Tag Archives: social media

crisis response, opinion and insights

Poll: Impact of crises today – deep or shallow?

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Courtesy: Stuart McMillen, based on work by Neil Postman

 

Although penned more than a year and a half ago, I recently stumbled upon a thought-provoking cartoon by Stuart McMillen and based on text by Neil Postman.  I’ve posted two key panels to the left, but clicking there will take you to the entire cartoon. 

In full, it concludes that Huxley’s fears have become more prevalent than Orwell’s, and that the public has an “almost infinite appetite for distractions.”  Information and entertainment overload are thought to be contributing factors.  We are hyperlinked, super networked and gadget consumed.  (For example, how many travelers do you see toggling through email, Twitter, AP news and Angry Birds apps when in an airport?  How many of you are those travelers?  I’m partially guilty.) 

If the Huxley fears are accurate, it raises an interesting question for crisis/reputation managers.  

Does a crisis today have more impact or less impact than, say, a decade ago when bad news came from fewer focal points? 

By example, I’d venture to guess that the public was more informed about the Toyota recall or the Qantas’ emergency landing (caused by a faulty Rolls-Royce engine) than a decade ago.  But is the impact the same as a decade ago?  

Continue reading Poll: Impact of crises today – deep or shallow? →

opinion and insights, Welcome / site mission

2010 reflections: “I now know why I blog”

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When I launched this blog on Jan. 7, 2010, I will admit I was flying blind.  But, oh, what places I’ve been!   As a 2010 wrap-up post, here are key things I’ve appreciated and learned through this experience.

 

This is my book.  This blog began as a book outline.  The working title was “Crisis Management in the Culture of NOW!”  Within a week of typing “CHAPTER ONE,” I realized I was racing to catch the sun.  I rationalized that by the time I sought a publisher, there’d likely be a half-dozen books on my topic.  I also found myself reading more crisis-expert blogs to bolster points I wanted to make in the book.  I quickly began calculating the benefits of blog vs. book.

A blog has no shelf-life – it’s a living, breathing thing.  A blog would allow me to explore multiple facets of crisis management and communications coaching, not just the angle tethered to a book title.  A blog doesn’t require “new editions” to be updated.  And – perhaps most enticing – a blog encourages interaction through comments and “likes” and retweets. 

Thus, after a maddening month trying to learn web hosting and WordPress (it’s not nearly as easy as advertised), this blog was born.  If I may be immodest, it’s a lot better than my book would have been.

 

This is my database.  Here’s an admission – I have a terrible memory.  If I don’t write something down, it’s very likely that I’ll forget something useful I’ve created for a client.  (Clients who know me well joke that I’m the perfect crisis counselor – unintended disclosures are unlikely because most details of their ordeal are completely forgotten “within a month.”  Har, har.) 

Continue reading 2010 reflections: “I now know why I blog” →

opinion and insights

Video: my interview with CommPRO’s Brian Pittman

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Earlier today, my interview with Brian Pittman – part of his “DESKSIDE WITH…” series – was posted to CommPRO, a marketing communications industry news hub.   Here ‘tis:

I’ll admit that I thought the final video would have been an edited to 4-5 minutes, but the final product clocks in at a meaty 12:51.   If you haven’t got that much time to spend, here’s what we cover:

  • 00:11:  What I’m working on now – moving organizations from “plans” to “capabilities”
  • 00:50:  Crisis implications/lessons on WikiLeaks on companies
  • 4:21:  Biggest mistakes brands make when bad news breaks (hint:  they’re not aligned!)
  • 6:19:  Common elements of companies that manage crises well through social media  (hint:  they’re aligned!)
  • 8:33:  Crisis preparedness New Year’s resolutions
  • 10:18:  How to align crisis response among PR, advertising, marketing, investor relations and corporate communications disciplines and agency partners  (hint:  get aligned before a crisis happens!)

If you have any feedback on the interview, share it with me below.  (And, yes, I know I need a better webcam.)

Thanks!

Dec. 24 Update:  Crisisblogger (and expert) Gerald Baron was kind enough to refer his readers to this interview on his blog.  Thanks, Gerald!

Jan. 20 Update:  It’s nice to see my European colleague Dirk Popp feature this video interview on his blog.  Thanks, Dirk!

crisis response, opinion and insights

Too Soon to Qantify the Qantas Response?

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If you are unfamiliar with Wednesday’s dramatic events that happened to Qantas, Austrialia’s national airline that has never had a fatal accident, the events are nicely chronicled on this post from Tnooz, a news and analysis site on the travel industry.

Condensed summary:

  • Qantas A380 makes a safe emergency return landing in Singapore after a Rolls-Royce made engine broke apart minutes after takeoff.
  • Passengers aboard the plane quickly Tweet and upload photos of videos of the engine and emergency landing efforts.
  • Reuters reports that CNBC television learns of a plane crashing near Singapore.
    • Note:  I could not evidence of a misreported crash anywhere on a CNBC website – beware of media sourcing media!
  • People on the ground on the small island of Batam upload photos of logoed engine parts (around the same time Qantas may have told Australian media there were no signs of wreckage)
  • On Wednesday evening, Qantas posted updates to its Facebook page.  The same night, one Tweet from its travel-tips account redirects inquiries to official Qantas channels, and its U.S.- targeted Twitter account adds a link the next day.

The Tnooz reporter concludes that the airline could have done more on Twitter to reassure the public.   Ragan.com’s Matt Wilson calls the situation “Qantas’s big #fail in quelling tweeted rumors of a crash.”  Crisisblogger Gerald Baron raises good questions and challenges, but ultimately grades the situation a C- to F grade. 

In my view, Qantas deserves a little more deliberation on its deliberation.

Continue reading Too Soon to Qantify the Qantas Response? →

crisis response

Tourism Pro Questions on Crisis Management

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Recently, I led a breakout session at the Florida Governor’s Conference on Tourism.   My topic was “effective crisis management foundations” – a condensed version of a training program that we’ve built at Ketchum.  It’s our belief that you cannot have strong crisis management approaches, nor plans or systems, without the foundation of a strong crisis management leader.   SALES PITCH:  If you’re ever interested in learning more about this leadership training opportunity from Ketchum, drop me a line. 

During the Q&A session, the tourism pros asked questions that may yield lessons for others, so I’ve captured those here.  Disclaimer:  Everything below is paraphrased from memory, since I couldn’t take notes during the session. 

  

Q:   When an organization faces a determined critic, when should criticisms be ignored, and when is it time to address the critic? 

A:    This is difficult to answer specifically because so many factors need to be considered.  However, in general, begin by analyzing the critic…and the criticisms.  Is the critic credible to your audiences that matter?  Is the critic making an impact on your business?  How much traction might the critic or criticisms gain through social media?  Are the criticisms easy to defend, or do they require deeper explanation?  If the latter, is there a way to tell your side of the story in a compelling way?  These are just starter questions, of course – there are many more factors to consider before “getting down in the mud,” if required. 

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