As corporate apologies go, Groupon’s mea culpa and corrective actions after its Super Bowl ad controversy was about as forthright as they come: “We hate that we offended people, and we’re very sorry that we did,” CEO and founder Andrew Mason wrote in a post last week on the corporate blog. Read more
CommCore Blog and News
Posts Tagged: Crisis Response
The Carnival Splendor’s Social Media Strategy
Carnival Cruise Lines is getting generally high marks for its customer relations and public relations response to the highly-publicized misfortune that befell its “Carnival Splendor” earlier this month. The ship and passengers were stranded at sea for days with no power after an engine room fire, and the vessel had to be towed in to port. Read more
Mind The Gap
Sometimes what appear to be the best of marketing ideas — initiated with the best of intentions — boomerang on a company or a product (New Coke, anyone?) The ability to salvage the situation often depends on rapid, transparent and clear communications. Read more
Crisis Planning and Risk Management
In the wake of the deadly gas explosion in San Bruno, CA, CNN interviewed Georgia Public Service Commissioner Stan Wise in order to get a sense of the risks and realities in our utility infrastructure. Read more
THE BEST CRISIS: THE ONE YOU NEVER HEAR ABOUT
One of the best points in the recent NY Times article on BP, Toyota and Goldman Sachs http://nyti.ms/9KT2ck was the statement that organizations that handle a crisis well are rarely heard about.
Read more
Responding to “Fake” Tweeters
Public companies increasingly have to deal with “fake” Twitter accounts created by people who have a bone to pick with the corporation or its brands. BPGlobalPR, for example, is a mock Twitter account using the BP name that has already acquired over 187,000 followers with its satirical spoof tweets on the company’s oil spill clean-up efforts. Read more
Smartphone Issues: Communicating About Wireless Woes
In recent days we have seen two of the giants of the Wireless world – Apple and Verizon – respond differently to problems with their smartphone products, resulting in different reactions from consumers and the mainstream and trade media. Read more
Jumping to Conclusions:The Importance of Context in a Sound Bite World
In every field there are teaching moments, and boy, do we have one right now in the communications and media arena.
Shirley Sherrod is an African American civil servant who heads up the Department of Agriculture’s rural development office in Georgia. Read more
McDonald’s Drinking Glass Recall: Crisis Response and Opportunity
McDonald’s recent voluntary recall of 12 million tainted “Shrek”-themed drinking glasses for children illustrates a fundamental rule of crisis communications: crises can bring opportunities, particularly when you have a crisis plan in place and act on it decisively. Read more
War Rooms and Crisis Communications
Establishing a communications “war room” in a crisis is one of the first tactical steps to get on top of a fast breaking situation.
It’s essential to have a central place for a crisis team.
Read more