Get the Right Story Out

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

Does Inaccurate Information Require Crisis Management? If information is not accurate does a company still need to address it? The answer is a resounding “yes”. The days of ignoring something and hoping it goes away are long gone. Today, if an issue is ignored it is considered true until proven …

What To Do When People Hate You

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, online reputation management, public relations, reputation management, social media 1 Comment

Use negative attention to create positive content When Ragan.com went looking for comment from companies on 24/7 Wall Street’s most-hated companies in America list, seven of ten either declined to comment or literally didn’t respond. Writer Matt Wilson asked several crisis management professionals why this might be, and BCM president …

The First 24 Hours

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, crisis preparation, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, PR, public relations, reputation management, social media 1 Comment

Sometimes you can’t prevent a crisis The combination of social media influence and a breakneck media cycle has made the first 24 hours after a crisis breaks more critical than ever. On March 1, Jonathan Bernstein will present, “Communicating in Crisis: The First 24 Hours,” a Communitelligence webinar. Focusing on …

Loose Lips

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

Don’t sink your own ship! Never interrupt your elders. 60 Minutes last night aired an interview with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. Correspondent Leslie Stahl was questioning the Congressman about the need for bi-partisan cooperation and said even Cantor’s hero, Ronald Reagan, compromised and raised taxes. At that point, Cantor’s …

Improve Your Credibility

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

Lose people’s trust, and you lose it all. Credibility is everything when it comes to business and reputation. If people can believe what you say about yourself or your product, then you’ll have an easy time selling. Start lying, however, and you throw that right in the garbage. If a …

Crisis Management 101: Assess the Reaction to What You Do

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

We saw just how well quickly implemented changes work with Bank of America’s recent debit card fee debacle, but obviously leadership at the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation didn’t catch the memo before sparking its own crisis management situation. The people have spoken, though, and following a massive …

Get Your Story Straight

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

Lying is a slippery slope Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray wrecked his state-owned Crown Victoria sedan on November 2nd. Initially Murray said he was driving within the speed limit and wearing a seat belt when he hit some black ice. According to the Boston Globe Murray said he was out …

Managing a Crisis in the Social Media Wilderness

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

Crisis management 101 pays off for gaming company Crisis management professionals are very much aware of the reputation issues that negative discussions on Twitter, Facebook, and certain forum communities can bring. When gaming company N-Control ran afoul of its stakeholders via a marketing consultant’s short temper (Quote: “We do value …

A Different Kind of Pie

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

this one will help your crisis management Communication is the cornerstone not only of crisis management, but also much of business. In order to bring stakeholders the answer, product, or service that they want, you need to understand WHY they want it. This can be difficult to explain, which makes an …

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, …

You Might Be a Crisis Manager If…

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, crisis public relations, public relations 2 Comments

Jeff Foxworthy, eat your heart out. It’s easy to make jokes about rednecks. Try making jokes about crisis management! The Foxworthy influence MIGHT just be recognized in the one-liners that follow. I invite readers to add their own via blog comments. Please note that when you do so, you’re giving me …

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 …

PayPal Loves Cats, Hates People

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

Weak crisis response leads to reputation damage Early last week, PayPal found itself on the receiving end of a Facebook beat down when it suddenly put a halt to the “Secret Santa” charity drive being run by Regretsy.com (careful, content is NSFW at times) because they had used the wrong …

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 …