PR practitioners learn early that no company or individual is safe and even the smallest mistake can lead to tragedy.  Take this case.   A one-letter typo in a UK government report put a company out of business.  Two companies had virtually the same name.  One of those companies was in liquidation and the other was […]

Posted on January 29th, 2015 by admin
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The mathematical models and weather predictions were wrong.  The historic storm that was supposed to wallop the Tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut missed.  It side slipped 75 miles to the east and hit the far tip of Long Island and New England.  Government officials and citizens are angry.  The communications lead-up […]

Posted on January 28th, 2015 by admin
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How do you refresh an icon gone stale?  That’s the challenge facing Mattel whose Barbie doll cash generator is no longer the ideal play toy for young girls.  The company had relied so long on the once best-selling toy that it has trouble migrating to new toy lines.  The CEO has just resigned and there […]

Posted on January 27th, 2015 by admin
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School superintendents, county executives, commuting authorities, mayors, governors and weather forecasters all have warned the public about a blizzard about to hit the northeast.  There are predictions ranging from one to three feet depending on where one lives. Supermarkets are mobbed and shelves stripped bare.  People are stocking up on gas for generators and snow blowers.  Snow shovels are […]

Posted on January 26th, 2015 by admin
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Wal-Mart has won multiple marketing objectives with one stroke of genius.  For the under-banked in our society, many of whom are Wal-mart customers, the chain is offering tax refunds in cash at its stores.  One can go to the store, get taxes done and receive refund without a check or direct deposit, neither of which […]

Posted on January 21st, 2015 by admin
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The Islamic terrorist group, Isis, is blackmailing the Japanese government by threatening to decapitate two Japanese citizens unless the country pays $200 million for their ransom.  Japan would be foolhardy to give in.  By so doing, it would put a ransom on the head of every one of its citizens.  No Japanese would be safe […]

Posted on January 20th, 2015 by admin
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Drones are coming to the news gathering business, and to the crisis communicator it means a loss of control.  There will be no keeping back the news media from the scene of an accident while first responders handle the dead and dying.  Overhead cameras will record every grisly detail.  For PR practitioners, there will be […]

Posted on January 16th, 2015 by admin
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The CEO of JP Morgan, Jamie Dimon, is accusing federal regulators of piling on his bank.  Rather than one regulator, he says, he now has five or six to deal with.  While that might be true, his complaint smacks of special pleading.  Large banks were in the thick of the financial meltdown, and they are […]

Posted on January 15th, 2015 by admin
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Disneyland has a medical and PR problem.  A measles outbreak has been traced to the theme park.  Disneyland wouldn’t have the issue if parents vaccinated their children, but many aren’t.  What is the company to do?  It would risk its business if it demanded that parents bring vaccination papers from their doctors before they are […]

Posted on January 14th, 2015 by admin
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Five years ago the most devastating earthquake in Haiti’s history killed 200,000 people and left hundreds of thousands more homeless.  The media covered the quake and its aftermath intensively then moved on.  Today there are still more than 85,000 homeless in the country and little is being done for them.  The media’s attention is elsewhere, […]

Posted on January 13th, 2015 by admin
Filed under: Uncategorized | 196 Comments »