Crisis & Reputation News
Expert commentary on crisis & reputation communication events and trends.
4 min audio McDonald's CEO vs. Sustainability Messaging: Who Got It Right
Three communication stories collided in the PR world recently: an AI tool got a crash course in public-facing messaging, McDonald's CEO found himself unexpectedly viral, and sustainability communicators are still fighting to be taken seriously. Each story sits at a different point on the credibility spectrum. Together, they paint a clear picture of what separates communication that lands from communication that flatters itself.
4 min audio What a Village Pub's Apology Teaches About Crisis Comms
A Norfolk pub called The Queens Head in Thurlton issued a public apology to its customers after repeated failures in its food service operation. The disruptions happened more than once, which forced the business to address its community directly and publicly. This was not a single bad night. It was a pattern, and the pub chose to own it.
4 min audio Talent Crisis Communication: What Brands Get Wrong
When a brand ambassador or hired talent goes sideways, publicly, companies scramble. Ad Age recently mapped out how brands can protect themselves before a crisis hits and recover their footing after one does. The piece covers everything from pre-hire vetting processes to the public messaging required once damage is already done. The underlying problem is familiar: brands keep getting blindsided by people they chose.
4 min audio Social Media Fails: What Brands Get Wrong Every Time
Brands across industries have repeatedly torched their own reputations on social media by posting tone-deaf responses, deleting criticism instead of addressing it, or going silent when audiences demanded accountability. These failures follow a predictable pattern: a company prioritizes its own comfort over its audience's need for honesty. The damage is rarely from the original mistake. It compounds because the communication response makes everything worse.
Never Be Lost for Words Again
Get word‑for‑word scripts for the conversations that shape your life, from job interviews and negotiations to difficult talks with family and partners, so you always know exactly what to say and how to say it.
Never Be Lost
for Words Again
Get word‑for‑word scripts for the conversations that shape your life, from job interviews and negotiations to difficult talks with family and partners, so you always know exactly what to say and how to say it.
4 min audio Mayor Hill-Lewis Cape Town Crisis Communication Failure
A court ruled against Cape Town's tariff structure, exposing what critics say was an unlawful overreach by Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis and the city administration. Residents who overpaid are now owed answers. Instead of a clear public response owning the outcome, the mayor's office has stayed largely quiet. That silence is not neutral. In a crisis like this, silence is a message. And it is the wrong one.
4 min audio Kyndryl Layoffs and Surveys: A Communication Disaster
Kyndryl, the IT services company spun out of IBM, sent layoff notifications to a group of employees and a company-wide sentiment survey on the same day. The survey asked employees how they felt about working at Kyndryl. The company described this timing as part of its "commitment to listen." Some employees received both messages within hours of each other.
4 min audio Ranveer Singh Apology: What He Got Right and Wrong
Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh found himself tangled in a legal dispute after mimicking elements from the film *Kantara*, a work with deep cultural and religious significance to many in Karnataka. The Karnataka High Court stepped in and directed Singh to offer prayers at the Chamundeshwari Temple as part of resolving the matter. Singh had already submitted an unconditional apology by way of a revised court affidavit before the temple visit took place.
4 min audio Danny Kruger's Reform Blunder: What Not to Say in a Crisis
Reform UK's by-election candidate for Makerfield, Robert Kenyon, faced serious allegations after deleted and banned social media accounts surfaced containing racist and misogynistic content, including degrading comments about Carol Vorderman. When party figure Danny Kruger was pressed on the matter, he chose to minimize rather than condemn. The party's response to its own candidate's behavior became the second fire to put out.
Never Be Lost for Words Again
Get word‑for‑word scripts for the conversations that shape your life, from job interviews and negotiations to difficult talks with family and partners, so you always know exactly what to say and how to say it.
Never Be Lost
for Words Again
Get word‑for‑word scripts for the conversations that shape your life, from job interviews and negotiations to difficult talks with family and partners, so you always know exactly what to say and how to say it.
4 min audio Paul Papalia Prison Crisis: A Communication Failure
During a violent riot at West Kimberley Regional Prison in Western Australia, female inmates were allegedly sexually assaulted by male prisoners who gained access to them amid the chaos. When the story broke publicly, WA Corrections Minister Paul Papalia refused to explain why the incident had been withheld from public knowledge. The silence after the silence became its own scandal.
4 min audio Brand Talent Crisis: What to Say Before It Happens
Brands increasingly find themselves scrambling when a spokesperson, influencer, or talent partner becomes a liability overnight. Ad Age recently spotlighted how companies are rethinking their entire approach to talent relationships, from the vetting process before signing to the damage control playbook that kicks in when things go sideways. The message is clear: most brands are underprepared for both ends of that equation.
4 min audio McDonald's CEO, AI PR Tools and Sustainability Messaging
Three stories collided in the PR world recently: an AI tool getting a crash course in corporate communication, McDonald's CEO catching viral attention for how he handled public scrutiny, and the eternal debate over whether sustainability messaging still moves audiences. Together, they form a portrait of an industry wrestling with a fundamental question: when the moment comes, do you actually know what to say?
4 min audio ESG Messaging Failed: The Reputation Lesson for Leaders
Over the past decade, corporations poured billions into Environmental, Social, and Governance programs, positioning themselves as responsible global citizens. But the shine has worn off. Critics, regulators, and increasingly skeptical investors now view most ESG commitments as elaborate reputation management dressed up in moral language. The gap between what companies say and what they actually do has become impossible to ignore.
Culture and Cornhole: What Tony Pierce Gets Right
Celebrity Scandals: What Works in Reputation Comeback
Why Anonymous Feedback Masks Broken Culture
Mayor Mamdani's Egypt Comment: What Went Wrong
Hull City Owner's Public Spat: A Communication Failure
Why Scientists Fail at Communication (And How to Fix It)
What Amagi's CPO Gets Right About AI Leadership
