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Ecuador is to sell a third of its Amazon rainforest to Chinese oil companies, spread the news the end of March. The very same days, a dispute has come to the end in Berlin and a 22 meters section of the Berlin wall has been removed. What is it then that connects Berlin with the Ecuador rainforest, 10000 kilometers apart, a big piece of concrete and art with a seemingly endless pristine forest? Both are part of the past and the present of mankind, but will not be that in the future, it seems. Within one week, sustainability suffered two blows while losing to development......
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The snowstorm chaos on the weekend of 15 March left thousands stranded on the roads and in trains. By now it resulted in a long list of crisis communication analyses. Difficult to tell which of these reflect the truth, once again we face the situation that any evaluation of this kind may well be biased. Officials claim that they have done everything to prevent the chaos, to warn and inform about the upcoming danger and to launch and organise rescue operations right away. Experience of those struck in their cars for a day or two as well as the social media pages speak about something else. So where is the truth then?...... |
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According to the recent O’Dywer's listing, 15 of the 25 largest PR agencies in'he US reached double digit growth figures last year. Top executives claim the results, well worth to be jealous about, to various reasons. Edelman president attributes success to growth in digital communications, while W20 chairman claims talent selection and management are behind the 30% growth. MWW president underlines the role of major account wins and the agency corporate identity "facelift", Finn grew primarily through acquisitions, while Gibbs and Soell extended its business model from a PR firm to that of a business communicator. The list could be continued and would make it clear: PR firms seem to find many different solutions to the most important business challenge of last year - growth. While US and Hungarian PR markets can hardly be compared, lessons are still general and reach well beyond the limits of PR or communication firms....... |
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Trust in safety is being shocked in Europe with the current horsemeat scandal. In over 20 countries it has become clear thatbeef products contain horsemeat. Significant amounts of horsemeat have been detected from frozen lasagne to spagetti bolognaise served in schools. In spite of the immediate action of national food safety authorities, the existence of EU regulations and the prompt and mostly responsible actions of the companies, the scandal seems to grow further. From jelly beans to kidney pies a regular daily list appears of possible “contaminated” meat. At this stage, reports claim that the horsemeat is from a slaughterhouse in Romania, regularly controlled by the EU, meeting all the relevant criteria. So where is the problem then?...... |
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A job interview often reminds me of actual clashes of brands. On the one hand, we have the employer that positions itself as a good company to work for, a reliable partner, an employer that offers promising carrier opportunities. As a responsible employer it would like to show it cares for its employees so it is worthwhile joining its ranks. This is actually the essence of HR branding: beyond the actual package, what the company offers in recognition, prestige and affiliation. The applicant has a certain image of the company in their mind and will measure its impressions against this image. On the other side of the desk is the actual job seeker that strives to "sell" itself to the company. He or she is into personal branding......... |
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Students sometimes come up to me after my lectures and ask me:”This is all very nice but what about negative PR?” Be it politics, brands or celebrities, they clearly see how much energy is put into ruining the other one. So, how can one speak about brand building if discrediting is the most important? I would not give them advice on ruining another brand but rather on how to defend themselves against such attacks. The key to response is speed, proportion and positive content.....
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The real damage is not the one that has been already suffered but the one that can arise of how a company handles a problem. Dozens of examples prove that bad communication multiply the effects of a technological breakdown, natural catastrophe or a human error. Escaping responsibility, evading the real issue, minimising the importance of the problem are the most common mistakes. The other day, Bank Austria has proven that there is another way, in fact one can even create advantage of a technical mishap..... |
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An Italian regional court gave a verdict of 6 year imprisonment to 6 scientists and a former government official in relation to the 2009 Aquila earthquake. The ruling, shocking many observers, came after the reasoning that the inadequate seismological forecast resulted in not warning the local population properly of the upcoming dangers.... |
