Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “Jonathan Bernstein”
Social media’s role should be to bring information to us quickly. Traditional media’s role should be to bring information to us accurately. That distinction came to mind recently after I witnessed the horrendously inaccurate traditional media reporting about the Boston Marathon bombing, which was often fed by an apparent desire …
Social media crisis management advice straight from the horse’s mouth After the umpteenth Twitter hack of recent memory, in which a false report of explosions in the White House going out from the official Associated Press account actually caused the stock market to dip, the big blue bird is finally …
Always consider the feelings of your audience When it comes to attempts at “edgy” marketing, it’s easy to go too far, creating a self-made crisis. Late last month, Hyundai raced into crisis management mode after an online video featuring its hydrogen fuel cell-powered Hyundai x35 literally brought many viewers to …
Hit that send button too soon? Here’s some advice… With the average person firing off dozens, or even hundreds, of emails per day, you can safely assume that someone in your organization is going to slip up eventually. Whether sending to the wrong recipients, sending too soon, or one of …
Strong links between departments prevents massive reputation damage In order to best protect reputation, an organization’s different operating units need the ability to coordinate responses, and fast. Last week, Nike gave us a great example of how it works when it raced to pull shirts reading “Boston massacre” from store …
How are we using social media to better react when disaster strikes? Social media barely came into its own as a disaster response tool after the devastating 2010 earthquakes in Haiti, but in a few short years it has become the go-to medium for getting things done in the midst …
You can’t continue with messaging “as usual” when things are anything but Throughout the crises past week, we saw examples of both individuals and organizations whose communications made them look uncaring, foolish, or both. That’s why, when we read an excellent article titled, “How to Communicate in the Midst of …
Be the source of information and stop damaging rumor and innuendo in their tracks A huge part of successful crisis management is finding, or creating, the opportunity to tell your own story. Why, you might ask? The main reason is that it’s going to be told either way, and if …
I know something about terrorists. From 1972-74 I was part of a US Army counterintelligence operation that successfully infiltrated a front group for what became known as the “Red Army Faction,” a terrorist organization in Europe that killed dozens. From 1975-77 I worked out of the US Army Intelligence Command’s …
Rumors of impropriety among officials leads to independent investigation The recent reputation crisis in the Pac-12 men’s college basketball conference, sparked by coordinator of officials Ed Rush’s comments that he would give cash or a trip to any official who handed Arizona’s coach a technical foul during the Pac-12 tournament, …
Here’s an important message from Bernstein Crisis Management president Jonathan Bernstein, available in both text and audio form. Permission to re-use with attribution is freely given. Terrorists overseas have been exploding bombs and conducting armed attacks at public events for decades, but the United States’ experience in this area was …
You Might Be An Ostrich If….. If you haven’t already initiated an independent investigation to determine whether or not you could be the next Penn State or Rutgers…you might be an ostrich. If you know that something which has happened or is happening on your sports programs could seriously harm …
A Turkish group claims Jabba’s Palace playset creates negative cultural stereotypes, how did Lego respond? Star Wars playsets have long been a part of the Lego brand’s lineup, but one featuring the iconic Jabba the Hutt’s palace recently came under fire from the Turkish Cultural Association of Austria because it …
A single tweet can create serious consequences We’ve examined many cases of organizations landing themselves in need of crisis management as a result of poorly planned tweets, but the latest Twitter dustup may have larger ramifications than rumblings in the court of public opinion. This past Wednesday, the @USEmbassyCairo account …
Fix it and forget it is great when it comes to cooking, not so much for crisis management. Many organizations, once clear of a crisis situation, simply move on with business as usual. While we understand the urgent need to do the things that bring in money on a daily …
