Sony Hacking Scandal: Facing Down Cyber Security Crises #crisisclassics

The 2015 Sony hacking incident is definitely one for the books. While set to release ‘The Interview’, a film that fictionally depicts the assassination of North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un, Sony was hacked and thousands of embarrassing emails, including ones mentioning various film stars, were revealed. In response to threats of violence against filmgoers, Sony …

Choosing a Successful Crisis Management Team for Your Organization

In the event of a crisis, it’s vital to have a team of people in place who are aware of protocols, ready and willing to act under pressure, quick on their feet, and collaborative. This is your crisis management team and every successful crisis management plan requires one. So, how do you go about choosing …

Sharon Osbourne’s Explosive Media Blunders, Mapped and Analyzed

It’s been recently announced that Sharon Osbourne will be leaving The Talk and this all comes two weeks after the on-air controversial conversation between her and her co-host Sheryl Underwood. I wanted to talk about what really contributed towards all of this spinning out of control.  The tweet that sparked all of this was her …

Expecting the Unexpected: How to Begin Planning for Crisis

When a crisis hits, you want your response to be calm, transparent, empathetic and credible. Unfortunately, in times of actual crises we are prone to produce the exact opposite of this response — it’s hard to keep a clear head when the whole building is on fire! A crisis plan developed well ahead of time …

Y2K & The Underrated Value of Crisis Aversion

Working in crisis management, it doesn’t take long to notice that the toughest cases can also be the most undervalued. It can be hard to tell just how much damage a crisis situation is capable of causing, so when effective damage control is accomplished, clients, and even specialists themselves, may not be able to fully …

Strong (and Some Not So Strong) Brand Responses to the Black Lives Matter Movement

Black lives matter. It’s finally not a controversial thing to say, or at least, not as much as it used to be. In the past two weeks, the movement that arose in the aftermath of Trayvon Martin’s death has seen a resurgence in a way that most would not have anticipated. The murder of George …

BP, Goldman Sachs, and Tesla: 3 Times a CEO’s Response Made a Crisis Worse

Crisis management is all about achieving the right emotional response. People act on what they feel so as a spokesperson, what you say and how you say it matters. In a crisis, what a leader makes their audiences feel matters so regardless of what strategy you choose, leaders need to be conscious of what they …

Zoom: Is a Major Crisis on the Horizon for the Video Conferencing App?

Since the start of the stay-at-home policy to address COVID-19 across the U.S., Zoom, a video conferencing app has shot up astronomically in usage. However, with the sudden rise in popularity, the company now faces a number of public relations challenges due to holes in its privacy infrastructure. There have been revelations that flaws in …

Evaluating The COVID-19 Crisis Response in the United States

The U.S. is currently leading all other countries in COVID-19 infection rates; ahead of China where the outbreak started and well-ahead of South Korea which recorded its first case on the same day as the U.S. On Friday, March 13, President Trump declared that he does ‘not take responsibility at all’ for the failures of …

Grammy’s Controversy: What Will the Future Hold for the Recording Academy?

In late January, mere days before the 2020 Grammy Awards were to take place, a series of allegations made by former Recording Academy CEO Deborah Dugan became public. The crisis spelled a huge hit to the credibility of the 62-year-old organization. Viewership had already been in decline for a while, culminating in a 12-year low …