Recently, the employees at the video game studio Activision Blizzard ended up walking off their jobs after news of а sexual harassment and gender discrimination lawsuit inside the company surfaced. Before the scheduled walkout, the employees shared a statement of...
Recently, the car corporations Audi, Volkswagen, BMW, Porsche, and Mercedes-Benz, along with the parent company Daimler, were fined $1 billion by the European Union because they had spent years colluding on ways to slow down the deployment of technology that would...
While timely action can prevent the worst consequences of a PR crisis, there are certain actions that an organization can take that will make the crisis worse. The worst things that an organization can do that will make a PR crisis worse are: Lying Since the point of...
If you own a business, it’s critical that you take reasonable steps to guard against someone (whether they be an employee or customer) being injured as a result of your negligence. This is simply a matter of ethics. While sometimes accidents may occur through no fault...
Crisis situations happen fast, and before PR teams even have a chance to get organized, even minor issues can blow up like balloons—and social media is a big reason why. Complaints and revelations hit this medium at lightning speed, and comments and replies to these...
After a long settlement procedure, the Volkswagen Group is now set to receive about $14 million from its former chairman Martin Winterkorn. Back in March, the supervisory board for the corporation reviewed all of the findings regarding the “dieselgate” scandal from...
The last fifteen months have been difficult around the globe due to the pandemic. When the World Health Organization first announced that the virus has spread to multiple countries, many of them announced the closing down of locations where people tend to gather in...
The consequences for mismanaging communications during an unfortunate situation can cost companies millions, employees their careers, and even ostracization from social media. Sometimes referred to as “Cancel Culture”, the fact of the matter is that thanks to social...
The global pandemic has had a big impact on every single industry, and the businesses that managed to continue operating likely used PR and marketing strategies. PR professionals have learned plenty of lessons over the past year, including the importance of...
Good public relations is vital for every single industry in the business world, especially now that most businesses are partially based online and are looking to attract customers from all around the globe. However, acquiring good PR is more important for some...
As with any important communication, the medium of the message matters. While public statements and interviews are important because of the reach that accompanies them, sometimes in a crisis another medium may be more effective or appropriate. Emails are a powerful...
Prior to joining Burson-Marsteller, my first PR job was with a political agency, where I learned on-the-job lessons not taught in communication’s schools about how to deal with the media and approach problems that could change on a daily basis. I have long said that...