Category: Crisis and Reputation Management

This saga illustrates how activist investors can use creative legal strategies to damage the reputation of a company, state, local authority or financial institution over perceived lack of climate action, regardless of the ultimate outcome in court...

For any company, regardless of how big or small, the number one priority when facing an issue or crisis should be communicating in a timely and accurate manner with the company’s key stakeholders. However, the most important audience group is often overlooked: the employees. Especially during a crisis, employees can be both the strongest advocates and harshest critics.  ..

Reputation plays a pivotal role in shaping the success and growth of businesses, with numerous studies establishing a strong correlation between corporate reputation and financial performance...

How a company responds to an issue or a crisis, affects its reputation among key audiences, including consumers, customers, employees, shareholders, regulators and legislators. These audiences observe how a company handles a crisis, which can either damage or enhance their reputation, and lead to business losses or gains.  ..

Safeguarding your reputation is a business fundamental, because it helps increase revenues, market value and overall financial performance. A stellar reputation also distinguishes you from your peers, builds strong brand trust from the public and loyalty from your customers, and secures your long-term presence in the marketplace. But reputational capital is fragile...

A good reputation is like having good health—you only really appreciate it once you’ve lost it. Maintaining an unblemished corporate reputation has become increasingly difficult amidst the growing fragmentation of interest groups, capricious public expectations and the insidious rise of misinformation...

Because of recent legislative developments on both sides of the Atlantic, the times of fluid and smooth cooperation between the European Union (EU) and the United States are over, at least on economic, trade, competition and antitrust affairs...

When a stakeholder communication plan is thoughtfully planned and meticulously executed, it is often the reason why a company or organization can overcome the potential issue and ultimately come back stronger by retaining trust and support from key stakeholders. It’s safe to say there’s never been a more important time to take a look at your crisis management strategy for 2023...

In October, APCO surveyed the U.S. general public to understand views on the role of companies in this divided culture, revealing areas of both consensus and division...

Here are three takeaways that will be valuable for multinational corporations in China and internationally...

How do you strike the right balance between sourcing enough knowledge and experience versus having too many people on the field?..

Maintaining dialogue with your constituents, allies and critics in times of calm and crisis prevents circumstances that enflame controversy...

A crisis often creates panic, fear and stress. But sometimes you miss a critical step–crisis prevention–which demands a brave, new approach. ..

So, what sets companies that can come back stronger from a crisis from the rest? It comes down to battle testing...

By evaluating government communications during threats to public health, we can identify fundamental rules for communicating risk...

But what challenges should corporate leaders expect to face this year and what are the geopolitical issues that must be navigated this year?..

By planning for problems that are likely to pop up and how to mitigate them, organizations will be better prepared to combat those issues when they arise...

As colleges and universities respond to crises on a daily basis, management of those crises often requires a different, more nuanced approach...

Institutions are at growing risk for financial, reputational and operational harm because of long-standing cyber vulnerabilities across higher ed...

Now is the time for a proactive, strategic approach to protecting your business, non-profit or university from the cyber pandemic that has surged with the increasing popularity of remote work and the growing sophistication and boldness of cyber crooks. Regardless of your level of cyber security, here is a four-point plan for what you can do now to protect and prepare. ..

Smart businesses will spend next year embedding fully new structural changes, being more inclusive, and adapting to a new work mindset. While COVID-19 left an indelible mark on us all this year, 2021 will bring different, possibly greater, but certainly connected challenges...

It is important for organizations to understand that while the pandemic has tested their resiliency like never before, their long-term viability depends upon the consumers who will ultimately judge them on their ability to effect real change...

As we have discovered over the past few months, the construction industry has shown that staying open safely during the COVID-19 pandemic can lead many sectors—from energy to transportation—to continue serving the public...

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to surge in certain parts of the United States, restaurant and retail sectors are caught in the middle of a political and public health tug-of-war. While tactics to safely reopen stores and restaurants continue to evolve, discussions are turning to how to adapt to phased reopening orders while building consumer confidence and coming up with new ways to secure financial viability. With uncertainty abound, how are restaurant and retail businesses charting the future?..

