5 Crisis Management Tips for Your Brand
Creating a brand used to take years. Companies often started locally or regionally, developed loyal customers and built a market identity — supplemented by print or electronic advertising as brands grew. In addition to taking a long time, brand-building also took a great deal of money. Flash-forward to today: While it’s still possible to build a […]
When an Icon Crashes, Is an Apology Enough?
[By Nora Jacobs, Hennes Communications] The first car I ever owned was a ’57 Volkswagen that I bought for $100. Its most memorable features were a cloth sunroof and turn signals that flipped out of the side pillars like miniature wings. It was almost as fanciful as the Morris Minor I learned to drive on, […]
Why Saying ‘Sorry’ is the Right – and Smart – Thing To Do
[By Thom Fladung, Hennes Communications] Saying “I’m sorry” can pay off – psychologically, because it’s the right thing to do, and literally, because it may get you or your business out of a tough spot while saving money and your reputation. Last month, I wrote about how an organization’s apologies also say a lot about […]
TLC & the Duggar Family Scandal
[By Howard Fencl, APR] In the ongoing story of the Duggar family sex abuse scandal, the TLC cable television network on Thursday, July 16 announced that “after thoughtful consideration, TLC and the Duggar family have decided to not move forward with 19 Kids and Counting. The show will no longer appear on the air.” The […]
Man Records Doctors Insulting Him During His Own Colonoscopy; Shock, Anger and Lawsuit Follow.
[By Bruce Hennes] Restaurant workers putting disgusting substances in customer’s food. Politicians seeking and accepting favors. Employees on disability doing yard work. Police officers committing crimes. Every day, a new shocking story on Twitter, another Facebook “caught on tape,” a “you won’t believe what the camera saw” on YouTube. Everyone you know now carries a […]
Lessons from the Rolling Stone “A Rape on Campus” Debacle
[By Bruce Hennes] Some months ago, I had lunch with an editor from a major metropolitan newspaper. At the end of the meal, after swapping childhood and industry stories and a few opinions, she asked me if there was anything she could do to help me. When an editor asks that question, you better have […]
Bill Cosby’s Team Comes Out Swinging Against Accusers
[by Bruce Hennes] Bill Cosby has repeatedly refused to talk about decades-old allegations of sexual misconduct. Meanwhile, his legal team has launched an aggressive, organized and expensive effort to quash accusations by attacking the accusers’ characters and motives, according to The New York Times. Sure, it’s possible that Cosby is not guilty of any of […]
“It Can’t Happen Here”
[by Nora Jacobs] Over the years, we’ve spoken to countless clients about the crisis threats their organizations might face. Many willingly accept that their business might be struck by an act of God — tornados, floods and fires most often come to mind. But a surprisingly large number of clients seem to feel immune to […]
Risky Business
[by Bruce Hennes] According to Reputation Dividend, a company that helps quantify the economic value of reputation for publicly held businesses, few CEOs would argue that their corporate reputation isn’t one of their company’s most precious assets. Giving thought to the difference between ‘brand’ and ‘reputation,’ Sandra Macleod writes, “The value and importance of a […]
Did Ohio State Do the Right Thing by Firing the Director of the Best Damn Band in the Land?
[by Bruce Hennes] Put aside for the moment IF the band director for Ohio State University’s storied marching band should have been fired. Certainly, one can make the argument that under university policy, the university administration had a strict and legal “duty to act.” And under the Civil Rights Act, provisions in Title IX prohibiting […]