The Polpeo Blog | Polpeo - Crisis Simulations

Does backlash always mean backdown? No. Here’s why.

July 14, 2023

Like every month, June had its fair share of challenges for brands, but three things stood out for me – and they all involved backlashes. Brands backing down in the face of hate-fuelled backlashes Rainbow washing is a term that…

Why brands must be prepared to stand by their inclusive values during Pride and beyond

June 21, 2023

Tamara Littleton

If you’re going to get involved in a Pride campaign, sadly, you have to be prepared for a backlash. But we need those campaigns more than ever before. Homophobic and transphobic attacks are on the rise. Brands are experiencing a…

Data breaches, fines and…friend requests?

May 26, 2023

Gemma Storey

We’re living in a world that increasingly thrives on data. As consumers, we can only hope that once we hand our data over to an organisation, it will do everything possible to secure it. That’s the dream, anyway. The reality,…

Is deinfluencing a threat to brands?

March 31, 2023

Tamara Littleton

Everyone’s talking about ‘deinfluencers’ at the moment. It’s a huge trend on TikTok, but is it something brands should be worried about? Deinfluencers are really just influencers – only they’re influencing people to avoid certain brands or products, rather than…

Dealing with outrage cycles and community polarisation

February 17, 2023

Gemma Storey

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…

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