From Ozan Varol: If you had asked me this question–How do you change a mind?–two years ago, I would have given you a different answer. As a former scientist, I would have cautioned you to rely on objective facts and statistics. Develop a strong case for your side, back it up with hard, cold, irrefutable […]
[By Thom Fladung, Hennes Communications] “The house could be burned down before you even smell smoke.” In 2009, The Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics set out to study how the court of public opinion can shape legal controversies. The sources were the people on the front lines – responses gathered from a questionnaire sent […]
Bruce Hennes, managing partner of Cleveland-based Hennes Communications, has been named one of 50 “Game-Changers of PR for 2017” by PRNews, one of the public relations profession’s leading news sources. Hennes was selected to join a group of industry leaders from corporations, non-profits and communications firms around the country who use their deep knowledge and […]
By Thom Fladung, Hennes Communications At Hennes Communications, we often tell clients that they have an attorney for the Court of Law. But they have us for the Court of Public Opinion. And those two courts often require different – and at times conflicting – strategies. Attorneys have persuasive arguments for tailoring a strategy completely […]
From our friend, Diane Citrino: The crisis management mantra of “tell the truth, tell it all, tell it first, and tell it fast” to get ahead of a breaking crisis is wonderful advice, but begs the question, “What is the truth?” As famously sung in Jesus Christ Superstar, “We both have truths; Are mine the […]
Is the CEO or P.R. person the best to face the cameras in a crisis? How do P.R. reps get into journalists’ good books? Daily Mirror editor Peter Willis gave the lowdown at a recent PRWeek’s Crisis Communications conference. Asked what advice he’d give a PR facing a journalist who is acting aggressively, Willis said: […]
Unfortunately, one of the fastest growth areas of business – and amongst the saddest – are the calls we receive at Hennes Communications with allegations of sexual misconduct. For scores of years, the prevailing wisdom was ignore, obfuscate, transfer and protect privacy and reputations at all-costs. Like so many pendulums, times change, and it’s now […]
From CNN.com: Video has emerged of a little girl being dragged off a pier and into the water (a few weeks ago) by a sea lion in British Columbia. The girl’s family reportedly had been feeding the sea lion and whistling or holding their hands over the water, as if they were holding a treat. The video […]
By Thom Fladung, Hennes Communications The Court of Public Opinion is now in session. In fact, it’s always in session – on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media outlets. The practice of litigation communications or litigation public relations is young, as legal and communications matters go, emerging in the early 1980s, according to many […]
From the Wall Street Journal’s Risk & Compliance Journal: No matter the crisis—a billion-euro loss, a breach that leaves millions of customer records at risk or a major airline accident with the CEO on board—organizations can take steps to weather the storm, according to Jeremy Smith, global leader of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited’s Crisis Management […]