Most business executives would tell you what they want from public relations is visibility. But what they’re really seeking is credibility. They want third party validation. They want trust.
Read More
Occasionally, you meet someone and think, “Wow, that person is really going places.” You can see them rising in the ranks of our community’s corporate, political or leadership structure, or rising to a role in a national organization and making waves across the country. That was my reaction when I first heard Tamara Winfrey-Harris speak at a Women’s Fund of Central Indiana event. Her content and presentation style gave the feeling she breathed rarefied air, and we were blessed to be in her presence. There was no arrogance or ego, just the sense that we would all benefit from listening.
Read More
Communicating well in a crisis is critical to maintaining good relationships with stakeholders, but what happens when the crisis is born out of diversity, equity and inclusion issues? Our most recent Shoff Chat guests shared their experience counseling clients who had to rebuild trust after a DEI crisis.
Read More
In March, Dennis Woerner, Director of Marketing with the Indianapolis Zoo and Joel Zawacki, Assistant General Manager with the Indianapolis Indians were ready for the spring season, fully prepared to welcome visitors and fans back with new and exciting experiences. But they soon realized they would have to shift gears dramatically and prepare for a different kind of season with the arrival of COVID-19.
Read More
The early days of COVID-19 were a frightening scramble for all, but nowhere more-so than the hospital and healthcare setting.
Read More
Is it possible to plan for a pandemic? A few months ago, I would’ve answered this question differently than I would today. As experts in crisis planning and communication, we have always had a robust plan of our own if a crisis should strike. When we moved to our new office in 2017, we needed to update the plan and decided to add pandemic protocols. I must admit at the time, I didn’t think we’d ever have to activate this section. Then, COVID-19 happened. And just like every business, our plan went into action.
Read More
“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing is nothing.” – Teddy Roosevelt In this time of almost unprecedented global crisis, I have been consistently amazed at the creative responses coming from individuals, companies, organizations and communities. When the going got tough, lots of people got going in ways that weren’t predictable.
Read More
Businesses everywhere are experiencing a new operational reality like never before. Jennifer Dzwonar recently joined Steve Walker’s podcast “The CX Leader” to discuss how CX professionals can be prepared to effectively manage crisis situations and help communicate with their customers.
Read More
We do crisis. It’s what some of us do, week-in and week-out. Not the true first-responder type of crisis, but the who-do-you-call-when-things-are-looking-bad type of work. For some of us in public relations, we gravitate toward the type of counsel and work that’s needed when problems are happening, or imminent or just slightly visible in the distance. But the past two weeks have had a different flavor altogether.
Read More
3 minute read
Organizations are run by people. So, when organizations find themselves in the midst of a sticky situation, they often react as individuals do—emotionally and with more attention on the negative than the positive. But negative feedback, even a lot of negative feedback, can create a distorted perception around a crisis and create the false impression that the overwhelming sentiment is negative.