Tag: Crisis communications

Why I’ve stayed with my bank – until now

I’m a stickler for good service and can’t stand organisations who don’t deliver what they promise.

Being ripped off is even worse and will result in offenders being dumped. Train companies, utilities and firms like PayPal (one of the worst in my book) have borne the brunt of my complaints when I’ve known who to complain to.

On many occasions, I’ve been offered compensation as a sweetener, which I take and then leave. I’ve worked through the ‘big six’ energy companies and found them all to be a disappointment.

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Twitter cases show PR may be better than legal action

It’s been a frenzied week for the media, which has taken navel gazing to new levels over the spectacular failure of lawyers to protect Ryan Giggs’ privacy. They may have succeeded for a while in keeping their client’s name out of stories of his alleged affair. But, as pressure mounted and newspapers’ displeasure at the fact that it was open season on Twitter grew, it was only a matter of time before traditional media named him. By the time John Hemming used parliamentary privilege to publicly name Giggs, the story had turned from a fairly trivial one to an issue of constitutional significance and no amount of legal heavy-handedness was going to suppress it. When the Sunday Herald broke ranks last weekend and named Giggs, public appetite for the story was huge – and resulted in a record number of hits on its website, despite the fact that item only appeared in print.

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Former colleagues win recognition for crisis work

Damaged homes in Irlam, Salford
My former colleagues at IPB Communications have built a reputation over the last 10 years for being the people you would want in your team when the going gets tough. So I was delighted, but not surprised, to learn from their newsletter which landed in my email box today that they have been shortlisted for another award for their stirling crisis management work with City West Housing Trust.

They were on hand after tenants’ homes were hit by a gas explosion in Salford, which saw more than 200 houses evacuated last year. The team manned the press office and worked around the clock for the best part of a week to deal with journalists’ queries, prepare breifings and ‘lines to take’ and be a friendly, unwavering voice of reason as the nation’s media turned its attention on the trust. It seems like they handled it in the typical ‘whatever it takes’ way that makes them so well respected within the sector – and, rightly, by their peers too.

Members of the IPB team recently travelled to London to meet the CIPR and discuss their work as part of their entry for the Excellence Awards. Hats off to them, and best of luck for the awards next month – I’ll be thinking of them on the night.

‘Andy Gray-gate’ highlights slack media practice

Andy Gray’s sacking today after another of his puerile outbursts (this time to colleague Charlotte Jackson last month, above) has taught him a harsh lesson. Someone of his experience should know that ‘private’ (as in off air) comments are still fair game if someone within earshot finds them offensive enough to share with the media. In fact, if you utter them in a room full of people, it isn’t very ‘private’ at all, and therefore probably best kept to yourself.

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Chill brings good (and bad) comms to fore

Bristol - we got off lightly

I was definitely hasty this weekend, when I blogged that the media overplayed the impact of the bad weather. They went a bit heavy on the blame game (as always), but things have definitely got worse since then, with today seeing the heaviest day’s snowfall in decades in some areas. Christmas plans have now been wrecked for many.

Having listened to the news, seen and heard from people about how ‘we’ are coping, there are two communication-related issues that hit home like a dose of frostbite.

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