The food industry, from farms to restaurants to retail to the tables of consumers, has been upended by COVID-19. This has resulted in a forced shift in the supply chain and could change how the world produces and consumes food well into the future...

Resilient organizations must act now to establish their foothold to come back stronger, recognizing there will be varying degrees of coming back...

For potentially eligible companies, it is critical to understand all of the options available and to move as efficiently as possible to apply for and receive the funds which they are entitled to, and to position themselves for relief under future stimulus packages...

Intelligence from APCO Worldwide’s proprietary COVID-19 Response Index (CRI) show that brands such as Starbucks, McDonald’s, and Pepsi are underperforming in consumer online conversations despite having pushed out messages of reassurance, hope, and health...

For organizations, the economy and our communities to thrive when we come out of this global crisis, we must plan now. There are steps that organizations can take to help establish a stronger foothold, so we all come out of this stronger. ..

Vision and values are a covenant with external stakeholders. They are the promise made, and C-suite leaders need to ensure that the company’s vision and values are a corporate hallmark not an Achille’s heel during a crisis...

Following the admissions scandals at some of the nation’s most highly-regarded universities, including allegations that athletic coaches received payments to admit students who had little or no experience, the universities took many of the right steps that a crisis consultant would recommend...

To quickly respond in a credible and effective manner, communicators must change their approach to crisis management. They must proactively utilize research capabilities to gain accurate, actionable intelligence on the issue at hand as well as the expectations of key stakeholder audiences...

High expectations and the eroded control of the corporate narrative have joined forces to create a new category of enterprise risk: Social Risk. Companies who integrate social risk into their strategic planning will earn the license to sustainably operate in this new landscape...

With nationalism on the rise globally, including China, foreign multinational companies need new guidelines to manage crises in China’s new era. ..

The World Economic Forum continually demonstrates that we don’t wait for progress—we create it. The world will look to the outcomes of the World Economic Forum as a milestone in global progress. Let’s set the stage of a new agile world...

Given the fraught political and social times we’re living in today, brands are stepping up to take a stand on issues seemingly more than ever. This is primarily due to consumers becoming more informed, louder and organized to put pressure on brands – all through the ubiquity of engagement on social media platforms...

At this time of change, proponents of "future investment" must balance diverse stakeholder interests, negotiate generational disparity and navigate an evolving media environment. This is a prime moment for Japan’s PR industry to redefine its role as arbiter and communicator...

Earlier this summer, CNBC released their annual report, America's Top States for Business, which serves as a scorecard on state economic climates. For the second year in a row, North Carolina ranks highly, falling fifth out of all 50 U.S. states. But does reality in North Carolina match perceptions of the state?..

APCO's Worldwide’s Crisis Management and Litigation Communication team gears up for 2017...

A new survey from APCO Insight reveals some interesting trends on the U.S. public’s perceptions of the power of social media...

Contrary to conventional wisdom on crises being generated from external factors, only 20 percent or fewer of crises start from people or forces outside the organization...

Jo Kimble responds to The Times' "Big Brands Fund Terror" story...

Jim Moorhead, a crisis communications expert and member of our IAC, shares three things companies can do to adapt to the President Trump twitter environment...

To minimize the reputational damage that legal filings or arguments can cause, a company’s legal and communications counsel must work closely together...

In 2017, many large corporations will face a delicate balancing act. ..

APCO founder and executive chairman, Margery Kraus spoke about ending corruption on a panel at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting...

In this politically charged atmosphere, how does a company take on an issue like immigration successfully? Our research indicates that companies can be most effective on immigration if they make the business case for their action or use their business expertise to address the issue. ..

Traditionally advocacy has been seen as government relations where registered lobbyists walked the halls of Capitol buildings advocating for special interests. Today, advocacy is about building a movement. People want to get involved and make change for the issues that they care about...

On Tuesday, Starbucks announced it would close 8,000 stores for racial-bias education training May 29...

2018 was a long year. Many global businesses are ill prepared for an increasingly challenging global regulatory environment, to respond to complex social issues and especially to geopolitical threats and political uncertainty. But those that are better prepared, will be better insulated from unforeseen global shocks...

We opened up APCO’s vault of reputation research to examine which factors are actually defining and driving perceptions of the aviation sector...