BulletProofBlog the blog on crisis communications

With the recent news that the TJX data breach actually affected 94 million credit cards--more than double the 45.6 million cards initially reported--any company that has anything to do with private consumer data must be on alert. And even though there are theories circulating that hackers used an in-store employment kiosk to set the data stealing trap, TJX hasn't had much to say. From a communications point of view, TJX's lack of transparency (and 'everybody's doing ... READ MORE

I was reading Operational Risk's insightful recent blog post on the role of fear in understanding and managing risk and that got me thinking about the role that emotions--fear, ego, a desire to be right, etc.--play in a time of crisis. Larry Craig, Martha Stewart, Michael Vick and the Utah mining disaster have something in common--in all four situations, an initial crisis strategy was sorely lacking, and emotion overrode logic. These are examples of the dangers ... READ MORE

In the past two months, we've seen and heard more of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) than we had for our entire lives. Most recently, the agency has come under fire for what some see as a deadly delay in issuing a recall for a baby crib. This September, Congress conducted a series of hearings examining the disappointing role of the CPSC in the recent recall of toys imported from China. By now we've all ... READ MORE

Tainted food has claimed another victim--this time, the company that allegedly created the crisis. New Jersey-based meat processor Topps Meat Co.ceased business operations after a week-long crisis. Why?  Because the recent recall of more than 21 million pounds of its frozen hamburger patties led one senior company executive to conclude that his company could not 'overcome the economic reality of a recall this large'. Topps put a high-profile communications firm to work on the case several ... READ MORE