Your grandmother was right when she used to say, “Don’t toot your own horn, let others do it.”
That’s even more true in today’s 24/7 world of crisis management. Third party advocates and spokespersons are experiencing increased influence as a way to build brand reputation and defend it when a crisis hits. Read more
Almost at hyper-speed, the year-old Target and JP Morgan cyber breaches are already in the rear-view mirror. Even Sony Pictures, the U.S. military’s Central Command, and Home Depot cyber breaches – all recent – are fading from headlines and public memory. Read more
It doesn’t matter whether it was started by the rumor mill, an investor recommendation, or a public announcement, the M&A process is rife for speculation. M&A inquiries require a heightened set of skills when dealing with questions. Read more
The hacking of SONY Pictures data not only raises questions about whether threats can force a company to pull a product from the market place, but generates a host of new concerns for anyone who uses e-mail or instant messaging. Read more
Storytelling isn’t just the hottest trend in PR messaging or a communications skill we teach.
A recent Harvard Business Review article discusses Claremont University Prof. Paul Zak’s research that suggests storytelling impacts neurological processes in our brains. Read more
When Centers for Disease Control (CDC) chief Dr. Thomas Frieden told reporters after the first Texas hospital nurse contracted Ebola, “I think the fact that we don’t know of a breach in protocol is concerning because clearly there was a breach in protocol,” he violated a cardinal rule of crisis and risk communications – bureaucratic jargon and doublespeak tend to confuse the public and raise tension. Read more
It Was Predicable, It’s Now Flash – Their Hope Is to Make “Chronic”
If NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell intended his Friday mea culpa news conference to put to rest public and media criticism of the league’s policies on player misconduct and domestic violence, he couldn’t have been more wrong. Read more
Increasingly global companies are looking to emerging markets as rapid growth opportunities (isn’t ’emerging markets’ synonymous for developing countries?). Some, like those in West Africa affected by the deadly Ebola virus, have significant populations living in remote areas where standard communications tools don’t work as well, and bridging cultures is challenging. Read more
With so many channels of communication available, organizations have to be aggressive to be heard above the digital din. Public relations, corporate, brand and advocacy communicators have become more active – and in some cases more assertive – when engaging target influencers and communities. Read more
FIFA (the federation that governs international soccer ) couldn’t have asked for a worse buildup to the largest sporting event in the world – its signature quadrennial World Cup, just underway in Brazil:
Question: How does an organization counter this type of spiraling bad publicity happening in real-time around a major event? Read more