Clearly MD features in Winter edition of Director magazine
Dan Ackroyd played the title character in the 1987 film, Dragnet. His catchphrase was: “Just the facts.” Whilst not all crises are the same, each one demands the same approach: tell it first, tell it fast, tell it clearly, and more important tell it factually. Failure to tick all four and the crisis risks both further amplification and damage to the brand’s reputation.
For the latest issue of Director – the magazine for the Institute of Directors – I shared my insights on how business leaders and brands need to respond when faced with ‘fake news’ that presents a serious danger to their reputation.
The feature comes on the back of a series of high profile cases that have hit the headlines in recent months that have sent comms and PR teams into a spin. Perhaps the biggest example is that of Tylenol.
In September, Donald Trump suggested that the pain reliever should not be sold to pregnant women because of a heightened risk of autism. It was a baseless, nonsense claim.
The response from the manufacturer, Kenvue, was immediate. More impressive was the rallying of support from the wider medical community who countered the President’s claims with… fffffacts.
That is key to any crisis communications and reputation management strategy and in the Director feature I discuss the most effective ways in which businesses and brands must – it is not option, they must – respond.
Click the link to read the article on the IoD website and turn to page 64.
