BulletProofBlog the blog on crisis communications

Integrating social media into your company's communications strategy isn't always easy. And if your corporate culture is littered with doubters that have yet to realize the reputation-protecting and brand-bulletproofing benefits of social media monitoring and engagement, the barriers that stand between you and the next frontier of stakeholder outreach can seem overwhelming. Rest assured, at the beginning of this process, every company faces the same challenges. But, with the right approach, even the most daunting of ... READ MORE

He's paid his debt to society. He's been conditionally reinstated by NFL Commissioner Roger Godell. But based on the reactions of owners and coaches from San Francisco to Minnesota to Washington D.C., Michael Vick still has some hurdles to clear before returning to the field. Earlier this week, the Mike & Mike Show interviewed me about what Vick can do take some pressure off of NFL owners who are weighing the benefits of his dazzling play ... READ MORE

In this regular feature, Bulletproof interviews top plaintiffs' attorneys for their perspective on the crises likely to affect businesses in the near future. Today we talk to Maria LaHood, Senior Staff Attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR). Ms. LaHood practices international human rights litigation, seeking to hold government officials and corporations accountable for torture, extrajudicial killings, and war crimes abroad. In June 2009, the CCR scored a resounding victory when Royal Dutch Shell agreed ... READ MORE

It took a week, but Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos finally did the right thing - and in the end, what Amazon did to create a controversy about its popular Kindle device, and how it handled the fallout, offer valuable lessons for companies on the cutting edge of the digital media economy. It all started with an old book, ironically George Orwell's 1984, which tells the story of a totalitarian dictatorship overseen by a mysterious tyrant called ... READ MORE

Add United Airlines to the list of companies that have now experienced social media's power to ensure consumers' voices are heard. The airline found itself out of tune earlier this month after a satirical music video describing poor customer service exploded virally. As I discussed with Aviation Week last week, this video is yet another reminder that the Web has fundamentally changed crisis communications for good. The YouTube video by musician Dave Carroll, "United Breaks Guitars," ... READ MORE

On Friday, President Obama said he "could have calibrated" his words more carefully when he criticized the arrest of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. Applying a classic crisis communications term to justify his statements, the President said he hoped the case would provide "a teachable moment" to spur improved relations between minorities and the police. Better he should have obeyed another PR shibboleth: Know the facts before you enter a fight. By jumping into the ... READ MORE

Each week, Bulletproof Blog features exclusive interviews with thought leaders on issues of critical importance to companies and countries. This week, we interview Stratford Sherman, a partner with the corporate leadership advisory firm Accompli; co-author of the bestselling book Control Your Destiny or Someone Else Will; and a former journalist who conducted high-stakes interviews with countless executives over two decades at Fortune magazine. During an interview with General Electric CEO Jack Welch in 1988, Mr. Sherman ... READ MORE

Bulletproof's Weekly Web Wrap-up offers a compilation of key discussions regarding the relevance of social media in business. Sharing and spreading positive content about your brand can be challenging in the crowded and competitive online space. But overcoming these obstacles is possible if you know where your key audiences are finding their information. New data suggests that Facebook beats out the competition, including Twitter and e-mail, when it comes to the most popular methods for sharing content. ... READ MORE

At the turn of the century, Sarbanes-Oxley brought about an era of unprecedented corporate transparency. Today, the current global financial crisis has put the spotlight on corporate accountability. As a result, boards of directors must not only take a more active and engaged role in how their companies respond to myriad crisis situations, they must also understand how an impending regulatory sea change will impact their responsibilities and liabilities. In this month's edition of Levick's e-newsletter, High ... READ MORE

A new study by the Statistical Assessment Service of George Mason University (STATS) offers a fascinating look at how the media's limited understanding of the science of statistics can lead to the spread of potentially dangerous misinformation. STATS took a close look at news coverage of Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical found in thousands of plastic products from baby bottles and canteens to food containers and pill packages. Reports that BPA might leak into food and ... READ MORE