BulletProofBlog the blog on crisis communications

Earlier this week, hundreds of traditional and online news outlets reported the news that none other than famed New York Times Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Maureen Dowd had mistakenly cribbed entire sections of a recent column from one of the web's most widely read bloggers. We've said it in this space time and again. With more than three-quarters of traditional journalists now reading the blogs for story ideas, bloggers are rapidly becoming - if they aren't ... READ MORE

The recent widely-publicized shooting at Wesleyan University opened a wound that has been trying to heal since Columbine. With the recent anniversaries of both the Columbine and Virginia Tech tragedies, we are reminded once again of the crucial role communications plays during crises that can shake public confidence to its roots. Wesleyan has been commended for its rapid and effective response in notifying students about the shooting. School officials sent students emergency voicemail and text messages ... READ MORE

Each Monday, Bulletproof Blog features exclusive interviews with thought leaders on issues of critical importance to companies and countries. This week, we interview Betsy Atkins, Chairman and CEO of Clear Standards, a leading provider of enterprise carbon management and sustainability solutions. She is also a current or former member of more than 20 corporate boards, including Reynolds Tobacco, the NASDAQ LLC, Chicos, Sunpower and Polycom. As a board member at Lucent Technologies during the bursting of ... READ MORE

In case you were wondering whether words matter, consider the term "swine flu." Pigs can't contract the H1N1 virus that causes the illness that bears their name. Nor can humans catch the flu from contact with pigs or from eating pork. But the name "swine flu" persists, and pork producers around the world are now being forced to defend their products against allegations that they harbor a deadly virus. Despite considerable effort to substitute "H1N1" for "swine ... READ MORE

First the facts: The nation's food supply has never been safer. The number of reported illnesses caused by common food-borne pathogens such as E. coli, salmonella, and listeria continues to decrease year after year. Now the unfortunate reality: Public concern over food-borne illnesses has never been greater - thanks in large part to a recent uptick in food recalls (and the media attention they generate), even as the real threat diminishes. Why the apparent disconnect? Because public ... READ MORE

Each Monday, Bulletproof Blog features exclusive interviews with thought leaders on issues of critical importance to companies and countries. This week, we speak to Daniel Richards, Chief Executive Officer of Global Rescue, which provides medical, security, evacuation and crisis response services to corporate and individual clients around the world. A former investment banker and private equity investor, Mr. Richards has an acute sense of how this work applies to businesses in crises of every type.  What ... READ MORE

When consumer product safety scares create reputational crises for companies, a priority goal is to reach the teachable moment - the point at which the public is satisfied that the crisis has been contained and the company can begin to regain consumer confidence by talking abou what it's doing to prevent similar problems in the future. As we see in the chart below - which utilizes Levick's own public opinion research to map consumer anxiety over ... READ MORE

When an Oprah Winfrey tie-in offered an opportunity for viewers to download free coupons Wednesday, KFC was clearly unprepared for an overwhelming response from consumers wanting to try the Colonel's new grilled chicken. Millions of customers downloaded the coupons and lined up at KFC stores nationwide. But thousands were turned away when many stores around the country ran out of chicken. Within hours, KFC had a PR problem on its hands as customers turned to ... READ MORE

Last month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an endangerment finding that classifies greenhouse gases as a threat to public health - a move that paves the way for the federal government to regulate the emission of such gases for the first time in American history. While many still question the science behind global warming and how greenhouse gases contribute to it, perception is reality. The widespread belief that greenhouse gas emissions are damaging our ... READ MORE

By the time most corporations have geared up for a class action lawsuit and are ready to do battle, their opponents on the plaintiffs' side have already launched pay-per-click campaigns and sweeps of the general population; penetrated the social media; and implemented organic Search Engine Optimization (SEO) that earns top billing for their websites when information-seekers use their search engines. Even small plaintiffs' firms know how to take advantage of blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and other social ... READ MORE