Get Prepped for Crisis Management

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

Is your crisis prevention plan ready? There are many analogies that can apply to crisis management, but we particularly liked a recent post by Rachel Hedstrom, APR The Gentry Agency. on the LiveProcess blog that compared the process to a workout plan. WARM UP Getting your ducks in a row before …

AAA’s Wrong Way Crisis Management

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, customer service, public relations, reputation management Leave a Comment

Dishonest promotion causes reputation damage We’re always fans of businesses using charitable-type events or offers to promote their reputations. Run things the wrong way though, and you’ll find yourself in crisis management mode instead of reaping in the praise. When AAA announced its “Tipsy Tow” service for New Years Eve, …

Take Shelter!

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, crisis preparation, Crisis Response, social media 2 Comments

Social media scare in Jersey The unfamiliar noise from Jaclyn Boruch’s cell phone startled her. She reflexively grabbed it. What she saw next scared her. In bold red letters were the words “CMAS Alert” followed by “Civil Emergency in this area until 1:24 PM EST Take Shelter Now U.S. Govern.”  …

Did Someone Break the Delete Button?

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

Sometimes the right crisis response is to delete Retailer Lowe’s is in the midst of a social media breakdown, as thousands of racist comments flood a post on their Facebook page explaining why it’s pulled advertising from the TLC show, “All American Muslim.” Media across the country caught wind of …

What’s Your Reputation Worth?

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, crisis preparation, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, public relations, reputation management 2 Comments

Putting a price on complacence Mismanaging your reputation is almost guaranteed to cost big bucks, yet even multi-billion dollar organizations tend to gloss over this crucial part of crisis management. The main reason corporate execs offer is that they believe the results of an investment in reputation management “can’t be …

Again…Shut the Hell Up

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

Last month, we featured Rick Kelly’s article about Jerry Sandusky’s crisis communications, “When Shut the Hell Up is the Best Advice.” Unfortunately for them, it looks like Sandusky’s camp missed this piece, because now his lawyer’s the one offering up quotes that place more than a little cause for doubt …

Informed Employees

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

Don’t forget your front lines When you’re in the midst of the flurry of activity that is crisis management, it’s easy to focus on communication with those outside your organization. Often forgotten, though, are the people still handling day-to-day operations. In a Forbes interview, Thomas Watjen, the CEO that drove …

Trust

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

Safeguard this valuable asset Regardless of what your business is, trust plays a major factor. The problem with this is that by their very nature, crises undermine trust. They prove that you have vulnerabilities, and often demonstrate that you don’t have them protected very well. How then, do you maintain …

E-Reporters

Jonathan Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Prevention, Crisis Response, reputation management, social media Leave a Comment

It’s not just the pros anymore …the definition of “the media” has changed. Today, anyone with a smartphone and YouTube is a TV journalist. Anyone with a smartphone and Facebook is a photojournalist. Anyone with a laptop and a blog is a newspaper reporter. The citizen journalist is the person …

Shut Down Negative Chatter

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

Word of mouth has very long reach At some point, an individual will have a problem with your organization. In the past they would tell a friend, who would then would tell two friends, and so on. Bad news, yes, but the information rarely got far. Now, instead of merely …

FEMA’s National Test

Jonathan Bernstein crisis communication, crisis management, crisis planning, Crisis Prevention, Crisis Response 1 Comment

Strong communication means straight talk The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s first nationwide test of its Emergency Alert System took place earlier this month, and although there were some hitches encountered, the agency was a fine example of communication following the test. A quote, from the FEMA blog: So now that …

Convincing the C-Suite

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

Convincing doubtful execs is easier than it seems Crises of reputation and operation happen every day, yet for some reason one of the most daunting tasks facing those assigned with crisis management is to get a budget that will actually cover the costs involved. In a recent interview with Ragan’s …

When "Shut the Hell Up" is the Best Advice

Jonathan Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Response, reputation management Leave a Comment

The entire Sandusky/Penn State situation continues to capture national attention not only because it is one of the worst college scandals in history, but also for the spectacularly bad crisis management strategy of those involved. In this guest piece from crisis management pro Rick Kelly, originally posted at the Triad …

Hack Attack Hits Steam

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

Data Grabs the New B&E? The latest victim of a high profile hack attack is Valve Software’s Steam platform. Steam is used to digitally distribute over 1,000 of the most popular games online, which obviously means its databases hold a large amount of sensitive information such as names, addresses, passwords …

Penn State’s Crisis Management Mistakes – ESPN Interview

Jonathan Bernstein crisis management, Crisis Prevention, Crisis Response, reputation management 1 Comment

THE biggest scandal in sports history The scandal at Penn State is on the tip of everyone’s tongues, and the series of wrong-way crisis management decisions made by the university’s top brass are only cementing the reputation damage that’s being done. Interviewed this morning by host Bo Bounds on the …