By Eric Yaverbaum for O’Dwyer’s 2022 brought no shortage of high-profile crises for brands and celebrities alike. Under Elon Musk’s thumb, Twitter has been marred by continual controversy, including imposter Twitter accounts buying verified status and pretending to be brands—a subscription service that later relaunched with a higher price tag—and at one point, Musk even mentioning bankruptcy. From an […]
By Katie Paine for PRNEWS Anyone who has studied crisis communications knows, “he/she who speaks first owns the narrative.” Once bad news breaks, whether it is a self-inflicted crisis, accident or natural disaster, there’s a sequence that all crises follow. Something happens, the news media finds out about it and starts asking questions, and whoever […]
By Eliana Dockterman for TIME Since taking over the position of CEO of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences last July, Bill Kramer has spent a lot of time putting out fires. In the past two years, the Oscars ratings sank to their lowest in the show’s history. The Academy has tasked Kramer […]
By Steve Barnes for O’Dwyers Most company leaders feel that they’re doing a good job when it comes to internal comms, according to communications management platform Axios HQ. Employees, however, aren’t quite so sure. Out of the more than 1,000 leaders that Axios polled last November, 77 percent said that essential communications at their organizations […]
By Bruce Hennes & Nora Jacobs, Hennes Communications A CEO, executive director, bar association president or other business executive has to apologize or speak about something very important. The stakes are high – and the apology is going to have to be done using Zoom or another virtual platform. Under any circumstance, delivering an effective […]
By Linda Varrell for Mainebiz Over the past year, I’ve received twice as many calls for crisis communications than in the 15 years since I launched Broadreach Public Relations. And none of them had anything to do with COVID. In some of the cases, organizations were already in the throes of Def Con One, worst-case […]
By Anne Green for O’Dwyers In May of 2010, BP’s then-CEO uttered what must’ve become one of the most infamous phrases in the annals of crisis communications: “There is no one who wants this over more than I do. I would like my life back.” The leader in question, Tony Hayward, already had a reputation […]
By Liz Janisse, Rachel Rosenblatt for O’Dwyers We’re living in the era of the documentary, a time when [insert favorite streaming service here] has the scoop on cults, tigers, murder mysteries and even threats to corporate reputations. Today, there are more than 50 different streaming services in North America alone, all competing for subscribers and […]
By Kathryn Janicek for Harvard Business Review Alongside meetings, job interviews, and even social events, layoffs have entered the virtual era. It was, after all, inevitable. In a recent McKinsey study, 35 percent of respondents reported that they were able to work remotely full time. Logic follows that when someone works remotely, they can be laid off remotely, too. […]
By Bruce Hennes, Hennes Communications In the aftermath of the death of Tyre Nichols at the hands of five police officers, the Memphis Police Chief chose not to stand behind the usual “This is a matter under investigation.” Instead, she made remarks that were honest and, in my opinion, stunningly blunt. Her outrage was evident […]