Is the FT wrong about PR?
Today's FT article – titled When CEOs should ditch the "PR polish" – has upset a lot of people in the marketing and PR business.
It’s easy to react to the headline – coupled with parts of the article recognising Ecotricity founder Dale Vince for “bucking the trend of media-managed executives” – and assume it’s a piece bashing the whole discipline of public relations. But it’s not. On closer reading, it's ...
CEO survey finds few prepared for crises
An interesting study has revealed that too many CEOs feel unprepared to handle a crisis.
The poll of 1,000 global company directors found they recognise the turbulent times facing their business in 2023, but few feel well-placed to handle disruption. Sixty-one percent said they feel unprepared to deal with ...
Fire chief shows how not to handle TV interview
I just saw the BBC's interview with Dorset & Wiltshire fire chief Ben Ansell about allegations of a toxic culture in the service. It's clear Ansell had prepared - but it's an instructive example of preparation misapplied!
The BBC's Dan Johnson asked Ansell about an email from a former employee blowing the whistle on ...
Fundamentals of crisis communications
I took part in a discussion the other day about how companies should manage their reputation in times of crisis. Here's a summarised version of the three questions posed and the answers I gave.
1. How can a company mitigate its reputational risks? When it comes to business crises, there are three phases of reputation management: preparation, response and recovery. The adage that prevention is better than cure applies well to corporate reputation. But, in my experience, too few ...
Andrew thrown under royal carriage in reputation crisis
The latest developments in the Prince Andrew saga have been dramatic. The Palace has stripped him of his Royal titles and says he’ll have to contest the legal case against him as a ‘private citizen’. But two important reputation management points have been largely overlooked. Firstly, many have praised the Queen's decisiveness. Her actions were certainly swift, but ...
Can Facebook’s rebrand salvage its reputation?
I was pleased to be quoted in this week's Management Today - in an article exploring whether Facebook's rebrand to 'Meta' can help the company overcome its deep-seated reputational problems. Of course, there may be other good business reasons why Facebook is rebranding - such as to stake a place in the public consciousness at the forefront of the upcoming metaverse movement. But, as far as the impact on its reputational ...
How to (mis)manage a personal crisis
North Yorkshire Police Commissioner Philip Allott finally quit today in the wake of his inflammatory comments about the tragic case of Sarah Everard, abducted and murdered by Met Police officer Wayne Couzens. Three big problems stand out for me in the way Allott has (mis)managed his reputation throughout his career crisis of the last two weeks. The first - and most obvious - is his ludicrous ....
Brewer hounded by reputational crisis
Maverick Scottish brewer BrewDog found itself under fire earlier this month as more than 100 ex-employees sent a blistering open letter to its founders – condemning them for fostering a "toxic" culture and wrecking employees’ mental health. The signatories have since grown, now numbering more than 300.
The craft beer firm is no stranger to controversy: it has a habit of ...
Crisis talk at charity conference
I enjoyed talking at Fundraising Intelligence Conference 2021 last week about how to manage your reputation in times of crisis.
Charities, social enterprises, non-profits and public bodies are, of course, just as susceptible to reputational disasters as private companies. The sector was rocked last year by a large-scale ....
Charity in “toxic culture” crisis
I see NCVO – the hundred-year-old charity supporting Britain’s non-profits – has hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons. With a damning investigation uncovering a deeply “toxic culture” and its board bluntly admitting it’s all true, there are several curious points that strike me from its reputational crisis. The independent investigation was carried out last year, with its findings revealed at that point only to NCVO staff. But it's all come to the fore as the report has just been leaked to charity publication Third Sector, which has run a blistering ...