It has been 68 days since I first wrote about the BP oil leak.  At the time, I thought it would be a quick fix and BP would be tested in their crisis management for a few days.  As it turned out, this has redefined crisis management and corporate identity protection/destruction.  Never before has a company had to be on guard for so long, never before has an organization had to redefine the landscape and the message more times than BP has over the last three months....read the rest of this post»

It has been more than 20 years since the Exxon Valdez struck a reef off the coast of Alaska and began leaking more than 10 million gallons of oil into Prince William Sound.  I still have trouble buying gas, or even stopping for a Pepsi, at an Exxon Station.  To me it is the best example ever of a brand being forever damaged by a single event.

Yet, here we are in the midst of an oil disaster that has the potential to dwarf the Exxon incident, and I had no problem stopping at a BP station this past weekend for a fill-up.   Why is that?  How can a disaster that is so much closer to the shoreline that I personally enjoy have less of a brand impact on me?...read the rest of this post»

As a brand and reputation specialist, I can’t let the Tiger Woods apology today go without comment.  A few thoughts:

It was an actual apology with the words “I’m Sorry” used several times.  The words “irresponsible, selfish, foolish, embarrassed, unfaithful and wrong” were also used.  That is a refreshing change from the typical corporate and political uses of the phrase “I regret.”

It was a bit late in coming, but I don’t think that will matter in the long term.

His vocalization of the “entitlement society” that many celebrities feel they belong to was refreshing and added to the feeling of honesty.

His focus on his Foundation’s work was good to hear, but felt a bit out of place.

It was wonderful to see someone who has done something wrong not point fingers at anyone else.  He made this 100 percent his responsibility....read the rest of this post»

Southwest Airlines has, arguably, the best reputation of just about any airline.   Their ads through the years have been on target – present ads about "bags fly free" included.  They have among the highest customer service scores in the industry, month in and month out.  This is not bad at all for an airline that is basically a cattle-call bus in the air type of airline (I mean that in the best possible way).  They offer a low cost alternative and a “flying can be fun” attitude.

So, what happens when their “flying can be fun” attitude is challenged in the fast moving world of social media?  That is being put to the test right now....read the rest of this post»

I read a blog post today that is rightfully generating a lot of conversation about the line between credible pitches to journalists based on merit, and an agency’s ability to drive traffic to a reporter’s story.  I would invite anyone in the PR and media relations business to read the posting called Slippery Slopes.  My purpose here is to expand upon the interesting question of ethics posed by the blog.

First a brief summary.  The question revolves around whether it is ethical for an agency to pitch a journalist a story not on the story’s viability, but on the agency’s ability to generate traffic for a story.  Important to the debate is the fact that the “traffic” will be generated by mandatory tweeting/posting/digging/etc. by the agency’s employees....read the rest of this post»

This time of year, we are all very familiar with shopping at retail stores or on the Web.  We know the entrance to the store usually features some kind of bargain being pushed, the end caps are holiday focused, and the checkout area is crammed with all of those last minute easy to pick-up impulse items. Every item is where it is for a reason.

The media outlets are like retail stores in many ways:

• Limited shelf space (column inches and seconds of coverage)
• The products of most interest to customers make the shelf
• The best products get the best position (front page, jump page, top of page, lead)
• Sometimes, a good package deal overrides a good single item

...read the rest of this post»

One of the principles of brainwoo is: “We will always think about the solution, even if it means we don’t provide exactly what you’re looking for.”

This principle is vital if we are to be a true, trusted marketing partner for our clients.  No one wants to think their agency is going to recommend something just because they can provide the service and make money on it.  We won’t.  It is wrong. 

Closely related to doing what is right for the client, is knowing what you don’t know, and being willing to admit it.  I recently read a blog posting by Terry Starbucker titled The 7 Most Important Words Any Leader Can Hear (or Say).  Those words are:

“I don’t know, but I’ll find out.”...read the rest of this post»