Crisis Communications

crisis communication, leadership, What Just Happened

The first episode of our new Polpeo podcast, ‘What Just Happened?’ explores the so-called ‘Tylenol Murders’ and subsequent mass product recall of Tylenol in the US by owners Johnson & Johnson. The crisis was a masterclass in leadership and has…

Preparing for a crisis: crisis strategy essentials

crisis planning, crisis training, rehearse

Going into a crisis without a crisis strategy is a bit like saying, “I want to be a CEO by age 40”, but having no actual plan to get there. Luck, connections and hard work may be all that some…

What risks are leaders concerned about now?

Crisis Management, Crisis preparation, Risk Management

In January, we looked at the risks that were top of mind for leaders in the coming year. But what are the reputational risks that comms leaders are worried about right now? Polpeo works with organisations from a range of…

2023: the year in crisis

Kate Hartley

company culture, Crisis Management, data breaches, leadership, LGBTQ+

It’s been a crisis-packed year for brands. From failure in company culture or leadership, to sophisticated cyber attacks, here is our pick of the year’s crises, and what we can learn from them. Culture is critical (and starts with behaviour) …

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

backlashes, Blizzard, crisis strategy, Pride Month, Twitch

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…

Data breaches, fines and…friend requests?

data, data breach, Facebook, , Meta

Crisis Communications, Crisis Simulation, Leadership

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,…

Bench saying 'take a little time to think'

Preparing leaders for a crisis takes more than media training

Kate Hartley

crisis communication, leadership

Crisis Communications, Reputation

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

Kate Hartley

crisis communication, Crisis Management, reputation, values

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

#CrisisCommunications, #CrisisPrevention, #Diversity, #Inclusion, #Marketing, #PR