MANAGING REPUTATIONAL RISK AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT – EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

RC: In this ‘age of rage’, where a negative backlash often finds a voice and a platform, what are the implications for companies’ reputation risk and crisis management?

Loeb: As we have seen from controversial advertising campaigns and the growing culture wars on identity and workplace misconduct, which spur significant and vocal ire, ‘couch propagandists’ and digital insurgencies have become the new business ecosystem in a divided and angry world. Given the rise of ‘snap-crises’, companies must be far more vigorous in stress testing the tone and tenor of all public interactions – from earnings calls and direct-to-consumer advertising, to culture wars on conduct and behaviour in the workplace – because the stakes are infinitely higher and costlier than even a year ago. These and other soft risks cost organisations roughly 40 percent in potential revenue annually, a particularly painful loss because it is avoidable, at least in scope and scale. Proper risk sensing exists, as well as a sober understanding of both brand and cultural identity.

Jan-Mar 2018 Issue

Edelman

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