The Polpeo Blog | Polpeo - Crisis Simulations

Dealing with outrage cycles and community polarisation

February 17, 2023

Social networks love posts that provoke strong emotions – these tend to be shared widely as we often can’t help but react to them. A like, an outraged quote post or a reply – all are ways we tell the…

Bench saying 'take a little time to think'

Preparing leaders for a crisis takes more than media training

February 3, 2023

Kate Hartley

I’ve worked with a lot of leadership teams to help them prepare for a crisis, often running simulation exercises alongside their communications teams or PR agencies. When I first talk to the PR and comms teams, their focus is often…

Brightly coloured lanterns outside city hall during Pride

Aligning your values to your behaviour can avoid a reputation crisis

January 12, 2023

Kate Hartley

A couple of years ago, I wrote a book on crisis communication, and I interviewed the amazing business psychologist, Gill Green, about what an organisation might do to trigger (inadvertently) a backlash against them. We talked about the relationship that…

How “good intentions” can create a backlash

January 4, 2023

Gemma Storey

The road to hell is paved with good intentions, or so they say. A brand might have the best intentions in its social content and marketing, but if it fails to live up to its promises, it could cause a…

People don’t want pledges, they want action

June 23, 2022

Gemma Storey

There are several reminders in the news about the importance of living up to the promises and pledges we make. It’s easy for marketing departments to come up with the right set of messages – the ones that more and…

Saying sorry in a crisis

February 7, 2022

Kate Hartley

In nearly every crisis simulation exercise we run, the issue of saying sorry raises its head. Should you say sorry in a crisis? Does it constitute an admission of liability? And what’s the damage to your reputation if you don’t…

Why social networks shouldn’t ban anonymity

August 13, 2021

Gemma Storey

A debate has raged for some years now over whether or not social networks should ban anonymous accounts. As someone who’s on Twitter daily, I see a lot of abuse, harassment, trolling, and misinformation being spread by accounts with an…

My crisis is over. Now what?

February 10, 2021

Kate Hartley

In a crisis, there’s a real temptation to focus on the here and now. Our instinct is to go into survival mode. It’s hard enough to think about getting through the next 24 hours, let alone to think about what to do once the crisis is over.

What to be aware of when working with influencers

January 29, 2021

Gemma Storey

We’re seeing some lifestyle and travel influencers being called to account for their foreign travels during a global pandemic. Many of us are in lockdown and even at the start of the pandemic people were beginning to tire of seeing…

How to help your employees navigate social media storms

December 7, 2020

Gemma Storey

Social media has created a whole new headache for brands and their employees, and many are still getting to grips with it. It’s an issue that’s become more prominent as society has embraced online campaigning. In various sectors, campaigners have…

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