team. The situation came to light after rookie lineman Jonathan Martin left the team, citing mental issues caused by veteran …

Reputation is Your Most Valuable Asset

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Erik Bernstein, internet reputation management, Jonathan Bernstein, online crisis management, PR, public relations, reputation management, social media reputation management, strategic reputation management Leave a Comment

Without a strong reputation, your organization is in serious trouble We have a saying that is core to our crisis management, and really, business as a whole, philosophy – “your reputation is your most valuable asset.” Never has this been more true than in the past few years, and as …

Lululemon’s CEO: The Nightmare Spokesperson

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, media crisis management, media relations, media training, public relations, reputation management 1 Comment

We don’t envy the crisis management team in this case Some people simply should not act as spokesperson for your organization. Unfortunately, when that person is your CEO, dissuading them from granting interviews may be difficult at best. Lululemon’s CEO Chip Wilson landed his company, which is still in recovery …

The Advantages of Multimedia Crisis Management

Jonathan Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, media crisis management, media relations, online crisis management, online reputation management, PR, public relations, reputation management, social media crisis management, social media reputation management Leave a Comment

Try a multimedia approach to help your crisis communications grab stakeholder’s attention Let’s be realistic – ANY communication you’re putting out these days is just a drop in the Internet Sea. How can you help ensure people, and specifically your stakeholders, receive and understand your message in a crisis situation? …

2Day FM Chairman’s Crisis Communications Fail

Jonathan Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, international crisis management, Jonathan Bernstein, media training, PR, public relations, reputation management Leave a Comment

[Editor’s note: Thank you to our friend and colleague, Issue Outcomes’ Tony Jaques for bringing this story that’s burning up the headlines overseas to our attention.] “Shit happens” should not be in your vocabulary when it comes to crisis communication The chairman of a large firm should, in theory, be …