The Public Relations Blog

3 critical factors to crisis communications

Mere days ago, in my hometown, a series of explosions and fires from natural gas leaks caused catastrophic damage, including fatalities, the destruction of homes, and the displacement of more than 8,000 families. At the epicenter of the devastation and mass evacuations of three Massachusetts towns stood Columbia Gas.

How crisis communications is becoming more necessary in college athletics

Allegations and subsequent scandals have rocked some big-name college athletics programs over the last several years. Given the 24/7 news cycle that currently operates, these instances show a shift toward the need for crisis communications for an industry whose traditional media coverage focuses on the outcome of a game.

It’s just a matter of time before a crisis hits, and if you’re not prepared, it will show. Following the three R’s of a crisis: regret, reform, and restitution will help your company handle the situation and protect your reputation. Here are five tips to help you manage a crisis.

20 crises Axia Public Relations managed for clients that your company needs to plan for

In today’s day and age, it’s a matter of when, not if, a crisis will happen to your company. When you’re unprepared for a crisis, you’re jeopardizing your company, your employees, your shareholders, your reputation, and your future.

As a public relations firm dedicated to helping companies manage crisis communications, improve their reputations, and manage online reviews, it often surprises us how many of our prospective clients don’t understand the differences between these things. We think it’s important to educate companies about these critical areas of PR. If you don’t know the difference between crisis communications, reputation management, and review management, you’re in luck, as we outline the three below.

Don’t make these errors when a crisis hits your company

On the afternoon of Thursday, April 12, an employee at a Starbucks in Philadelphia decided that two men who were sitting at a table and had not purchased anything were a threat. That employee called the police who arrested the men and held them in custody until 1:30 a.m. the next morning. The men, who were waiting for a business associate, were African-American. Another Starbucks patron, Melissa DePino, recorded the incident and posted the video to Twitter at 2:12 that same afternoon. She tagged the video @Starbucks.

When crisis hits, bravely step up to the microphone

Living in New England has advantages, except for when our region endures treacherous weather conditions. The past few weeks, we’ve braved a multiple-storm nor’easter pattern that flooded our coastal residences and devastated interior areas. Heavy, wet snow and high winds felled hundreds of trees across power lines and roadways causing extensive outages. As a resident, I earned a ringside seat to the fallout and backlash the power companies received because, while they stated before the storms that they were prepared, they were not.

Is a crisis an operations problem or a public relations problem?

Facebook has received its fair share of negative news coverage in the past; however, it’s nothing like the current firestorm around it and the political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica. While the debate continues as to whether Facebook knew that the firm was actively harvesting user data to personalize content based on profile analytics, there’s no question that many Facebook users feel Facebook violated their privacy and are even questioning if the information presented to them on their personal news feeds manipulated them in some way.

3 tips to help you prepare

News headlines are regularly peppered with fear-instilling stories of data breaches and cybersecurity threats that riddle us to the core as we consider how our personal and private information is vulnerable to hackers.

These same issues should concern companies even more. Large corporations like Uber and Equifax have already fallen prey to cyberattacks, and health care is the most hacked industry to date. Cybersecurity is no longer an issue exclusively for individuals who fear identity theft. It’s a rampant concern for companies as well. In addition to customer data, company trade secrets, patents and proprietary algorithms are vulnerable.

Axia Public Relations encourages its clients to regularly review and update their crisis communications plans. As more headlines spotlight cybersecurity concerns, adding steps and protocols for a cyberattack is prudent. For those that don’t have a cybersecurity plan in place, here are three steps to consider as you prepare:

Communication tips for what to do when your brand unexpectedly ‘catches fire’ and you need to calm consumers

This week, NBC’s “This Is Us” gave viewers an emotionally gripping episode that seriously tugged their heartstrings. It also sent many to their cupboards to dispose of a kitchen appliance that was the terrifying catalyst for one of the show’s biggest tragedies. The villainous appliance? A Crock-Pot.