BulletProofBlog the blog on crisis communications

Say it ain't so! Whole Foods Market, the top U.S. organic foods retailer, has announced a recall of all the fresh ground beef it sold between June 2 and August 6 due to potential E. coli contamination. This significant event threatens to undermine the promise of the Whole Foods brand - that is, consumers may pay more for its products but can expect food that is fresher, healthier, and safer in return. Whole Foods said the ... READ MORE

With everyone putting down their daily newspapers and turning to the Internet as the primary source for news and information, world leaders, celebrities and corporations alike must find new avenues to capture people's attention. Simply put, a high-profile placement in The Times is no longer enough to shape stories and change perceptions. It seems that Jordan's Queen Rania has learned this lesson well - as she is the leading world leader in utilizing new media to ... READ MORE

They say that three's the charm. Not for Australia's Qantas Airways. Three widely reported safety incidents in as many weeks have passengers and Qantas employees concerned and Australian safety authorities on alert. Qantas is actually among the world's safest air carriers, with not a single fatal accident in almost 90 years of commercial operation. But that was yesterday. Now, with three emergency landings one after another putting Qantas in the news, outgoing CEO Geoff Dixon admits ... READ MORE

The latest wave of disappointment in Apple's iPhone 3G saga came with the launch of MobileMe a few weeks back. As users reported server outages and lost e-mails, Apple remained quiet - issuing a terse, one-sentence statement online and eventually sending an apology e-mail to subscribers a few days later. To date, the company still has not answered the increasingly angry demands for information from its loyal customers and has stiff-armed inquiring news media. As a ... READ MORE

With serious consumer-product recalls occurring in the United States seemingly every day, Congress is passing stricter regulations on everything from children's toys to grandma's walker, along with the toughest penalties in history for companies that violate them. The House and Senate are poised to approve the bill and President Bush is expected to quickly sign it. The measure bans lead in toys and requires the Consumer Product Safety Commission to hire more workers. The CPSC will ... READ MORE

As anyone who has been following the presidential campaign this year already knows, there is no bigger media superstar than the presumptive Democratic nominee, Barack Obama. While Obama's superstar status may not translate into an election-day victory - John McCain played the role of media darling in 2000 and it didn't help him beat George W. Bush - it is odd that on the same day the McCain campaign was complaining about press coverage, a feature ... READ MORE

As Chinese state-owned funds step up their global investment initiatives, they may very well face a xenophobic backlash in the U.S. and elsewhere. Americans are already apprehensive about Chinese ownership of so much national debt - and the idea of increased Chinese ownership of American assets could compound that anxiety if the proper inroads are not established. While protectionist messages will likely figure prominently in the public relations strategy employed by opponents of Chinese investment, such ... READ MORE

While there is little expectation that a capitalist rush will soon return the Cuban economy to its prosperous past, there are indications that Raul Castro is initiating subtle changes that could eventually soften the Cuban government's iron grip on its economy. Many geopolitical observers see some of the reforms Cuba is promulgating as moves that could one day morph the nation's economy into a hybrid Chinese model - capitalism, not officially recognized, but not completely stamped ... READ MORE

With the July 4th weekend just around the corner, Americans can still rely on the old saw: "This Bud is for you!" - at least for now. Two weeks ago, we examined InBev's offer to buy Anheuser-Busch and the public uproar that was brewing as a result. With last week's announcement from Anheuser-Busch Chairman Patrick Stokes that A-B has formally rejected the $46.3 billion offer, A-B now stands on the threshold of taking back control of ... READ MORE

Last month, Shell CEO Jereon van der Veer offered the public a rare opportunity to directly question an energy industry leader when he participated in an online chat facilitated by the Times of London Online. The issues covered ranged from skyrocketing fuel costs to climate change. But no matter the question, and no matter the tone, van der Veer's responses were polite, comprehensive, and non-evasive - to the point that one commenter among the largely hostile ... READ MORE