It must have seemed a good idea at the time. AJ Bell, the popular investment platform and lead sponsor of the Great North Run, gave out miniature bells to hundreds of spectators lining the last mile of last Sunday’s race. Doubtless the product of a marketing brainstorm, the idea was to have a visible and […]
What is a crisis communications plan? A crisis communication plan is an important resource for any organisation. An Alder crisis communication plan is a bespoke manual which contains practical step-by-step guidance, media handling tips, valuable contact details and template communications that ensure organisations can deal with the communication demands of any crisis. At Alder we […]
There are few more worrying prospects for a healthcare leader than a cyber attack, extreme weather or other sudden event disrupting or halting frontline operations. When such an incident strikes, internal and external communications are critical to maintaining order and safety, quashing misinformation, maintaining stakeholder trust, and more. It is thus welcome to see that […]
The CBI’s strategy over the sacking of Tony Danker is intriguing. The most common communications approach when someone leaves an organisation for behavioural shortcomings is to suck the life out of the story by making it so bland that the news agenda moves on as quickly as possible. This is also practical: the high degree […]
There won’t be an Oscar for crisis preparedness handed out at the Academy Awards this weekend (trust us, we have checked). But ahead of the ceremony this weekend, we would like to acknowledge the sensible work the Academy has done in responding to last year’s drama, in which nominee Will Smith stormed onto the stage […]
You’ve worked hard to build an impeccable reputation. Your comms team is excellent at getting your accomplishments the attention they deserve. Your organisation has cordial working relationships with various journalists and your stakeholders are never anything but extremely satisfied with your performance. So were a crisis to unfold, you couldn’t be in a stronger position, […]
There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all approach to crisis management. Sometimes silence is golden, sometimes it’s right to fight your client’s corner in the most eloquent way possible. Whatever strategy is employed, there still must be certain common themes, however. One of those is authenticity. Is what you’re saying (or not saying) faithful […]
‘What really matters is what’s on the inside.’ It’s a phrase which is often used to warn against superficiality. But it is also very relevant when thinking about organisations, the crises they may face, and their communications before, during and after such events. Specifically, it reminds us of the multi-faceted importance in such situations of […]
It’s an inescapable fact in this highly-digitised world that every person, every company and every organisation has an online reputation. Given the significant impact it can have on many facets of organisational success, it is no surprise that many brands and companies are already taking action to improve their online reputation. Online reputation is not […]