CommCore Blog and News

Twin Towers Product Promos Spell Double Trouble

by Stephanie Pischke

Incredibly and against respect for those who sacrificed their lives and basic common sense, fifteen years after 9/11, some companies still peg offensive product promotions to that tragic event.
The latest examples involved two ends of the retail spectrum – Wal-Mart, and a tiny independent mattress store in San Antonio, TX that was – until this week – unknown outside of their local market:

 

  • After furious protests on social media, Wal-Mart publicly apologized for a  display at a Florida store in which twin towers of Coke Zero packages promoted a sale under a “Never Forget” banner and against a backdrop of red, white and blue Coca Cola products.
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Is Your Crisis Plan Updated for Cyber?

by Karla Carcamo

Of all the Crisis categories – natural disasters, human error, ethical lapses, product recalls -Cyber is growing the fastest and exponentially. A report by non-profit Identity Theft Resource Center shows from 2014 to 2015:
  • Breaches rose from 783 to 3,930
  • Records exposed jumped from 85 million to 736 million
  • Estimated financial losses from compromised records leaped from $400 million to $14.9 billion
The report recommends five security principles CEOs should take direct responsibility for.
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Asking “How did we do?” helps Texas improve crisis response from Ebola to Zika

by Karla Carcamo

When local, state and federal authorities faced the nation’s first confirmed Ebola outbreak in Dallas in 2014, reviews of their response were harsh:
  • Bungled protocols at Texas Presbyterian Hospital, site of the original infection
  • Conflicting public messages from hospital, county, state and federal government authorities
  • Lack of overall preparedness and coordination
A key tenet of good crisis planning is conducting a thorough post-crisis assessment of “lessons learned” – aka “How did we do?”
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The Washington Metro Shutdown: “Safety First” was the Message

by Karla Carcamo

When Washington, DC Metro’s new General Manager  Paul Wiedefeld announced the complete shutdown of the nation’s 2nd largest subway system on a work day last Tuesday with only 9-and-half hours’ notice, he sent two unequivocal signals:
  • Safety first
  • He is ready to take whatever actions are required to safeguard the public and salvage the crumbling system regardless of the consequences
It turned out the caution was warranted.
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